--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is a test. It is only a test. Had it…" description: "\"This is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual job, you would have received raises, promotions, and other signs of appreciation.\" — Robert Be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/robert-benchley-2562_appreciation_this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it_838006.jpg" --- # This is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual… ![“This is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual job, you would have received raises, promotions, and other signs of appreciation.” quote by Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/robert-benchley-2562_appreciation_this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it_838006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/robert-benchley-2562_appreciation_this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it_838006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/robert-benchley-2562_appreciation_this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it_838006.jpg) > “This is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual job, you would have received raises, promotions, and other signs of appreciation.” [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement mocks the idea that a test is merely a test, implying that real work brings tangible rewards. **In simple terms:** Tests are not real work; real jobs give rewards. Key Takeaway Recognize the difference between practice and real results. Themes work reward illusion Mood wry thoughtful Type satirical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - education - performance evaluation - goal setting Key Concepts satire motivation Questions to Reflect On - What value do you find in testing? - How do you stay motivated during practice? A Different Perspective It may undervalue learning and growth that occur during testing phases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actual Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actual-job-617309/) [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Job Received](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-received-617310/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Promotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promotion/) [Raises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raises/) [Raises Promotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raises-promotions-617312/) [Test Actual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/test-actual-617311/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) ## Related quotes > [“We needed a greater sense of urgency.” So the management team decided that field managers would not be eligible for promotion unless their branch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvard-business-school-press/we-needed-a-greater-sense-of-urgency-so-the-management-team-decided/) [Harvard Business School Press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvard-business-school-press/) > [This life is a test-it is only a test. If it had been an actual life, you would have received further instructions on where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/this-life-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-if-it-had-been-an-actual-life/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [This life has been a test. If it had been an actual life, you would have received actual instructions on where to go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-holzman/this-life-has-been-a-test-if-it-had-been-an-actual-life-you-would/) [Winnie Holzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-holzman/) > [ The idea of it \[Star Wars\] is really exciting, but the most fun part is the actual job you get to do: the character… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alden-ehrenreich/the-idea-of-it-star-wars-is-really-exciting-but-the-most-fun-part-is/) [Alden Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alden-ehrenreich/) > [“in most companies people are doing two jobs: their actual job and the job of managing others’ impressions of how they’re doing their job.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/in-most-companies-people-are-doing-two-jobs-their-actual-job-and-the/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [It's amazing to me that songwriting is an actual job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-coyle/it-s-amazing-to-me-that-songwriting-is-an-actual-job/) [Nadine Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-coyle/) > [I realized that there was an actual job of making movies. They weren't created by elves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lussier/i-realized-that-there-was-an-actual-job-of-making-movies-they-weren-t/) [Patrick Lussier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lussier/) > [It's so insane to me that this is my actual job, that I get to come to set and do what I enjoy doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-saylor/it-s-so-insane-to-me-that-this-is-my-actual-job-that-i-get-to-come-to/) [Morgan Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-saylor/) > [I never wanted an actual job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-savoretti/i-never-wanted-an-actual-job/) [Jack Savoretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-savoretti/) > [I was DJing for this party promotion called 1st Flight Entertainment, having to DJ on the weekends and then also going to school in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tay-keith/i-was-djing-for-this-party-promotion-called-1st-flight-entertainment/) [Tay Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tay-keith/) > [I really want to go against Ben Askren. We should do a cross promotion. I'll put up a million dollars vs. him because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dillon-danis/i-really-want-to-go-against-ben-askren-we-should-do-a-cross-promotion/) [Dillon Danis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dillon-danis/) > [I believe that those who promote discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or any other grounds are gravely mistaken about the values that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-clinton/i-believe-that-those-who-promote-discrimination-on-the-basis-of/) [Bill Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-clinton/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [No religion has mandated killing others as a requirement for its sustenance or promotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-religion-has-mandated-killing-others-as-a-requirement-for-its/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Robert Benchley > [I have often wondered how they manage to get return envelopes which miss, by one-quarter of an inch, fitting the blank you are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-have-often-wondered-how-they-manage-to-get-return-envelopes-which/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [You might think that after thousands of years of coming up too soon and getting frozen, the crocus family would have had a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/you-might-think-that-after-thousands-of-years-of-coming-up-too-soon/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/it-took-me-fifteen-years-to-discover-i-had-no-talent-for-writing-but/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [But ice-crunching and loud gum-chewing, together with drumming on tables, and whistling the same tune 70 times in succession, because they indicate an indifference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/but-ice-crunching-and-loud-gum-chewing-together-with-drumming-on/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The naturalistic literature of this country has reached such a state that no family of characters is considered true to life whichdoes not include…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-naturalistic-literature-of-this-country-has-reached-such-a-state/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [There is no such place as Budapest. Perhaps you are thinking of Bucharest, and there is no such place as Bucharest, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-is-no-such-place-as-budapest-perhaps-you-are-thinking-of/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [I am both a public and a private school boy myself, having always changed schools just as the class in English in the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-am-both-a-public-and-a-private-school-boy-myself-having-always/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed be doing at that moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/anyone-can-do-any-amount-of-work-provided-it-isn-t-the-work-he-is/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [After an author has been dead for some time, it becomes increasingly difficult for his publishers to get out a new book by him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/after-an-author-has-been-dead-for-some-time-it-becomes-increasingly/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [One of the chief duties of the fan is to engage in arguments with the man behind him. This department of the game has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/one-of-the-chief-duties-of-the-fan-is-to-engage-in-arguments-with-the/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [“There are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who do not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-divide-the-world/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/why-don-t-you-get-out-of-that-wet-coat-and-into-a-dry-martini/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Drinking makes such fools of people, and people are such fools to begin with that it's compounding a felony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/drinking-makes-such-fools-of-people-and-people-are-such-fools-to/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Behind every argument is someone's ignorance. Behind every argument is someone's ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/behind-every-argument-is-someone-s-ignorance-behind-every-argument-is/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) [Explore all 161 Robert Benchley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) ## More Appreciation quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Appreciation is the purest vibration that exists on the planet today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/appreciation-is-the-purest-vibration-that-exists-on-the-planet-today/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Like gratitude, authentic appreciation in the workplace is a realisation that can be nurtured and accessed with daily mindful practice. By and large, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/like-gratitude-authentic-appreciation-in-the-workplace-is-a/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Recognize and appreciate little things, and enjoy what Life has to offer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/recognize-and-appreciate-little-things-and-enjoy-what-life-has-to/) [Cesar Nikko Caharian III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/) > [Men, when it comes to women, value diamonds and put no stock into copper. Diamonds are rare. You can find copper anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/men-when-it-comes-to-women-value-diamonds-and-put-no-stock-into/) [Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Browse all 2,528 Appreciation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual job, you would have received raises, promotions, and other signs of appreciation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Benchley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it-been-an-actual-job-you-would/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Appreciation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it-been-an-actual-job-you-would/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/robert-benchley-2562_appreciation_this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it_838006.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/robert-benchley-2562_appreciation_this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it_838006.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/robert-benchley-2562_appreciation_this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it_838006.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual job, you would have received raises, promotions…” — Robert Benchley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert Benchley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This is a test. It is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it-been-an-actual-job-you-would/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/this-is-a-test-it-is-only-a-test-had-it-been-an-actual-job-you-would/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```