Psychologist and career counselor for 20 years, Eikleberry has put together a wonderful guide for square pegs. If you have always had trouble finding work that stimulates your creative side, or if you have had to choose between job satisfaction and making money, this is the book for you. She challenges you to begin the adventure:  to determine your own path and not follow the expectations of your family, your workplace, or your culture.

She uses the Holland theory of six basic personality types and six basic work types: Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Realistic, Investigative, and Conventional. Naturally, everyone has elements of more than one type. The purpose of the typing is to find a match with an appropriate work environment for you. According to her statistics, there have historically been many fewer artistic jobs than people, but that is beginning to shift now with more creative opportunities emerging.

Once you have determined your personality type, she discusses choosing a career and creating your own career. The last third of the book is a list of professions that have artistic appeal with the three predominant personality types indicated (a screenwriter, for example, is Artistic, Enterprising, and Investigative) which includes a detailed job description and potential earnings.

If you are feeling your way toward something but you don’t know what the possibilities are, or you don’t know how to gauge whether a job will be a good fit, this can be a big help. It won’t help you start a business, but it will help you decide what business to start! 

This is not a book about the financial implications of choosing a creative job, though she gives a salary range for many occupations. Nor will it help you land the position - the book is specifically directed at helping you sharpen your internal understanding of what your strengths and interests are and how they match up with real-world professions.

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