aN

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman
BRIAN FERRIS poses with Gail Kungle, senior counsellor at the

Youngs-Ferris International Vocational Testing Service. Says Ferris:
“The object of career testing is not just to find a job, but to find one you

Qe love and can do successfully and creatively.’’

N

CLOSING OU

NORTH VANCOUVER STORE-

FRAMES AND SUNGLASSES

Incl

BQ
WESTERN

f
1320 Lonsdale ac 13th Soveet, North Vancouver

Nother discounts apply No cetunds of exchanges © ATP sales tinal Personal shopping ons I
!

What's
Going
On?

PAGE 41

39 - Sunday, Februsry 25, 1990 - North Shore News

PSYCHOLOGIST’S TEST MAY TELL YOU WHY

LIKE THOUSANDS who force themselves to roll out of
bed cach morning, heading to work for Brian Ferris was an

exercise in mind over matter.

But day in and day out, for
more than five years, Ferris made
his daily trek to the daily grind ata
Shelt Oil plant in Sauh Sie. Marie,
Michigan, in order to support his
wife and young children.

With no career alternative, Fer-
ris stuck it out at a job he loathed
and eventually found himself
depressed and despairing.

“I graduated from high school
with a 52 per cent average — my
grades were terrible,’’ remembers
Ferris. ‘‘My guidance teacher told
me not to bother furthering my
education.”*

Then one day an event changed
his life forever.

Ferris heard Dr. Stephen
Youngs, a renowned American
vocation! counsellor, speak on a
unique method of career testing
Youngs had pioneered. His phi-
losophy was simple: Everyone has
a mission, all you have to do is
help them find it and successfully
achieve it.

A surprised Ferris discovered his
personal mission was to be a
psychologist.

“I wasn’t as convinced as he
(Youngs) was,"’ recalls Ferris, now
a North Shore resident. ‘! didn’t
even know what a_ psychologist
did.”

Today Ferris is a well-known
Vancouver psychologist, but he
hasn't forgotten where he got his
start. In 1975 he opened the

ACOB

Reporter

Youngs-Ferris International Voca-
tional Testing Service and has been
helping hundreds of people find

were nuts, but he followed the ad-
vice of the tests and has turned out
to be a very successful social
worker.”’

Testing gave Dave Brown, a
former light fixture builder, a new
goal to work towards. ‘The results
weren't a surprise bul a confirma-
tion of what I felt,’' says Brown,
who will graduate this year with a

A
“I had one fellow who was a serious drug
dealer. The tests showed social work was
the field for him. Everyone thought we

were nuts...°’

— psychologist Brian Ferris
a a ae ES

careers they love ever since.

The Young-Ferris method is
based on the premise that through
carefully-selected test: materials, a
pattern of a persons’ interests,
level of achievement and talents
will emerge. With this new-found
knowledge, they can work towards
a new direction with confidence.

Says Ferris: ‘‘Some people cry
after they find out that they can do
what people have been telling them
for years they can't.

“1 had one fellow who was a
serious drug dealer. The tests
showed social work was ‘he field
for him. Everyone thought we

degree in electronic engineering
from Simon Fraser University.
“*Most people tend to
underestimate their own abilities. |
think the testing helped me in
terms of confidence: It convinced
me {0 return to university and get a
degree.”’

What sets the Young-Ferris
method apart from other career
testing is the wide area tested.
Most people go through between
30 and 40 hours of testing on
average. Tests probe areas such as

See Test
Page 40

Custom

Mini Blind
Sale
NB Nee,

Sale ends Feb. 28

: ~

| Parking in,rear,

rine: Drive N