Everyone dreams of the perfect job – a place where they’ll be happy; a place where they’ll make good money; a place where they’ll enjoy success. Maybe you’re filling out applications for colleges. Maybe you’re already in college and deciding on a major. Or maybe you’ve just graduated from college and are looking to get a job. When it comes down to it, it’s often difficult to choose which career path you want to pursue. That’s why Nicholas Lore gives us some guidance in Now What? The Young Person’s Guide to Choosing the Perfect Career (Simon & Schuster, 2008).

Lore says that only 30 percent of all people truly enjoy their job. That means that more than half the workforce is dissatisfied and may not be performing to their fullest potential. “So if 70 percent of educated people are not enthusiastic about the work they do, that’s the measure of how well the standard, old-fashioned career-choosing methods work. The bottom line: you are unlikely to have a life you love or live up to your full potential if you follow the standard methods. You’ve got to give up the trusting, passive attitude some of your friends have. They think the common, everyday methods nearly everyone uses to pick their future direction will help them make good choices leading to a fulfilling life. Well, think again, dude and dudette. It isn’t going to happen. That’s the best way to make sure you spend your life doing something that doesn’t fit,” says Lore in Now What?.

For detailed charts, problem solving strategies, and advice on making decisions, pick up a copy of Now What? and take the journey to the right career path with Nicholas Lore.

-Amanda Fornecker