Sample Career Compass report
Fictional example. Written for "Sam", a retail supervisor in Wales considering a change. Not a real customer, a testimonial or evidence of accuracy. It shows the structure and depth of a real report.
Snapshot
Your strongest interest areas are helping and teaching, and analysing and understanding.
- Ten careers met the match threshold; six are compatible with the twelve months of training you said you could give.
- Your profile is Social first, Investigative second, with a moderate Conventional streak: you like helping people learn and get things right, and you are comfortable with structure without wanting it to dominate.
- Impact, security and learning are your top work priorities. That combination points towards established organisations (education, health, public services) rather than commission-based or freelance work.
- Creating and designing had four 'not enough experience to judge' answers, so it is under-described rather than low; the plan includes one experiment to test it.
Situation
- Nation: Wales
- Stage: Considering a career change
- Time for training: 3 to 12 months
- Salary floor: £25,000-£34,999
Interest profile
- Realistic (Practical, hands-on work): 43/100
- Investigative (Analysing and understanding): 73/100
- Artistic (Creating and designing): 54/100, 4 "not enough experience to judge" answers
- Social (Helping and teaching): 85/100
- Enterprising (Persuading and leading): 30/100
- Conventional (Organising and checking): 60/100
Top work priorities
- Impact: 5/5
- Security: 5/5
- Learning: 4/5
- Structure: 4/5
- Social contact: 4/5
Impact and security both matter to you a great deal; some of the most impact-rich roles pay modestly at entry, so check pay progression, not just starting pay.
Strongest career families
- Education, Science and Research: Teaching Assistant, SEND Support Worker, Adult Education Tutor, Learning Mentor
- Healthcare and Care: Rehabilitation Worker, Healthcare Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant
- Public Sector and Emergency Services: Housing Officer, Careers Adviser
Ten explained career suggestions
1. Teaching Assistant
Match 83/100 · More evidence · route compatible
Why it appears: Its main activities are helping and teaching and organising and checking, which you rated 85/100 and 60/100. It is known to offer impact, security, structure and social contact, which you rated important.
What could frustrate you: Term-time-only pay and the amount of behaviour management can grate; you rated influence as unimportant, and some of the role is exactly that.
Before committing: Ask a school for a half-day volunteering placement before applying; it is the quickest honest test.
Ask someone doing the job:
- What is the hardest part of the emotional side of the job?
- How much time goes to paperwork rather than people?
- What happens when the process is wrong; can you change it?
2. SEND Support Worker
Match 81/100 · More evidence · route compatible
Why it appears: Its main activities are helping and teaching and analysing and understanding, which you rated 85/100 and 72.5/100. It is known to offer impact, security and social contact.
What could frustrate you: Progress can be slow and unpredictable; if you need to see quick results, the day-to-day may feel heavy.
Before committing: Speak to someone in a specialist setting about what a difficult week actually looks like.
Ask someone doing the job:
- What is the hardest part of the emotional side of the job?
- How often do you get to follow a problem to the end rather than hand it off?
3. Rehabilitation Worker
Match 78/100 · Some evidence · route compatible
Why it appears: Its main activities are helping and teaching and practical, hands-on work, which you rated 85/100 and 42.5/100. It is known to offer impact and social contact.
What could frustrate you: Likely friction: security may be in shorter supply than you want; many posts are fixed-term or charity-funded.
Before committing: Check whether local posts are permanent or fixed-term before investing in training.
Ask someone doing the job:
- What is the hardest part of the emotional side of the job?
- What does a bad week look like physically?
4. Adult Education Tutor
Match 77/100 · More evidence · route needs verification
Why it appears: Its main activities are helping and teaching and analysing and understanding. It is known to offer impact and learning.
What could frustrate you: Sessional contracts and evening hours are common; security may be lower than you want.
Before committing: Confirm whether the Level 3 Award in Education and Training is required by the providers near you and how long it takes.
Ask someone doing the job:
- How often do you get to follow a problem to the end rather than hand it off?
- How much time goes to paperwork rather than people?
