Careers

DK books are known for their visually appealing layouts and insightful subject-matter discussions. This book maintains its DK DNA with a small mutation—the illustrations are more like clipart. The information presented and the formatting are crisp and clean. The main part of the book is a collection of 134 careers that are each illustrated over a two-page spread. Each career has a brief (one-to-two-paragraph) description, list of related careers, career paths, skills guide (qualities needed to be successful in that career), a flavor of what it is like to work in that career (listing both pros and cons), a salary guide, and which industries offer employment in that field. The introductory pages ask readers to think primarily about their skills, what they would like to do, and their accomplishments. Subsequent pages discuss understanding yourself and steps to consider to prepare yourself for your job.

This book’s focus is on breath, not depth, probably to encourage readers to conduct their own research. Salary guidelines are illustrated on a five-point scale by the number of starts, which has its merits and drawbacks. The book is geared toward middle-school students and high-school freshmen. Given its objective to help students start thinking about and researching their careers, it does a great job.