What is Reddit's opinion of What Color Is Your Parachute? 2020: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

You may be thinking of the question too broadly. Break it down more. Is your goal to make money? Or are you ok with a comfortable lifestyle, but not extravagant - used cars, smaller house, etc.? Do you want to work 40 hours and be done or are you ok sometimes working nights and weekends? Do you want to own your own business? Do you prefer physical labor or mental challenges, or both? Do you want to be outside, work with people, or are you ok working at a desk alone? Do you have a desire to help people in your career or do you just want to do your job?

Those questions will help you hone in on what you really want.

And I will say, I don't think many people find significant fulfillment in their jobs. You have to have hobbies that make you happy outside of work, too.

There's a book called What Color is Your Parachute? that's been around forEVER that's going to ask these kinds of questions and help you.

I'm going to say that I've got a BS and MS in civil engineering, I've been working in the field for 20 years, and I still have no idea what I REALLY want to do (my degree-seeking motivation was money, I grew up poor and didn't want that anymore). I have an idea of what I'd like, but it's kind of too late (sole bread winner, two kids and just took the wrong path). This feeling of being lost is totally normal. Sometimes you just have to press on and hope it all works out - find joy in other parts of your life.

I really enjoy What Color Is Your Parachute when job hunting. The first chapter is free on amazon - it outlines the "typical" job hunting approach vs. the most effective approach. If the first bit resonates you should check it out - your husband might like it too!

The whole book gives you different job hunting advice, like new interview strategies, new ways of knowing yourself and how to frame what you offer to employers, how to have the upper hand (or at least be able to act like you do). It was really helpful to read through a chapter or two on those days when when job hunting was depressing and demoralizing.

thanks for sharing your candid thoughts and experience. Agree that it's hard for a lot of people - you should read these books http://lifedesignlab.stanford.edu/ + https://www.amazon.com/What-Color-Your-Parachute-2020-ebook/dp/B07KNTLX94