While the current economic slowdown is now affecting nearly every industry
and business sector, some will tend to hold up better. Can your skills transfer
to the health care industry, or the accounting industry? Consider how your
experience, skills and strengths might work in these fields.
A recent CNN poll finds that nearly 60
percent of Americans believe we're very likely facing a depression.
So, while most Americans would suffer in a
depression, some careers should remain strong, maybe even be bolstered. Here's
a look at 15 career fields with particular resilience:
Accounting Jobs: Bad economic times increase
businesses' and individuals' desire to wisely account for every last dollar.
Education Jobs: Even in the current slowdown,
our political leaders seem committed to education spending, and voters
continue to pass education bonds to upgrade facilities.
Entertainment Jobs: During the Great
Depression, the movie industry boomed as people craved escapism and had time
to burn. That would very likely be the same today: The film, video game,
sports, and creative arts industries should remain viable.
Utilities Jobs: This is the classic defensive
stock investment. Even in the worst of times, utilities stay cranking.
Home, car, commercial, and industrial
repair Jobs: In a bad economy, the rule is—don't replace, repair.
It doesn't just go for you and your 12-year-old sedan or your leaky toilet. In
a depression, struggling car manufacturers will more often opt to repair than
replace a balky welding robot.
Alternative energy Jobs: Despite all the
media attention to solar and wind energy, it's possible that the nuclear
industry would, over the next decade, create the most jobs.
Health care Jobs: The jobs
with the most security include registered nurses, physician assistants,
internal medicine physicians, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, and
physical therapy assistants.
Law firms Jobs: If they specialize in
discrimination law, immigration law, or sexual harassment—they'll still need
plenty of employees.
Law enforcement Jobs: In tough times, the
level of crime tends to increase.
Community colleges Jobs: Many people return
to school for retraining when they're unable to land a good job. Even people
with college degrees will turn to community colleges because they typically
teach technical skills and offer practical, career-related training at a price
that's affordable—even in a depression.
Senior services Jobs: There's a wide range of
industries and fields that will most likely continue to benefit from baby
boomers getting older, including senior housing, home retrofitting, geriatric
care management, and, of course, the aforementioned healthcare.
Vice industries Jobs: Sex tends to sell well
in a depression, as does liquor.
Clergy : People seek
spiritual support in tough times.
Repossession, foreclosure, and
debt collection Jobs: When borrowers can't pay back their loans on homes
or cars or credit cards, someone has to collect and evict. If you're a car
person, there will be jobs repossessing giant SUVs from borrowers who took
advantage of no-qualification loans even when they knew it was more than they
could afford.
Government Jobs (especially homeland
security, health care, accounting/auditing, information
technology, and taxes): Government has the power to collect taxes in
good times and bad. It may be the last bastion of secure employment, requiring
40-hour workweeks and offering ample sick days, holidays, and vacation days.