Conversations: a book about how to find your dream career January 8, 2010
Posted by admin in : book review, book reviews, books, career books , 3comments
Conversations by Joseph Twelves
A Problem Far Too Common
Conversations by Joseph Twelves
In middle school, you’re asked what do you want “to be when you grow up”. In high school, you meet with guidance counselors and take aptitude tests to try to figure out the “right fit” for you. In college, you are switching majors left and right trying to figure out what to get your degree in. And too often, you will find yourself stuck in a job that you hate just to pay the bills… purely a means to an end.
These are the scenarios that are far too common when, believe it or not, it IS possible to decide on a career and have it be the right match. The odds of ever working in your dream job are truly slim if you simply drift into whatever comes along. On the other hand, the odds of winding up doing exactly what you want approaches 100% if you combine a proven career decision method with the simple steps needed to find your passion.
Here are the three key tools found in Conversations: Find Your Niche! that can help:
1) A demonstrated research and decision-making procedure called the Find Your Niche Roadmap
2) Focused, in-depth interviews with 150 working professionals from the full spectrum of career fields about the nature of their jobs all in a fun, conversational format
3) Six special appendices offering you an invaluable collection of critical career information and hard to find resources that will save you months of research
This is the key information you need to understand the career landscape and make an informed decision. The vicious cycle of being unhappy in your job, not knowing what to do, but having to provide for yourself and your family is not a pleasant one. The key is to either prevent this from happening, or if you are already in this position, stop it now!
Join the conversation, find even more resources to help you on your journey, and make this problem far less common.
We Compare Books is now on Facebook! August 22, 2009
Posted by admin in : Uncategorized, book reviews , add a commentAs of a couple of days ago I created a Facebook page for We Compare Books on Facebook!
I would like to invite you to view this page and become a fan of it. Starting shortly we will be using this page to display We Compare Books news and discuss other special deals that we have!
Avoid costly mistakes August 5, 2009
Posted by Eugene Aronsky in : Uncategorized, book reviews, books, college bookstores, education, financial aid, international editions, new books, textbooks, used books , add a commentWhen I was an undergraduate buying textbooks, or any books for that matter, was straightforward, I went to the bookstore and bought the book, or I went online and bought it on Amazon. If I could not afford the book I got a student loan to pay for textbooks (close to $12000 of student loans over 7 years of education went to textbooks). Sometimes I even got a textbook scholarship, but this was rare. All and all I did not have to concern myself with worrying, and had a complete disregard for how I would pay back my student loans. Moreover, the financial aid department at my school often encouraged me to think this way.
Today things are different. Sure you can still act as I once did, and many students do just that, but the reality is that student loans are harder to come by, and the job market being what it is, everyone is struggling and will likely continue to struggle after graduation. This is why I want to share what little wisdom I have acquired during my years as a student.
It has been brought to my attention that I do not make any money from the maintenance of this blog, this is totally true. This blog exists, and We Compare Books itself was founded because I want to help students. I feel an affinity with students, and I do not want them to repeat my mistakes. On that note I would urge you to read this blog, if you are a student, and please take the advice to heart. If you are a professor who cares about your students, you can share this blog’s URL with them. If you are a parent, or know anyone who could benefit from the information here, I would urge you to spread this news. The world has changed, and we cannot afford to keep living as though it has not.
All this to say: compare prices. It is imperative that you check prices, all over the Internet and at your local bookstore. This is the only way you can be sure to get the best prices for all your books.
Classic Book Review: “Wurthering Heights” — (Emily Bronte) June 21, 2009
Posted by admin in : book reviews , 1 comment so farThe following book review was submitted to me by one of my friends from Twitter, Lisa R. (@Lisalr1)
Buy Wurthering Heights at the lowest price by clicking on this link.
“Set in the 18th century against the backdrop of the wild and rugged Yorkshire moors, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is the story of unbridled passion, longing and revenge. The story begins when Mr. Lockwood, tenant of an old mansion Thrushcross Grange goes across the windy moors to meet his weird, reticent and brooding landlord Heathcliffe, master of another mansion Wuthering Heights. He is forced to spend the night in Heights because of a thunderstorm and is put up in a room which once belonged to a young Catherine Earnshaw. The night turns out to be wild and stormy. Adding a touch of eeriness is the figure of a young woman whose plaintive wails of ”let me in” sets the story in motion.
Heathcliffe, actually of gypsy descent, was raised in the Heights where he was brought by the master of the house Earnshaw from one of his trips to faraway places. Heathcliffe befriends and falls in love with the wild and passionate Catherine Earnshaw who returns Heathcliffe’s silent and brooding love. Their star-crossed love coupled with the intense hatred of Cathy’s brother forms the core of the book.
