Credit Suisse First Boston Book

As a career coach, a common scenario is a client unhappy in their current job and wishing to change fields, usually because of a bad fit. Such a transformation is a lot easier than done, especially when the client has to maintain their current income level. Without "knowing somebody" who can vouch for your transferable skills, people either have to get more education/training or take an entry level job in the field. Any resource that could help in that process is welcome, as it is tough to have to break the bad news to a client that their wishful thinking could be a pipe dream unless they have the time and resources and fortitude to transition gradually.

"Create the Job You Love" (and make plenty of money) is a superficial attempt at dealing with this thorny issue. While a scant few pages are devoted to some very high level observations about changing jobs, the vast majority of the book is simply a listing of over 500 jobs that exist in the marketplace. I guess the premise is that you can look at each of these jobs and see which ones appeal. This listing has some value, since many people I come in contact with have no idea what they would like to do and only know what they don't like - their current job.

I guess I shouldn't have expected much more since there are no quick fixes to this problem. Getting the best understanding of your personal makeup, your potential vocational strengths, using your network and willingness to be flexible for a while is the most likely path to success. Much has been written on this topic, but you won't gleam much that will be valuable in this book. Sorry, folks - there is no magic bullet here.