In Careers By the People, you present the average workday through interviews from a broad spectrum of careers, offering advice and inspiration for high school and college graduates as well as those looking for change. Why was this an important book for you to write?

Careers By the People was written because I didn’t prepare for the workforce, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into, so my goal was to put my thoughts and ideas to paper to help the next generation with career choice and career readiness. I was a first-generation, low-income student which is deemed an FGLI. About 50% of college students are in this category. So, I wanted to tell my story and note what I should have done to prepare for the workforce, so they do not make the same mistakes.

My goal was simple; get a job that pays well. Selling technology pays well, but didn’t interest me, so I was bored to tears for years. I try to drive that message home when I speak to students, as many believe money equates to happiness, so I inform them that money is great, but also to enjoy your labor, hence why I write about career readiness, speak about it, produce YouTube videos about it and more.   

What was your process for selecting the interviewees for this book? 

Some of the process was a joy, such as reaching out to leaders in the industry I knew in the hopes they would tell their story about how they secured elite positions. Receiving those questionnaires was a big score. Others I connected with via professional associations. Another angle was through advertising in my college’s alumni network and magazine. Basically, any angle and way I could think of to ask workers to take 15-30 minutes to fill out a questionnaire about their occupation. Many were intrigued, and many couldn’t careless.

Did you learn anything during the course of your research that surprised you? 

A lot. When it came to the questionnaires, I received some from former associates who I barely knew who answered the questions succinctly whereas close friends wouldn’t take the time to fill them out.

As for the workers themselves, the ones who took risks were happier or satisfied versus the risk-averse ones. One that stuck out was a clerk who truly disliked her job, and her responses, even after many edits, were hysterical. 

Another curveball was when the professional truly disliked their occupation, and on one of the last questions asking if they would do the same career again, they said yes, which is mind-boggling.

Please understand that I had to review and edit a variety to find 101 nuggets of gold. Some questionnaires were “yes/no” for 90% of the questions. The goal was to determine what it was truly like to be an x, y, or z as the only person who knows about your job/career is you, so what’s it like to be an actuary?

What is one thing you hope readers take away from Careers By the People? 

The questions. I hope anyone in school, the military, or changing careers views the questions and asks people in the industries that interest them the questions so they know what they are getting into instead of guessing “Yeah, I hear that it pays well, I will do that.” I want people to do a little homework on career choice before spending time and money on an occupation that won’t last 3 years, and then they are starting from the beginning again, trying something else.

The book is a fun read and offers suggestions and ideas to help you choose what profession is best for you.

Author Links: GoodReads | Website | YouTube | LinkedIn | Amazon