2/9/09 Finding Your Mad Skillz And The Jobs That Appreciate Them

This is just a quick note to say that in the event that you find yourself in the mood for a career change (or a new career period if you are a recent graduate), but you can't decide what it is exactly that you want to do, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this mucho fabulous book called 150 Best Jobs for Your Skills.

Because over the past few weeks I have read, oh I don't know, maybe a BAZILLION career help books, and this one is hands down the best for helping you figure out what jobs might be good for you based on your skill set. (You would think that would be a no-brainer, matching jobs to skill sets, but you'd be surprised. Most books either tell you to do what you love and never mention the skills involved, or have pages and pages of tests that will tell you what strengths you possess, but not what jobs use them. It's really very frustrating when you think about it).

For example, let's say you end up taking an aptitude test or two, which tells you that you are a good communicator and you like math. But they won't tell you what to do with that. Or, if you have a really in-depth test, it'll say something like, "If you scored well in communication and math, you should be a math teacher". Which is all fine and dandy except that you're like, "But I don't want to be a math teacher! The pay stinks and I hate kids!" And you'll go on to the next test, and it'll tell you to be a math teacher too, and the next one, and the next one, until you either become a math teacher and hate it, or you end up spending the rest of your adult life unemployed, living in your parent's basement, and eating Cheetos that you found under the couch cushions because you think that math teacher is the only job that ever uses your particular skill set and you just don't want to be a FREAKING MATH TEACHER!

Ahem.

Enter this book, which not only has the assessment to see which skills you possess, but also contains lots of wonderful lists of jobs that actually use those skills, AND actual job descriptions of each job, so not only do you know the job title, but also what it does. Plus the lists are organized by pay, growth, number of job openings, education requirements, and if you can be self-employed or work part time. Nice to know when you're picking out your future career.

So...looking for a new career? Don't know where to start? Get this book, 150 Best Jobs for Your Skills.

I promise you don't have to be a math teacher if you don't want to.