Aptitude tests can be great tools to help you align your strengths with a career path. If you have been considering a programming career, you might want to try taking some programming aptitude tests. They can give you insight into the type of skills that programmers use regularly. The tests will also help you identify if you excel at those skills.
What Are Aptitude Tests?
Aptitude tests are designed to predict whether you will succeed at a given task. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Everyone has different educational backgrounds, interests, and hobbies. Therefore it is natural for some things to come easier to some than others. Aptitude tests identify if a new skill will be easy for you to acquire.
They are most commonly used to predict whether someone will succeed in a given career. But, they can also assess how well people learn different subjects. Programming aptitude tests are a bit of both. They are designed to gauge success in programming by determining how well you can solve problems requiring mathematical knowledge and logical reasoning.
If you are interested in programming or starting a computer science degree, you may want to try some free programming aptitude tests. They will give you a taste of the type of problems you will need to solve as a programmer.
ComputerAptitude.com LLC
ComputerAptitude.com LLC offers a very short sample aptitude test. The test is not timed and consists of five questions. This is a great option if you are curious about programming aptitude tests but do not have a lot of time to complete one.
You do not require an account, once you complete the questions, you can click a button to see your results. The test will tell you your score and show you the correct answers.
The questions primarily test your logical reasoning, but there are also some mathematical questions. A strength of this test is that it tests your ability to read a flowchart. Flowcharts are often used in programming when designing algorithms.
The site also offers a longer test that has 25 questions that must be completed in 25 minutes. That test does require you to create an account. However, at the time of this writing, there is a bug that breaks the signup form.
University of Kent Computer Programming Aptitude Test
The University of Kent's Careers and Employment Services website offers a Computer Programming Aptitude Test. The test is timed. You are given 25 minutes to answer 26 questions. The test begins with three untimed practice questions, so it will take a little longer than 25 minutes to complete. You do not need to create an account or provide any information to review your results.
If you are interested in completing this test, do not scroll too far down the page before you begin. The answers to the questions appear on the same page. Although it is nice to be able to see how to solve the problems, this test would have been better if the answers were hidden until the test was completed. This does have a benefit though, as if you do not have time to take the test, peeking at the answers will give you an idea of the skills involved in programming.
The test assesses logical reasoning, problem-solving, pattern recognition, and the ability to follow complex procedures. The questions are fairly simple but are difficult to complete within the timeframe provided. The test will give you a good sense of how well you can program in a high-stress environment.
This aptitude test is not well suited to all people. If you have test anxiety, you may do poorly on the test because it is timed. The test then may not accurately reflect your ability. There is a section where you need to identify which blocks of random characters are different. This could be difficult for someone with dyslexia and isn't typical of how problems are solved in practice.
Programming Skill Aptitude Online Test
Training and education site Programming Skills offers aptitude tests and programming language-specific tests.
There are ten different timed aptitude tests. To complete the test, you need to answer 20 questions in 25 minutes. All of the tests assess the same skills but have different questions.
Each test primarily assesses numerical problem-solving. It'll give you a good idea of whether you excel in that skill, but they do not assess other skills necessary to succeed as a programmer. These tests would be best suited for someone who enjoys solving math problems or someone who wants to assess their mathematical abilities.
Once you complete a test, you will be shown your score and the answer to all of the questions. Any questions that involved problem-solving will have a description explaining how to solve the problem. You do not need to provide any personal information to review your results.
Are Programming Aptitude Tests Helpful?
The answer to this question will depend on what you hope to learn from an aptitude test. Their greatest strength is that they give you a sense of what types of skills programmers need to be successful. If you do not enjoy slogging through a bunch of problem-solving questions, you probably won't enjoy being a programmer.
If you are interested in becoming a programmer but did not do well on an aptitude test, you shouldn't take that as a sign to quit. Tests do not simulate the act of programming. Test anxiety can decrease your score. There are also many tools that make aspects of the job easier and can help you organize your thoughts when problem-solving.
Aptitude tests are best suited for someone that is considering entering a computer science degree. Degree programs generally require a high level of mathematical skills, which is the emphasis of many programming aptitude tests. If you are learning for fun, there are many other skills that are more important, such as creativity. An alternative to aptitude tests is coding challenges and competitions, some of which can lead to cash prizes or even job opportunities.
Learning any new skill takes time. Programming is no different. Even if you are struggling with the skills now, it does not mean that you will not improve over time. These tests can be a great tool to assess your skill development.