O Sung,
If you're bored why not do a computer course online then get your certificate in workplace training and run basic computer classes for seniors? At one point my overqualified but unmotivated brother was earning about $80 an hour for two half days a week teaching oldies how to use email, facebook, net banking and so on.

Hi there JAY of MELBOURNE...

What a splendid idea of yours, there's no doubt, 'IT' is the way of the future in terms of communication and technology ? It would indeed prove rather comical, an 'oldie' teaching oldie's, basic Computer operations ?

Actually JAY of MELBOURNE, I'm over 70 years old myself, so it might be a case of the blind leading the blind, do you think ? It would certainly be rather amusing I must agree. Luckily, I'm not a person who ever gets bored, as I'm a voracious reader, and when not reading, 'she who must be obeyed' always has something for me to do or fix ?

Of course when the grandchildren come calling the house becomes a veritable circus with the latest little one running around pulling all my books from their respective bookcases. She's troubled when most books are denuded of pictures, she'll learn, and we all love and encourage her enquiring mind dearly.

Thank your very much for your contribution, I really appreciate it.

OSW, I went to uni, my bride went to uni, my daughter is doing her masters, and my boys are apprentices, so my lot can complete tasks, or show some aptitude, but intelligence proportion does not come into it. As long as you are above the mid 90’s you could be a brilliant achiever if you are motivated. Not every scientific or social breakthrough came from those with a 120 or better IQ.

I have always been in corporate, so every time I have applied for a new job or apply for another position I get tested. In the early days it was the standard IQ tests but as HR evolved the psychometrics became personality rather than IQ based….they wanted to know how I think, rather than can I think.

The overview of the exercise is to identify leaders, doers, and followers rather than intelligence quotient. They look for personality traits such as diligence, ability to take direction, ability to take initiative, ability to multi task, ability to withstand criticism, your performance under pressure, time rationality vs outcomes. They are looking for the square peg for the square hole.

You may be a nurturer who is important to the team’s performance but you are unable to accept the responsibility of directing, so you are a pleb. You may be an outcome driven individual that can be ruthless in your pursuit of the outcome, so you are a line or middle manager.

Or you may be a shifty and conniving outcome over everything driven individual with a ruthless self survival streak, you become the prime director of activities, a boss.
TBC

They use vocations as guide lines to describe your place in the world. They report that you could be a teacher or office manager and that 30% of the population fall into this category. Or that you could work with machinery or cut hair and 50% fall into this category. OSW, my last test for the German company I work for found I fitted into a 7% slither of the pie chart and I didn’t get the position I applied for.

OSW my fair copper, I read what you say; I consider what I read from you…your smart sport. Everything is about application. Not long before my old man died, he commenting that Aussie teens were getting fatter and decried the mothers who said it was in the genes, or big boned, or fluid retention. His comment was “there were no fat people in Belsen, a fair comment I thought…it’s about application.

Interesting sonofG, did you learn to see what they were aiming for with each question, & give them the answer they were looking for, with all those tests?

When I went into the Navy as a trainee pilot, we had days of mostly aptitude tests. We were going to have 3 months to get to the end of second year uni aeronautical engineering, with the pass mark 80%, so our math & physics had to be up there. There was some attitude stuff, as we would become officers.

I was one of only 2 selected in NSW from 152 applications, so the selection process was tough. Not good enough however, as only 30% of trainees got through training, & got their wings.

To try to cut this expensive wastage they put us through a barrage of tests while training, using us & our results to try to qualify a range of new tests, & the existing ones.

When you've done enough of these things, you can read the questions & the psychologists like a book. I had an interesting experience when I was promoted to state manager of a company. I found my application, for a technical service manager position, & assessment in the managers files.

I was always very competent technically, but being assessed as among the top 2% of university graduates in physics & engineering, & the top 4% of the adult male population in problem solving, did my ego no harm at all. [Sorry ladies, that's what it said. You weren't expected to be able to solve problems in the early 60s]

However it was the assessment of thoroughly honest, extremely cooperative, & very helpful that told I had used those navy tests to learn how to do tests very well.

The only problem then was to figure out what the tester wanted the applicant to be. I'm sure being dumb & dishonest could be great & desirable attributes in some companies. This would obviously be the case with a company selling wind generators for example.

G'day to you SONOFGLOIN & HASBEEN...

I see I'm in eminent company with you two ! Regrettably, I never managed to achieve any noteworthy academic attainment, other than managing 6 passes out of 7 subjects in the NSW Leaving Certificate in 1957. Which wasn't all that bad in the fifties ? Of course my dear parents could never afford Uni, in any case we only had the two in Sydney in those days, consequently, standards were inordinately high and competitive.

I did six years in the ARA, again a case of starting at the bottom, and simply staying there. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed military life, and learned so much terrific stuff, both formerly and unpretentiously ?

Active service overseas, can't say I enjoyed it but, again I learned an enormous amount about myself, as well as those around me. The most important lesson (perhaps) for me at least, I learned unequivocally, there was absolutely NO GOD ! However could there be, with what I and others had witnessed.

The police force, ah well I'd need a week to try to encapsulate my thoughts and emotions about them ? Attained Detective Sergeant rank and was OIC of my own squad. Big deal. I think not ? You and HASBEEN, SONOFGLOIN, by the sound of it, both of you were the 'Big Deals' !

Yup that's me I'm afraid SONOFGLOIN ? I will freely confess, I was essentially a 'follower', unlike you HASBEEN, a former Commissioned Naval Officer.

In my own defence, I was selected 'case officer' for a few well known crimes, as well as manifestly assisting with the investigation of many of the more famous crimes. But to be quite honest with you, my entire working life since school, could best be described as 'unremarkable' ?

Sure, there are still a scattering of crooks, boofheads, and other mugs, still seeking to render a thoroughly good kicking to my over 70 years frame, well good luck to em' is all I can say.