How it works
Astrolab is an estimate based on the RIASEC model, not fortune-telling and not a medical diagnosis. Here's honestly what's under the hood, and what it does not do.
What it's based on
Interests — the RIASEC model (Holland)
An international standard: six interest types — Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional. O*NET tags thousands of occupations with it, so your profile maps to real work, not to the stars.
A second lens — Klimov's typology
Some items also look at the object of work: people, technology, nature, signs, images. It's a classic vocational-psychology lens that complements the RIASEC picture.
Values — a forced choice, not "do you like it"
We don't ask "is this important to you" — almost everyone says yes. Instead you pick between two values each time. That shows what's genuinely a priority for you, not just what sounds good.
School subjects
What you like and what comes easily hints at which paths are realistic, not just desirable.
How we score
Math does the counting, not «a neural net»
The fit with an occupation is a transparent formula: how close your interest, value and subject profile is to the occupation's profile. It's reproducible: the same answers give the same result.
Age is taken into account
The interest items are the same for everyone — RIASEC works at any age. What changes is the weighting: teens weight interests and subjects more, adults weight values and experience. Adults also take an «your experience» step, and advice is framed as a transition, not a fresh start.
What the AI does — and doesn't
The AI doesn't decide who you should be, and doesn't invent occupations. It only reorders the already-matched options and writes a clear «why it fits you». If the AI is unavailable, the result still works.
Honest about the limits
- It's an estimate, not a diagnosis or a verdict. Your profile changes with experience — retake it every six months.
- It's an adaptation of the RIASEC model, not a clinical psychological test. We won't say «validated» until we've shown it on our own data.
- Early version of the methodology: we calibrate it as assessments accumulate and keep improving the items.
- The test shows direction and fit, not ability — and certainly not a person's worth.
Where the salary data comes from
United States
US Bureau of Labor Statistics data (the OEWS survey): national annual wages. If there is no reliable data for a profession, we simply don't show a salary.
Every number on a profession page carries a source badge: BLS — or “estimate” when the figure is approximate and not from an official source.
Data
You can take the test anonymously, without an account. We collect the minimum. Privacy.