A Young Person’s Guide to Careers, Money - and the Future, by The School of Life London

Have you ever felt confused, scared or even a little annoyed when an adult has asked, as if it were the most normal thing in the world: What do you want to do when you grow up? If so, you are not alone. Knowing what you want to do with your life is one of the hardest questions you will ever have to answer and it’s one that most adults are still grappling with…

What Can I Do When I Grow Up is a book about the world of work written expressly for young people. It takes us on a journey around the most essential questions within the topic, such as:

• How can I discover my passions?
• What should a 'good' job involve?
• How much money should I make?
• How does the economy work?

The result is a book that will spark exceptionally fruitful conversations and help you look forward to your work life with positivity and anticipation.

Extracts from the Book:

Why it’s hard to know what you want to do

“A big difficulty in all this is that our brains are not very good at telling us what would make us happy. We know quickly enough when there is a problem, but that’s different from knowing what we need to do to feel content.”

What is a job?

“The real reason you can get money for working is this: People pay money because they have a problem that they cannot solve on their own. They need someone else to help them - someone they generally do not know and who can’t just do it as a ‘favour’ - and they have to hand over some cash in exchange for their assistance.”

What do you really enjoy?

“Thinking about pleasure is central to achieving a good working life. This idea sounds odd only because schools almost never think about fun. Fun does not come into it around school work: you’re meant to suffer - or so it can seem on a bad day. However, your ability to do your job properly as an adult is going to depend on you getting a good sense of what actually brings you joy and then finding a job that matches.”

Details:

• Hardback book with exercises
• 175 pages
• 227 x 160 mm