cover image The Career Chronicles: An Insider's Guide to What Jobs Are Really Like - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Over 750 Professionals

The Career Chronicles: An Insider's Guide to What Jobs Are Really Like - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from Over 750 Professionals

Michael Gregory. New World Library, $15.95 (262pp) ISBN 978-1-57731-573-5

Former attorney Gregory launches his writing career with the book he wish he'd had as a college student, a comprehensive guide to some of America's most popular jobs, including notes from the professionals themselves. In 23 profiles, Gregory introduces a double-handful of careers-from landscaping to accounting to veterinary medicine-with background info, ""by the numbers"" data (employment and salary levels) and quotes from a list of practitioners on topics like ""College vs. Reality,"" ""The Biggest Surprise,"" and ""Would you do it all over again?"" Going for depth over breadth, Gregory's selection of careers is rather narrow, but includes representative careers from 10 fields-including health care, architecture, the law, education, social sciences, sales and marketing-providing enough coverage for most job-seeking college grads. Without sugarcoating the grueling details, this guide still accentuates the positive, and hundreds of personal voices add to the encouraging tone.