How Heathcliffe loses Cathy and his agonizing longing for the only woman he could ever love is the haunting motif of the novel.”
A few tips on the GRE’s from someone who recently took the test May 27, 2009
Posted by admin in : By John Sutherland, GRE exam prep books , add a commentSubmitted by John Sutherland
After such a long absence from the world of Academia, getting ready for the GRE has been no walk in the park for me. For those of you who don’t know how it works, the test is broken down into three major parts with limited time to finish each section. The sections are as follows; Quantitative Ability, Verbal Ability, and Analytical Writing Ability.
Quantitative is a 28 question section that draws from all of your High School Mathematics knowledge such as Algebra, Algebra 2, Geometry, and a wee bit of Trigonometry depending on how well you are doing. The tests are now computerized with no proctoring (chaperone) these days. The way the system works is, it starts off easy and the better you do, the harder it gets. Now if you are a Math wizard or you majored in Mathematics, Physics, Engineering and so on, you probably won’t need much help getting ready. I, however, come from a Liberal Arts background and I find the thought of the Quantitative section none too pleasing. I am basically relearning Arithmetic and Mathematics from the ground up.
Verbal Ability is a 30 question section that tests your vocabulary and word logic, complete with analogies, antonyms, sentence completions and reading comprehension. To me personally, Verbal doesn’t scare me so much because the typical words found on the GRE are cake. Basically, if you can read on a 10th-12th Grade level, you’re in good shape. If your reading and vocabulary isn’t so hot, you will need help. But help there is, which I will talk about soon!
Finally, there is the Analytical Writing Ability section. To many of you, this may seem quite daunting if you have trouble formulating opinions and explaining them through. There are two parts to this test. The first is one 45-minute “Present Your Perspective” task, and one thirty-minute “Analyze an Argument” task. If your spelling is bad, not to worry! If you can form a sentence, you’re in good shape! This part of the test is grading on a 1-6 scale and most schools require a 3. All you have to do is be able to argue concisely and to the point. For practice, ask someone you know for assignments and get to practicing!
Now there are a TON of books and programs out there to help you and that’s what I’m going to talk to you about next. A really good place to start in general is the Research & Education GRE General Test book or REA for short. This whopper of a book clocks in at $35.95 U.S.D. at your typical Barne’s & Noble but the best thing about it is it comes with a CD with three sample tests and six more written ones inside the book! As a general place to get started, I highly recommend this book. However, there are weaknesses.
The Arithmetic Refresher section was very useful. I wrote every rule on flashcards and just outright learned them. However, when I came to the Algebra and Geometry sections, they were sorely lacking. So here is my advice to you; don’t be afraid of “Dummies” books! They are extremely useful. If you’re too embarrassed you’re a dummy at something, just use Amazon or something similar. The absolute best book I found on Algebra is a book called Algebra Demystified : A Self-Teaching Guide, written by Rhonda Huettenmueller and printed by McGraw Hill ($19.95 U.S.D. retail). This book is fabulous and does not cut corners! You LEARN algebra. I also purchased Geometry for Dummies (2nd edition) by Mark Ryan ($19.99 U.S.D. retail) but haven’t made it that far. But I’ve used Dummies books before and they are quite useful!
Now as for Vocabulary, there is an outstanding book of flashcards entitled Research & Education Association GRE General Test Vocabulary Building Flashcards. (REA again) In my opinion, the words aren’t too bad. But I’m a writer. What are you gonna do? Just make sure you get the “Premium CD Edition” which includes a CD-ROM complete with games for vocabulary building! This infinitely useful book runs at $15.95 U.S.D. retail and I feel it is an indispensable asset.
Now if you want to get crazy like me, which I doubt you will, because, well, after all I’m…well…er…crazy, you can read the hardest, oldest books you can get your hands on and highlight every last word you don’t know, make your own dictionary, and further your vocabulary that way as well. A word of the day on your website isn’t a bad thing either, but the words are generally stupid and useless. Read philosophy, particularly anything written before the 1700’s. Those guys were wordy and they liked to show off!
Now one more thing, if you have any leftover Undergrad English and Math books, and hopefully notes, dig them out. I’m using my Writer’s Handbook from Freshman Year (way back in 1989!) and a copy of The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing. Remember, if you are weak in ANY of the above categories, get to practicing! The best thing is, you can retake it. But don’t dilly-dally. The test is only good for five years then you have to give it another go if you take a prolonged break from Graduate School.
Oh, and start arguments with a sound leg to stand on. Just bring up anything; politics, religion, current events, even play the Devil’s Advocate! Start learning to formulate constructed thoughts! This will be a great help to your Analytical Ability section.