NEW YORK -- Are you sure you are in the wrong job, but can't figure a way out?

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Tests Uncover Hidden Talents

Most Americans are lukewarm or dissatisfied with their jobs, but it is not easy to get out of a rut when you do not know where to go.

The Johnson O'Connor research foundation, which is a not-for-profit organization with offices in 11 major cities including New York, has been measuring personal aptitudes since the 1930s. Before forming his foundation, O'Connor used to be in charge of developing aptitude testing for General Electric. (General Electric is WNBC's parent company.)

"Aptitudes are natural talents," foundation researcher Stephen Greene said. "These are not based on knowledge or work experience, and they don't change much over time."

Testing is based on 25 tasks. Each task gauges a different talent. Children as young as 14 can be tested, and there is no upper age limit.

Testing, which costs $600, takes seven hours and is ideally spread over two days.

"I was working in television as an agent," said Matthew Moneypenny, who recently took the test. "A very sales-oriented, executive kind of desk job."

Moneypenny says the tests opened his eyes to new possibilities.

"It was the realization that I'm actually a good 3-D thinker, which I had never used before in work or my undergraduate degree," he said. "Shortly after the test, I applied to Pratt. (I) was admitted and am now working on my masters in industrial design."

Blair Tindall, who has been a professional musician since he was very young, also found his test results to be enlightening.

"I was good at music, but I was also very sociable and creative," Tindall said. "These were skills I wasn't utilizing as a musician."

Tindall went back to school and has since become a journalist.

"I taught at Stanford," he said. "I was a business reporter at the Herald Examiner. Now I have a book deal to write about the culture of classical music."

Jason Barrus took the aptitude tests to help him discover untapped talents before looking for a new job.

"I was an engineer for Federal Express," he said. "I didn't feel it was the career path I wish to travel on for the duration of my career."

Barrus' highest score was in tonal memory, which is the ability to remember tonal sequences, or melodies.

"People who score high in tonal memory tend to be specially drawn to music and need a musical outlet," Greene said.

"I do not play an instrument," Barrus said. "I did play the violin when I was in fourth and fifth grade, but I stopped."

Barrus now realizes that many of the activities that he enjoys are related to music.