Table Of Content01_117743 ffirs.qxp 2/26/07 2:44 PM Page i
Cool Careers
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
3
RD EDITION
by Marty Nemko,PhD
Foreword by Richard N.Bolles
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Cool Careers
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
3
RD EDITION
by Marty Nemko,PhD
Foreword by Richard N.Bolles
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Cool Careers For Dummies®, 3rd Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Copyright ©2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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About the Author
Marty Nemkohas several cool careers. In his 20th year as career coach, he’s
served more than 2,500 clients. U.S. News & World Reportcalled him “Career
coach extraordinaire.” The San Francisco Bay Guardiannamed him “The Bay
Area’s Best Career Coach.” He enjoys a 97 percent client-satisfaction rate.
He’s Contributing Editor for career issues at U.S. News & World Reportand
career columnist for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazineand for the
MensaBulletin.Before going national, his column appeared in the Sunday
LosAngeles Timesand San Francisco Chronicle.
He’s the author of 500+ well-published articles and five commercially and crit-
ically successful books, including the All-in-One College Guide, a consumer
advocate’s guide to choosing, getting into, finding the money for, and making
the most of college.
He’s in his 18th year as producer and host of Work with Marty Nemko,on a
National Public Radio affiliate in San Francisco.
He’s hosted a nationwide PBS pledge-drive special, Eight Steps to a Better
Worklife,and been a repeat guest on major TV and radio shows, including
theToday show and CNN Headline News Comcast Local Edition, on which he
now appears daily. He has been the primary interview source for dozens
ofarticles, including those in The New York Times,Washington Post, and
WallStreet Journal.
He holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and subsequently
taught there.
He’s the hybridizer of six commercially introduced no-sprayroses; they don’t
require spraying for disease.
Believe it or not, he finds time for hobbies. In 2006, he starred in a San Francisco
Bay Area production of Neil Simon’s Broadway Bound,in which he played the
cheating husband opposite his real-life wife. At that show, he also played the
pre-show music on the piano. (He has played more than 2,000 professional
jobs as a pianist.) In summer 2007, he directs the play Same Time Next Year.
Marty’s first job: New York City taxicab driver.
Marty’s Web site, www.martynemko.com, offers 500+ of his published articles
for free. If you want to be coached, by phone or in person, by Marty or one of
his personally selected and trained associates, e-mail him a brief description
of your situation at [email protected].
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Dedication
To my parents. As teenagers, they were wrested from their home in Poland
and into concentration camps. After the war, they were placed on a cargo
ship and dropped in New York City with no money, no family, no education,
no English, but plenty of Holocaust scars. Despite it all, they succeeded.
Forthem, work — even though they didn’t have cool careers — was their
healer. They are my inspiration.
Author’s Acknowledgments
To the thousands of my clients and callers to my radio show who taught me
much of what is in this book.
To Paul and Sarah Edwards, for their significant contributions to the self-
employment chapter.
To the book’s wise reviewers: Jim Gonyea, career forums host on America
Online; Marilyn Maze, director of career products for American College
Testing; the queen of online career searching: The Riley Guide’s Margaret
Riley Dikel; and a guy who painstakingly reviewed every word of this edition,
my colleague Steve Piazzale.
To other people whose ideas enrich these pages: Michael Scriven, Greg Stock,
Warren Farrell, Michael Edelstein, Bob Karr, David Brodwin, Allan Gold, David
Wilens, Rick Newman, Miriam Weinstein, Jeffrie Givens, Becky Washington,
Arthur Jensen, Harvey Davidson, Walter Block, Libby Pannwitt, Lynaire
McGovern, Jared Taylor, Julie Petrie, Jackie Strellis, Robin Happy, and the
dean of career experts, the author of What Color Is Your Parachute,Dick Bolles.
Thanks, John Jones, for your reassurances.
To the good people at Wiley: Editors Lindsay Lefevere, Georgette Beatty, and
Sarah Faulkner for being consummate professionals while always friendly and
tactful. I especially appreciate Lindsay’s telling me, before I started writing
this edition, that I was one of the best For Dummiesauthors. That motivated
me to try to live up to her expectations. I have had a number of publishers,
and you guys are, by far, the best. Consumer Dummies rocks!
And finally, my dear wife, Barbara Nemko, not just for having contributed a
great chapter to this book and offering suggestions on the rest of this manu-
script, but for being a model for all of us to aspire to. I love you, forever.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration
form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services
Media Development
Project Coordinator:Heather Kolter
Project Editor: Georgette Beatty
Layout and Graphics:Carl Byers,
(Previous Edition: Norm Crampton) Stephanie D. Jumper, Heather Ryan
Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Lefevere Anniversary Logo Design:Richard Pacifico
Copy Editor: Sarah Faulkner Proofreaders:Aptara, John Greenough,
Jessica Kramer,
(Previous Edition: Neil Johnson)
Indexer:Aptara
Technical Editor: Steve Piazzale, PhD
Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker
Editorial Assistants:Erin Calligan Mooney,
JoeNiesen, Leeann Harney
Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan,Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services
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Contents at a Glance
Foreword....................................................................xix
Introduction.................................................................1
Part I: Finding Your Cool Career, Right Here...................7
Chapter 1: Your Cool Career Journey..............................................................................9
Chapter 2: The Cool Careers Yellow Pages...................................................................15
Chapter 3: The 35 Most Revealing Questions About You..........................................159
Chapter 4: Making Your Career Choice........................................................................173
Part II: Training for That Cool Career .........................187
Chapter 5: Degree-Free Career Preparation................................................................189
Chapter 6: Degree-Based Career Preparation.............................................................201
Part III: Landing That Cool Job..................................213
Chapter 7: Creating the Right Mindset for Job Seeking.............................................215
Chapter 8: 30 Days to a Cool Job..................................................................................223
Chapter 9: Crafting the Right Resume in Less Time..................................................245
Chapter 10: Impressive Interviewing...........................................................................263
Part IV: Making Any Career Cooler ............................281
Chapter 11: Making the Most of Any Job.....................................................................283
Chapter 12: Light My Fire, Please! Overcoming Procrastination..............................311
Chapter 13: The Keys to Successful Self-Employment..............................................329
Part V: The Part of Tens ............................................343
Chapter 14: Top Ten Career Musts for Women...........................................................345
Chapter 15: Top Ten Career Musts for Men................................................................351
Chapter 16: Top Ten (Or So) Career Musts for Everyone.........................................357
Appendix: The Cool Career Finder...............................363
Index.......................................................................371
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