Katharine Brooks

When some people think about chaos theory they imagine the flapping wings of a butterfly causing a hurricane in another part of the globe. Katherine Brooks posits that chaos theory can be used as a metaphor to describe career choices, and she makes a lively argument for applying chaos, and other learning theories, to career selection.

Brooks also addresses several of the myths of selecting a major or a career, such as my degree equals my earning power. The truth is, where you live, the sector you work in and job’s responsibilities are more likely to affect your earning power. Another myth is that careers are linear, which, again, isn’t always true. The development of your career can be altered by seemingly random events or deliberate changes. Moving to a new city, deciding to have a baby or going to graduate school, can send your career in a new direction. Much like John Krumboltz and Al Levin’s theory of happenstance in careers (expressed in the 2004 book: Luck Is No Accident: Making the most out of happenstance in your life and career), where chance events and unexpected opportunities can have unplanned but beneficial consequences in the future, Brooks also believes that the linear path cannot describe how careers typically unfold. Therefore, making obvious career decisions—an anthropology major will become an anthropologist—is misguided. There are many potential choices, Brooks argues, and many factors that impact careers. For example the labour market changes dynamically, with new careers rising and other careers falling.

Brooks also argues that readers shouldn’t undermine themselves when they are looking for work. “You must have absolute confidence in your degree and your ability to apply it to the marketplace if you’re going to persuade employers to hire you…one rule is required: no apologies, no regrets, no ‘if only’s,’ and no ‘I should haves’ when it comes to your education” (p.84). Since the reader can’t see the end result of all of her choices and experiences, the result is an unpredictable end, chaos theory at work, any major can lead to a serendipitous occupational discovery.
Possible occupations and areas for additional exploration are discovered on a series of Wandering Maps that the reader can take time to complete while reading the book. Each map is based on where the reader has been, as opposed to where he thinks he is headed, making his experiences count in the decision. In addition to the maps, short exercises to stimulate reflection are included at the end of each chapter.

You Majored in What? will help readers feel greater confidence in their decisions and come up with ways to articulate their decisions and experiences to employers, especially if read in addition to Hermina Ibarra’s Working Identity, or 10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College by William Coplin.… (altro)