5. Learning Mentor
Match 76/100 · More evidence · route compatible
Why it appears: Its main activities are helping and teaching and organising and checking. It is known to offer impact, social contact and structure.
What could frustrate you: Some of the work is chasing attendance and paperwork rather than mentoring.
Before committing: Ask two schools how the role is split between one-to-one time and administration.
Ask someone doing the job:
- What is the hardest part of the emotional side of the job?
- How predictable are the hours and the pace?
6. Careers Adviser
Match 74/100 · Some evidence · route needs verification
Why it appears: Its main activities are helping and teaching and analysing and understanding. It is known to offer impact and learning.
What could frustrate you: Target-driven contracts exist in some services; you said you want to rule out sales-driven work, so check the funding model.
Before committing: Find out whether the Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance is expected locally and whether it can be done part-time within twelve months.
Ask someone doing the job:
- How often do you get to follow a problem to the end rather than hand it off?
- How much of the analysis is routine reporting?
7. Housing Officer
Match 72/100 · Some evidence · route compatible
Why it appears: Its main activities are organising and checking and helping and teaching. It is known to offer security, structure and impact.
What could frustrate you: A large share of the week is casework administration and difficult conversations about arrears.
Before committing: Shadow a housing team for a day if a local association offers it; the mix of desk and people time varies a lot.
Ask someone doing the job:
- What happens when the process is wrong; can you change it?
- How much time goes to paperwork rather than people?
8. Occupational Therapy Assistant
Match 71/100 · Some evidence · route compatible
Why it appears: Its main activities are helping and teaching and practical, hands-on work. It is known to offer impact and security.
What could frustrate you: Pay bands at entry are modest against the £25,000 to £34,999 floor you gave; check the local band.
Before committing: Check NHS band and progression for assistant roles in your area before committing.
Ask someone doing the job:
- What does a bad week look like physically?
- What is the hardest part of the emotional side of the job?
9. Healthcare Assistant
Match 69/100 · Some evidence · route compatible
Why it appears: Its main activities are helping and teaching and practical, hands-on work. It is known to offer impact and security.
What could frustrate you: Shift work and physical demands; you rated structure highly and shifts can undermine routine.
Before committing: Ask about the shift pattern and whether day-only posts exist.
Ask someone doing the job:
- What does a bad week look like physically?
- How predictable are the hours and the pace?
10. Records Officer
Match 66/100 · More evidence · route compatible
Why it appears: Its main activities are organising and checking and analysing and understanding. It is known to offer security and structure.
What could frustrate you: Likely friction: impact and social contact may be in shorter supply than you want.
Before committing: Read a typical week before assuming the accuracy work will feel worthwhile without the people side.
Ask someone doing the job:
- What happens when the process is wrong; can you change it?
- How much of the analysis is routine reporting?
30-day exploration plan
- Investigate Teaching Assistant (1 hour). Read the TonyKnows guide and one independent source (Careers Wales). Write three things that attract you and two that worry you. Done when: Notes saved for this career.
- Investigate SEND Support Worker (1 hour). Read the TonyKnows guide and one independent source. Note the differences from a general teaching assistant role. Done when: Notes saved for this career.
- Talk to one person doing your strongest option (1-2 hours to arrange). Ask the questions listed under Teaching Assistant. Fifteen minutes is enough. Done when: Conversation held and notes written.
- Run one small experiment (2-4 hours). Volunteer for a reading session or a homework club for a few hours. Record how it felt afterwards. Done when: You can say whether you want more of it.
- Test the under-described area (2 hours). Spend two hours on a free design or writing task and answer the four skipped questions again afterwards. Done when: You have a view either way.
What this report cannot tell you
- Some career activity mappings are proposed and awaiting editorial review.
- Item bank status: Designed using established career-psychology frameworks; original TonyKnows items in pilot, not yet independently validated.
- Ranking uses a provisional 75% interest / 25% priority blend; the weights are engineering assumptions, not validated coefficients.
- Career facts come from TonyKnows guide seed data unless a source and checked date is shown; verify entry routes, pay and requirements with the provider or professional body before deciding.
- The match index is a similarity measure between your answers and career activity profiles. It is not a probability of success or satisfaction.
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