You Majored in What Mapping Your Path From Chaos to Career Pdf

09/01/2012

You lot Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career

Volume Review by Kate Juhl

Book Review: Y'all Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career. By Katharine Brooks. Penguin Books, 2009 (320 pages).

If you are a career counselor who works with liberal arts students (or perhaps you were a liberal arts student yourself a "few" years agone), you lot are most probable intimately acquainted with "The Question." Brooks begins her engaging career guide past acknowledging the question nigh probable to strike fear in the heart of a liberal arts student: "What do you plan to do with that major?"

Brooks rapidly explains why linear career thinking does not work for the average liberal arts major, preferring instead the messy science of anarchy theory. In layman's terms, chaos theory comes from mathematical formulas that were created to better predict outcomes despite multiple variables in a very complex system (originally, a better weather condition prediction system). For the purposes of this book, Brooks distills chaos theory to one of its virtually simple elements—the butterfly outcome, terming it "a butterfly flaps its wings and yous go a task." She introduces five basic tenets of anarchy theory, explaining how they chronicle to the circuitous system that is career planning:

• Even if you lot tin can't predict the hereafter, you tin can assess what you currently know, what yous cannot know and what yous can learn

• Abductive reasoning is more helpful than deductive or inductive reasoning (in other words, keep an open mind)

• Change occurs constantly; you tin can expect the unexpected to occur

• Despite areas out of your control, systems do ultimately reveal an guild

• Indicate attractors in our lives move united states of america toward or away from something

The best way to harness the power of chaos theory, Brooks contends, is to follow a path of "wise wandering."

With this theory firmly in identify, Brooks walks readers through a thorough ready of cocky-assessment activities, many of which will appeal to visual learners. Readers outset create a wandering map, essentially a mind map of the most significant or interesting things they have washed and then far in life. They later get back and look for categories and themes on the map. Readers then explore the 10 mindsets employers seek. In affiliate four, they create another map, this fourth dimension mining experiences related to their majors. Once readers have assessed these by experiences, they move to mapping their futures, creating a "possible lives" map. Depending on the results of this do, Brooks then presents three possible approaches: probability planning, possibility planning or "seeking the butterfly." The first approach is for the student who feels fairly confident in a direction, but understands the need for multiple options given the complex organisation. The "seeking the butterfly" approach, on the other finish of the spectrum, is for the pupil who still feels lost. This approach centers on intentions instead of goals.

For readers who feel particularly stuck, Brooks advocates creating an intention box—a compilation of images that attract or interest the reader. As I read this section, I couldn't assist just think future editions of the volume volition recommend the website Pinterest as an platonic online tool to create this blazon of visual compilation.

As a career counselor who spends the majority of my days working with liberal arts students, I plant this book to be an extremely valuable addition to existing career literature. As a practitioner, I picked upwardly new tools and questions to apply with liberal arts students equally they brainstorm the circuitous process of cocky-discovery. Brooks does a commendable chore of creating a career guide that speaks to liberal arts students—her guide is peppered with unique quotes and anecdotes from the liberal arts besides as from pop civilisation. The writing is conversational, friendly and engaging and I often found myself reading farther than I planned in one sitting. Don't be fooled past the 320 pages—they will become quite quickly. Fifty-fifty the obligatory section on resume writing felt fresh and engaging to someone who has read quite a few books on the subject.

I have only 2 small-scale critiques of what I experience is an especially compelling, useful and readable book. Equally I worked through the self-assessment activities, I did feel in that location was a particular emphasis on visual learning. In full disclosure, I am not a visual learner and at times I found some of the activities a tad overwhelming. I concord, however, that these types of activities make the most sense when dealing with something as nebulous equally chaos theory. Visual learners in item will honey this book, every bit it allows immense room for the creativity and flexibility not afforded by well-nigh other career guides or routine assessment tools. My just other concern with the book is whether students and readers will brand the rather substantial time investment needed to obtain the maximum value from the volume. The students I work with are often looking for a "quick fix" and might not be willing to spend the hours needed to fully complete each of the book's activities. I think Brooks makes a especially compelling case throughout the book, all the same, for why creating a quick answer to "The Question" is non in the reader'southward best involvement. I feel confident students who accept the time to work through the book will end upward on much more solid basis and even if they don't have the concluding "answer" to "The Question," they will be much better positioned to appoint in "wise wandering" and happen upon their best career move. Whether yous are looking for innovative ideas to apply to your own liberal arts career counseling or a volume you tin recommend to students (or use in a class), I highly recommend this book.

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Kate Juhl is a Program Manager with the University Career Center & The President's Promise at the University of Maryland, College Park. In this part, she serves as a liaison to the College of Arts & Humanities, College of Journalism and LGBT students/organizations. Previously, she worked for five years in the Career Services Heart at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, VA. She can be reached at kjuhl@umd.edu .

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