Whether exploring what career might fit your interests and expectations, or if you are fairly certain what you want to do but need a strategy to crack the job market, this list of books is a great place to start:

Academic and Science Related

• The Academic Job Search Handbook – Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick
• Put Your Science to Work: the Take-Charge Career Guide for Scientists – Peter S. Fiske
• To Boldly Go: A Practical Career Guide for Scientists – Peter S. Fiske
• Tomorrow’s Professor: Preparing for Academic Careers in Science and Engineering – Richard M. Reis
• A Ph.D. Is Not Enough! A Guide to Survival in Science – Peter J. Feibelman
• Cracking the Academia Nut: A Guide to Preparing for Your Academic Career – Margaret L. Newhouse
• On the Market: Surviving the Academic Job Search – Christina Boufis and Victoria C. Olsen
• Guide to Nontraditional Careers in Science – Karen Young Kreeger
• The PhD Factory: Training and Employment of Science & Engineering Doctorates in the US – Charles Goldman and William F. Massy
• Jump Start Your Career in Bioscience – Chandra B. Louise
• Academic Scientists at Work – Jeremy M. Boss and Susan H. Eckert
• Career Advice for Life Scientists – American Society for Cell Biology

General

• What Color is Your Parachute? – Richard Nelson Bolles
• Do What You Are – Paul D. Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger
• Sweaty Palms – The Neglected Art of Being Interviewed – H. Anthony Medley
• 101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions – Ron Fry