About the Book
So, what’s inside Careers By the People?
I inform of my obstacles and antidotes of my career. Plus, my thoughts about career choice and ideas on how to achieve a great career instead of being good at your job. Here’s an excerpt of some advice I received:
I attended a wedding where a man talked to me about careers. He said, “No matter what, don’t be an insurance adjuster; it sucks. The client and your manager will always hate you. I did it for 40 years.” So, this guy not only hated his job but he had also been doing it for 40 years.
Careers By the People breaks down the chapters via Holland Occupational Themes and reissues them to the modern world:
- Enterprise: The Ballers (the leaders)
- Realistic: The Hustlers (the people who get things done)
- Investigative: The Einsteins (the thinkers)
- Artistic: The Rock Stars (the creators)
- Social: The Good Kids (the helpers)
- Conventional: The Perfectionists (the organizers)
There are 101 different occupations from 101 different people ranging from CEO to Bee Keeper. Each were asked 20+ questions and the majority had 5+ years of experience in their field. You might find some responses funny, others depressing, many thought-provoking and all are authentic and eye-opening.
Here are some quick excerpts from the questionnaires
What do you like about your occupation?
I love the ability to start up something from scratch. This provides a lot of freedom and responsibility for my own success. In start-ups and smaller companies there are no real politics like those that exist in larger companies.
What are the misconceptions about your profession?
People think all farmers carry pitchforks, wear straw hats and overalls when it is really getting to be a high tech profession.
Also, it’s an easy read. Review the introduction, conclusion, pick the careers that interest you, the bonus tips and your journey will begin. The bonus tips are a simple 1 pager when you meet someone with an occupation that interests you.
About the Author and reason for this book:
I always wanted to know what it’s like to wake up to a career that you enjoy so I spent years researching occupations you could say after 30+ years, he’s using his degree in sociology.
Whilst writing this book and getting more entrenched in the careers world I’ve been learning a lot. I never knew that I was a “First Generation” student. I just knew my parents really wanted me to get a college degree. I did know that where I’m from one could describe as working class on lower income as my father always said “We are poor.” Then again, everyone was in the neighborhood so what’s the difference? I was never really a good student, I excelled in some classes and others bored me so my grades were all over the place. Later, I learned that that was undiagnosed ADHD. The bad part of that is lack of focus but when you find something you enjoy you have hyper-focus so it’s way better than being average.
I graduated UMass Amherst which was pivotal in transforming my life. The place imbedded hutzpah that I didn’t get goofing around my home town. I started at UMass Boston, transferred to UMass Amherst plus took a class at Amherst and Quincy College so 4 colleges = a bachelor of arts!
My career started with Fidelity Investments but I wasn’t challenged and wanted to move up quicker so I changed jobs more than Larry King changed wives. I kept on failing in Boston so went to Los Angeles, I wound up in technology sales and did better than average. Then, for the love of God, the idea of Careers By the People arrived in my head and that kept my attention for years. So, I truly hope you enjoy the book and the story that goes with it. Maybe it can help you make a better career choice than I did. Best wishes and much aloha.