“Go for your life,” some American kids are saying today. “Go your own way” and “Do your own thing” are the slogans some songwriters have left us. “Do what you want to do.”

Different cultures and different generations have chanted a lot of mottoes about that stage of life when a person is becoming an adult and making hard choices about the future.

Mottoes like these make it sound like becoming a stand-up adult is a totally excellent adventure. But – reality-check – most young people are also worried about finding some kind of interesting work that also brings them the income to make a comfortable life.

Whether you call it choosing a career, making a living, or just getting a job, everybody would like to find a way to be amped-up about their work and still pay the bills. What’s the secret? No magic words, no mysterious spells will do it for you, but we’ve managed to pin down some advice that might give you some direction.

On the pages that follow, we’ve asked a variety of Americans to tell how they found a path to a career that is right for them and what they learned along the way. They tell the good part, but they don’t leave out the bad moves and wrong turns. You’ll meet people who found their calling while doing very hard work for very little pay. Several will tell you how their families influenced their choices. Others describe years spent going in one direction, only to learn they really had to follow a different path.

This issue also contains some advice from experts who found their life’s work in helping other people find the right careers. They might help you figure out what skills, credentials, and passions you bring to the search for a career.

These stories are all different, but, really, they are all about the same thing: self-determination, empowerment, dreaming your own dream and finding a way to get there.

The Editors

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CHOOSING A CAREER
What You Offer the World
Richard N. Bolles
A renowned life-planning expert gives advice on how to look at yourself to identify your skills and strengths.

Culture Affects Career and Life-Planning
Richard N. Bolles
This same expert explains different cultural views of life and career planning.

Congraduations, Dude: Dell Computers CEO Michael Dell
Brief articles based on excerpts of speeches delivered by prominent people to graduating students at various colleges and universities. “Congraduations” is a mash-up word, combining “congratulations” and “graduation.”

A River Runs to It
Jeff Rennicke
An outdoors writer describes how nature called him to a career.

Congraduations, Dude: American Express CEO Kenneth I. Chenault

Chili, Hot Dogs, and the Family Legacy
Jeanne Holden
Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington, D.C., is a family business that has been passed to a second generation dedicated to customers and community.

Making Memories to Make a Living
Walter Scheib
A former White House chef explains his love for the hospitality industry.

Congraduations, Dude: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

A Gamer Goes to “The Darkest of Days”
Bill Wadleigh
A video-game producer describes how he came to the dream job he didn’t know he wanted.

A Tribute to Dirty, Difficult, Dangerous Jobs
An interview with television host Mike Rowe of Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs who discusses the value of dirty work and the qualities of the people who do it.

Swimming with Sharks
In his blog, Mike Rowe describes diving into a school of hungry sharks.

Congraduations, Dude: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer

Choosing a Career in Changing Times
Phyllis McIntosh
New technologies and economic restructuring have created a different environment for career selection and job-hunting.

Giving Public Service, Gaining a Career
Siobhan Dugan
Participants in Americorps, the national youth service program, discover skills and gain experience that help them choose a career path.

Empowering a Community
Gwen Moore
Moore, now a member of the U.S. Congress, recalls her experience in Volunteers in Service to America in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Congraduations, Dude: Pop Singer Billy Joel

Every Call Is Different
Andrea Clark
A female firefighter left a career as an electronics engineer to take up work in emergency services.

Getting to College
The nongovernmental organization College Summit is working in 10 states to give promising secondary school students a boost into college.

Open Your Eyes
Eldon Harmon
A veteran of College Summit recalls the experience.

A Journey of Revisions
Maggie Leffler
A physician-novelist explains why she must pursue two careers.

Additional Resources
Books, articles, Web sites, and films on choosing a career.

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