Some people, particularly the action-oriented ones, would rather have a root canal than do traditional self-assessment activities. But everyone, from a college sophomore seeking a first internship to a CEO-in-training to someone wondering whether to jump ship and do her own thing, has to go through self-assessment to avoid making drastic career mistakes.

Have a look at a few of these self-assessment sites: we'll tell you which ones are good for what kinds of people and problems. There's probably something here for everyone in your family.

1. Career Doctor
This is the place for college students to start. Consider the connections between various majors and careers, as well as the skills needed in various fields.

2. University of Waterloo Self-Assessment
This is a good site for pencil-and-paper folks who want to keep their responses and take them to a career advisor. The graphic portrayal of the entire career exploration and job search processes (yes, folks, those are two distinct things) is really helpful for moving beyond the haven't got a clue stage.

3. Career Key
This free site gives you a read-out on your preferences and then links them to particular fields, which you can in turn investigate with a click in the online Occupational Outlook Handbook. It's good for college students or career changers trying to lift the fog of career confusion.

4. Industrial Strength Career Planner (ASVAB)
This site is a spin-off of the armed services career aptitude test, and includes military as well as civilian fields.

5. Your Team of Career Counselors
Here's a softer approach, based on the fact that most people learn best from talking to other people, and can actually benefit from seeing themselves and their strengths reflected back to them. This one is almost always a great deal of fun and great for your self-esteem!

6. Self Directed Search
This tool is based on the Holland career types. For $7.95 you get an in-depth report about your preferences and what they have to say about different career possibilities.

7. Kiersey Character and Temperament Sorter
This instrument offers a quick questionnaire based on the MBTI types, which you can then take to a counselor for interpretation. It's also available in Spanish, Portuguese and German.

8. Assessing Your Emotional Intelligence
UTNE Reader magazine shares this quiz by Dan Goleman, author of several books on E.Q., the factor that accounts for up to 90 percent of your career success. If you're having trouble at work, the problem might be about your levels of EQ rather than about having chosen the wrong career.

9. Career Vectors
This self-assessment tool is intense and takes up to three hours to complete, but offers you more in-depth differentiation between potential career fields than others do. At the end, you get to explore descriptions of fields and jobs in three different databases. Cost: $69.95.

10. Creative Career Change
This site, which is designed for people deciding whether or not to change careers, offers quizzes to help you uncover the cause of your career unrest. Is it the job itself, the organization, the content of your career, issues about your own identity or the balance of career and personal life that's causing you distress? It also combines the Strong, SDS, and MBTI to prepare a 95-page Career Design report ($175) about your career possibilities. You don't have to purchase the report to have a look at the helpful career unrest questions, however.

11. Rockport Institute Career Testing Program
This system tests both aptitudes and interests. It takes about three and a half hours to complete in your home with tapes and other materials, after which you receive an extensive written report and an hour of debriefing by telephone. Cost: $450.