The Essential 55

The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student by Ron Clark is written to a target audience of teachers and parents.  Ron outlines 55 rules that made him a very successful educator (I actually learned about this book by watching a movie based on his life story).  A good number of his rules are applicable to everyone, including high school graduates and young adults.  There are also some great stories in the book about adventures and escapades that he did with his students - excellent material for young adults looking to volunteer with children.  I'd definitely recommend this book for a general readership.  My paperback is almost 200 pages and I found it to be a quick to medium read. 4 out of 5

Considering Careers with Diversity

Certain careers lend themselves to diverse learning opportunities.  I had no idea of this in high school - hadn't even considered it.  However, after trying several different careers, it seems to me that some have more choices than others.

Me running sheets off of a  Didde Forms web press In Texas

For example, in printing there is definitely choices in how a young adult can specialize.  When I learned how to print, I originally learned on a 'forms' web press.  This kind of press printed off of paper that started on a roll.  It then printed, cut, and folded envelopes and pamphlets on the fly for magazines etc.  Then I got trained on a larger web press that printed the magazines themselves.  Then I learned how to operate a couple sheet-fed presses - rather than starting with a roll of paper, these presses use pre-cut sheets.  Finally I worked for 4 years on a newspaper press that could print a 48 page newspaper with color using 6 rolls of paper at once.  I could have worked on any one of these presses for the rest of my life.  But opportunity arose for me to learn another, and I took it.  However, my experience was limited to the print shop, ink and water, paper and scum, etc. Often we'd print the same jobs (or similar jobs) on a weekly or monthly basis.  There was some diversity and opportunity for learning.

Working in Information Technology has afforded me different, (and I think) more diverse opportunities to learn.  Every company uses IT in some way.  Since I've become a software developer, I've helped support and learned about companies in the following industries:
Hospitality (Hyatt hotels)
Marketing (Critical Mass)
Health Care (Alberta Health)
Fleet and Freight Management (Richer Systems Group & Ryder International)
Financial/Banking (Neteller/Neovia)
Energy - Oil & Gas (Energy Resources Conservation Board)
Law and Litigation - (various law firms)
I'm not just learning and using the software technologies that these firms use, but I also have to learn about their businesses so I can properly build and support their software.

There are other careers in the workplace that afford similar opportunities.  Another example is working in the Police Force.  Sure one can be a cop on the beat, but there are a bunch of specialty fields in policing that could potentially make the job interesting.  Just think about an episode of CSI - there's specialists in studying bugs and their stages to determine how long a body has been dead.  There's specialists in financial forensics, chemical forensics, biological forensics, technology forensics, etc.  There's the canine unit, the SWAT team, the air unit, and more. 

Every business in every industry needs an accountant (or a bunch of them) to deal with revenue, taxes, bills, etc.  A career in accounting can afford a person a lot of opportunities and experiences.  Many accountants eventually work their way up to become CFO's (Chief Financial Officers) or even CEO's.

Another example is working in journalism.  Journalists have to learn about what they write about.  Consequently it can be a very interesting and diverse field if a grad or young adult is a good writer.

Even Lawyers have specialties.  I recently read an article about a lawyer that specialized in law surrounding the international trade of antiquities and archeological artifacts.  Who would've thought?

When young adults are thinking about a career, they should consider which ones afford them the most options.  Or, conversely, if a graduate is passionate about something in particular, he or she shouldn't think that it limits them to only certain career choices.  Putting a passion together with another career can be dynamite.

Don't miss our 'Career Resources for Graduates and Young Adults' page!  It's got a nice collection of links related to careers and direction.

What Are You? What Do You Want? by Mick Ukleja and Robert Lorber

Who Are You? What Do You Want?: Four Questions That Will Change Your Life by Mick Ukleja and Robert L Lorber is a relatively quick read around 150 pages.  In it, the authors discuss four questions that will change your life.  While this book isn't specifically targeted to graduates or young adults, I think it's pretty applicable.  They sprinkle interesting stories and examples with statistics and thought provoking exercises that make this book a good option if one is serious looking for answers to these questions.  I'd recommend this book and give it a 4 out of 5.

The Racquetball Player - Finding Yourself in Your Career

I have a colleague at work who is an avid racquetball player.  She's also very good at what she does in the workplace - facilitating organizational change.  I was flattered the other day when she asked if she could talk something through with me.

She had been presented with a job offer at another company, and she was seriously considering it.  It offered her more stability, more opportunity to advance her career, and potentially more opportunity to travel.  However, the position also potentially required her to hob-knob with big wigs at events and make speeches.  She wasn't entirely comfortable with this.

She found herself questioning whether she should stay working where she is now (safe, comfortable, secure in her position, and happy with the contacts she is making) or move to this new position that would be more challenging, stressful, risky, but also have potentially more prestige and more of a learning opportunity.

She was asking herself great questions.  But which of the positions was a better fit for her personality - who she is on the inside?  I asked her this, and she laughed and told me about something she observed about herself with her racquetball playing.  She's a pretty competitive person, and likes a rip-snortin' racquetball game.  However she noticed that she had been avoiding certain players that she had played with in the past.  When she thought about why she trying not to schedule a game with those people, she realized that they were only there to win.  She didn't have any fun playing with them - they were playing like it was a serious competition.  She wanted to play hard, but she also wanted to enjoy herself and have fun too.

I wondered out loud if she could see herself being able to do that in this new position?  Was it all about climbing the corporate ladder and getting the position, or deep down inside did she want to be able to enjoy the work she was doing?  It's great to take a challenge and learn, but if it wasn't a fit for who she really is as a person, should she really do it?

While you're here, don't miss our 'Career Resources for Graduates and Young Adults' page on the right.  It has several good links to videos, articles, and web sites that you may find beneficial.

Summer work option during post-secondary education

One of the software development teams I'm a part of was having a 'lunch celebration' the other day to commemorate another successful release (and a happy business client).  Over pizza I discovered that one of our client business managers is an officer in the Navy reserves.  I was intrigued to discover that he had joined the reserves to keep busy and make money over the summer break after his first year of university.

He did this for each of the subsequent summer breaks while he was in university.  It gave him a source of financial income, a different learning experience, and added some discipline and rigor to his life.  He certainly didn't have to worry about finding a summer job.  Having stayed in the reserves after finishing university and getting a full time job he has moved up the ranks and is now a commanding officer for the local unit.

Congratulations! Now What?

Congratulations! Now What? A Book for Graduates by Bill Cosby is a relatively quick read based on college commencement speeches that that the author has given.  While this is a small book, I found it a bit of a difficult read - I think this was because most of the humor was written for a speech and it doesn't come across the same way in the book.  Or maybe it was just me.  If you are looking for some serious content and advice about what to do with your future, this is probably not the book for you.  It is full of stories and humor though, so it might make a good grad gift.  That's not what I bought it for though.  My hardcover is 130 pages.
2.5 out of 5

Get Smarter

Get Smarter: Life and Business Lessons by Seymour Schulich is primarily a mentoring book for young adults with entrepreneurial aspirations.  Essentially each chapter is a lesson that Seymour has learned over the course of becoming a billionaire.  The majority of the lessons are very practical and backed up with entertaining, personal stories and advice. The Decision Maker, Patience, and Career Lines are chapters I've definitely recommend. This book was a medium read for me at almost 300 pages. 4 out of 5