Created by Guinness World Records Puzzle Master Timothy E. Parker· Advanced Learning Academy· 30 Years· 180 Million Total Solvers· IBM Quantum· Disney·Microsoft· Warner Bros.·Smithsonian
Federal Edition · same dollars as employers

Connect strengths to federal occupational families — with honest limits.

Federal Fit is a 50-question form that supports exploration across occupational groups and illustrative OPM series. Same commercial ladder as employers. Private company — not USAJOBS, OPM, or a government site. No guarantee of eligibility, referral, grade, clearance, or hire. Real World Careers is decision support. It is not the sole method for hiring, promotion, referral, eligibility, grade, or clearance.

Always link official sources for qualification rules. Last-reviewed dates required on series guidance. Exploration and workforce development use — not a qualification determination. Veterans: same price, double extras after ID check.

Real World Careers Federal Edition is operated by Advanced Learning Academy LLC, a private company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or part of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, USAJOBS, or any federal agency. Assessment results do not determine federal eligibility or qualification. A submitted PO is an order request until ALA accepts it in writing. Stripe is the payment rail.
Procurement

Scale under micro-purchase threshold

Direct answer: $14,400 is below the current general FAR micro-purchase threshold of $15,000; exceptions and agency procedures may apply. The general threshold changed on October 1, 2025 (FAR 2.101). Section 508 still applies to covered ICT micro-purchases. We do not publish an accessibility conformance report, and we are not FedRAMP Authorized. Not legal advice.

SAM.gov

Registered small-business vendor

Direct answer: Public identifiers: UEI Z272LH7MCDT2 · CAGE 1A8H4. A UEI is not proof of a currently active award registration. Confirm active SAM status, representations, and small-business size at award time. Registration must be renewed every 365 days. Not on GSA Schedule. Not FedRAMP Authorized. No public accessibility conformance report is published. Accommodations are available on request. Pay by card, ACH, invoice, or accepted PO. See federal compliance and ACR status.

Operational approval

What is open. How it may be used.

Employer and federal sales are open. $14,400 is below the current general FAR micro-purchase threshold of $15,000; exceptions and agency procedures may apply. Hiring or promotion use is allowed only as one component. The purchasing employer or agency owns job-relatedness and any required validation.

GO

  • Consumer Career Fit and Professional
  • Employer any seat count — card, ACH, invoice, accepted PO
  • Federal any seat count — same three rails

Honest limits

  • Not the sole method for hiring, promotion, referral, eligibility, grade, or clearance
  • Stripe is the payment rail, not the complete federal contract
  • No published ACR. Not FedRAMP Authorized. Not GSA Schedule
Credentials

Created by the Guinness World Records Puzzle Master for Advanced Learning Academy

Federal Edition is a private Advanced Learning Academy product — created with the same Guinness-level craft standards, never as a government site.

Creator

Guinness World Records Puzzle Master

Timothy E. Parker — Guinness World Records recognition as the world’s most-published puzzle compiler pedigree. Real World Careers carries that craft standard into work-relevant assessment design.

Company

Advanced Learning Academy LLC

Real World Careers is a product of Advanced Learning Academy (Carmel, Indiana). Institutional quality, responsible-use language, and workforce tools — not a random quiz site.

Pedigree

30 years · 180 million total solvers

30 years of puzzle and cognitive design. 180 million total solvers across 80+ countries. This is lifetime reach of the body of work — not a Careers-only user count.

Construction

IBM Quantum

Test-construction computations executed on IBM Quantum hardware for form integrity and composition analysis. IBM did not validate, endorse, or score your results. Read the quantum record →

Disney Microsoft Warner Bros. Smithsonian 1,400+ organizations

Pedigree describes the creator’s body of work and institutional clients. It does not guarantee job placement, federal qualification, or hiring outcomes.

Ten problems · ten solutions

Where organizations get stuck — and how Real World Careers responds

Each problem has a concrete product response. Results support human decisions; they never replace job analysis, interviews, or official qualification rules.

Problem 1

Series exploration overload

Problem. Thousands of OPM series and vacancy postings overwhelm applicants.

Solution. Federal Fit maps a 50-question profile to occupational families and illustrative series for research — not a qualification determination.

Problem 2

Résumé keyword games

Problem. Federal résumés optimized for keywords still miss role demands.

Solution. Pair vacancy specialized experience with domain strengths and honest gap notes.

Problem 3

Hiring path confusion

Problem. Competitive, excepted, Pathways, and internal paths look identical to outsiders.

Solution. Federal Edition links to official USAJOBS/OPM resources with last-reviewed dates and plain-language path prompts.

