"You Majored in What" Chapter 1 & 2

In “You Majored in What: Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career” Brooks helps students on the cusp of graduation make sense out of their overwhelming job search. According to Kate Brooks, liberal arts career services director, the answer is: Just about anything you want to do!

Contrary to the traditional myth that liberal arts majors are limited to few career options, Brooks explains how degrees in such fields as English, economics and history can be very marketable to future employers in various sectors. Through practical techniques including visual mapping, storytelling and experimenting, she shows readers how to plot out their career goals and translate their broad field of study in interviews and resumes.

With an emphasis on the mathematical chaos theory, she illustrates how the path to a career can be thrown off course by a key element: the butterfly effect. The concept, built around the premise that little things can have enormous effects, illuminates how seemingly insignificant events can significantly alter a student’s career path. Brooks also uses the chaos theory to show students how to make new connections from the seeming chaos of their lives. One popular aspect of this theory is the butterfly effect: the notion that a small action now can have a dramatic effect in the future.