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It's impossible for a child to spend too long around adults without one of them coming up and asking, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" They mean for this to be a relatively simple question; the idea is that you'll quite easily be able to say something like, "A teacher" or "A doctor" and then the adult will move on--and bother someone else. But the truth can be a lot more complicated, and if you've ever felt confused or annoyed by the question, you have every right: Knowing what you might want to do with your working life is one of the biggest, oddest, and hardest questions of all. It might take many decades to find a good answer to it--and it's one that most adults are still grappling with... This is a unique book about careers and the world of work written expressly for children. It takes us on a journey around some of the most essential questions within the topic: How can one discover one's passions?, what should a "good" job involve?, what is a good amount of money to try to make?, how does the economy function?--and acknowledges that the job you might do one day probably doesn't even exist now. The result is a book that should spark some exceptionally fruitful conversations and help children look to their future work life with positivity and anticipation.… (more)
Description
It's impossible for a child to spend too long around adults without one of them coming up and asking, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" They mean for this to be a relatively simple question; the idea is that you'll quite easily be able to say something like, "A teacher" or "A doctor" and then the adult will move on and bother someone else.
But the truth can be a lot more complicated, and if you've ever felt confused or annoyed by the question, you have every right: Knowing what you might want to do with your working life is one of the biggest, oddest, and hardest questions of all. It might take many decades to find a good answer to it'and it's one that most adults are still grappling with...
This is a unique book about careers and the world of work written expressly for children. It takes us on a journey around some of the most essential questions within the topic: How can one discover one's passions?, what should a "good" job involve?, what is a good amount of money to try to make?, how does the economy function?-and acknowledges that the job you might do one day probably doesn't even exist now. The result is a book that should spark some exceptionally fruitful conversations and help children look to their future work life with positivity and anticipation.
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.”