Problem 4

Agency workforce planning gaps

Problem. Leaders lack comparable participant evidence across cohorts.

Solution. Same price ladder as employers — Pilot through Enterprise — for structured pilots with cohort reporting options.

Problem 5

Internal mobility and reskilling

Problem. Agencies reassign people without a shared capability map.

Solution. Use Federal Fit for exploration and development first; selection requires job analysis and agency process.

Problem 6

Veteran and career-switcher translation

Problem. Military and private skills do not auto-map to series language.

Solution. Action plans prompt series research and document checklists without promising eligibility.

Problem 7

Time-to-hire and applicant experience

Problem. Long processes lose strong candidates.

Solution. Standardized invitations, accommodations path, and clear purpose statements reduce avoidable friction.

Problem 8

Fairness and adverse-impact monitoring

Problem. Unmonitored tools create risk for agencies and applicants.

Solution. Intended-use labels, human review, privacy thresholds, and continuing monitoring for consequential use.

Problem 9

Procurement and claim overreach

Problem. Vendors imply endorsement or guaranteed placement.

Solution. Real World Careers is private — not USAJOBS, OPM, or a federal agency. No guarantee of hire, grade, clearance, or referral.

Problem 10

Scale without unit clarity

Problem. Agency packages hide per-participant economics.

Solution. Locked ladder with free seats: $750 (5 at $150) · $3,000 (20+5 extra) · $7,500 (50+25 extra) · $14,400 (96+64 extra) · $22,500 · 300 delivered · $75/seat; tests & placement by quote.

Research evidence

Peer-reviewed meta-analyses on cognitive ability, person–job fit, and structured hiring (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998; Sackett et al., 2022; Kristof-Brown et al., 2005; McDaniel et al., 1994). Literature context — not invented RWC outcome percentages.

Read research evidence →

Compare packages · same dollars as employers · extras are the discount

Federal pricing

Same dollars as employers. Only instrument and series copy differ. Card, ACH, invoice, or accepted PO.

Default upsell

Package

$3,000

20 purchased + 5 extra · 25 delivered · $120/seat

  • 20 purchased assessment seats
  • 5 free for program staff / second desk
  • Better unit economics than pilot
  • Ideal for cohort / class pilots
Pay Package — $3,000

Team

$7,500

50 purchased + 25 extra · 75 delivered · $100/seat

  • 50 purchased seats
  • 25 extra for train-the-trainer / QA
  • Invoice / Net 30 available
  • Program office multi-series cohort
Pay Team — $7,500
Monthly target

Scale

$14,400

96 purchased + 64 extra · 160 delivered · $90/seat · under $15k micro-purchase

  • 96 purchased seats
  • 64 extra · 160 delivered · $90/seat
  • Priced under federal micro-purchase threshold ($15,000)
  • Card, ACH, invoice, or accepted PO
Pay Scale — $14,400
Enterprise

$22,500 · 300 delivered · $75 per seat

Enterprise is 150 purchased seats at $150 plus 150 extra — 300 delivered for $22,500 ($75/seat). 900 to 100,000+ use the same $70 floor. Custom counts use the calculator.

Pay Enterprise — $22,500 Invoice or PO
What federal buyers get

Job seekers

  • Occupational family and illustrative series ideas
  • Competency and work-context notes
  • Official-resource links (USAJOBS / OPM)
  • Action plans and document checklists

Agencies & programs

  • Structured pilot packages
  • Cohort completion tracking options
  • Exploration vs selection use labels
  • Enterprise $22,500 for 300 delivered · mega on the same $70 floor
Experience the instrument

Preview Federal Fit (exploration use)

Same 50-question, six-domain science. Private commercial product — not USAJOBS/OPM; not a qualification determination.

Agency purchase path

How a federal office buys

The dollars match the employer ladder. Pay by card or ACH, request an invoice, or submit a PO number. A submitted PO is an order request until ALA accepts it in writing. Stripe collects the matching amount. It is not the complete federal contract.

$14,400 is below the current general FAR micro-purchase threshold of $15,000; exceptions and agency procedures may apply. Section 508 still applies to covered ICT micro-purchases.
  • No public accessibility conformance report (VPAT / ACR) is published — ACR status
  • Not FedRAMP Authorized and not on the GSA Schedule — security posture
  • Yes—only as one component of hiring or promotion, after the organization documents job-relatedness and completes any validation required for that use
  • Capability statement and pilot SOW · compliance

Pay, invoice, or send a PO

Same calculator. Named manager on every order of $7,500 or more. One-hour initial response during published Eastern business hours.