John Hughes describes his AI-powered app as “Tinder, but for careers.”
Users of the app, called Pathfindr, can scroll through the app’s list of career options and swipe right and left as if they were on a dating app.
“My vision is to get this tool in front of as many high school and college students as I can who were struggling with the same problem that I had: knowing direction or what options are even out there concerning career paths,” said Hughes, a 2023 Emmaus High School graduate.
Pathfindr’s database currently houses 600 careers, and Hughes plans to add more. Users can save careers they like, and there’s also an option to talk to an AI adviser about whether or not it’s worth it to continue researching a particular option.
The app shows users what percentage of careers they’ve already seen.
“It’s fun to explore,” Hughes said.
Public information from government websites forms the core of the information offered on Pathfindr, which includes average salary, top earning potential, education requirements, typical day-to-day activities and skills needed for each career.
Now a junior at Penn State, Hughes is studying corporate innovation and entrepreneurship.
He had no prior coding experience, but found AI-assisted tools such as bolt.new and Cursor enabled him to create a framework, visualize how the app would function and then finalize the code.
“That kind of opened a door in my brain to say, ‘Hey, maybe I can actually do something like this now with the help from AI, maybe this isn’t outside of my ability,’” Hughes said.
Pathfindr launched in the Apple app store in September. Hughes said he’s open to partnering with high schools or colleges but that he’s been advised that working with school board approvals could create a long sales cycle.
An aspiring business owner, Hughes is working on building his sales skills.
He’s using a subscription model for Pathfindr. There are some free tools, but the majority of the app is behind a paywall.
Finding the right customer base to grow the app could be a challenge, said Penn State assistant business professor Brad Leve, noting that job searchers might not have free funds to pay for a subscription app.
Schools already have guidance counselors and other resources invested in career discovery, Leve said, but he sees a need for the content the app offers.
“It seems like younger students certainly crave some advice on what to do in their careers,” Leve said.