Gr 5-8–These well-conceived introductions focus on various jobs in each field, the education and experience required, and expected earnings. The books are well organized, making it easy to gain an overview of the major aspects of the work. By focusing on entry-level jobs and high-level professionals, and work requiring relatively little training, the authors provide well-balanced accounts of opportunities available to people at a range of educational levels and aspirations. Builders and Planners has some minor problems. Byers mistakenly refers to architects, engineers, and landscape architects as planners rather than designers. She also misunderstands the essential role of design in achieving sustainable buildings from an energy standpoint; rather than being the heart of the energy-saving system, as she states, HVAC equipment size is a consequence of building design.
