Career Choices During Recession

If you’re looking for a longer term career, the best US choices right now are healthcare and education. The United States has a chronic shortage of healthcare providers, quality educators, and if you happen to be a qualified nurse already, quality healthcare/nurse educators. Nurses are in such high demand that it is hard to find nursing educators to train and shape the next generation of providers. Each of these career choices will require you to go to college to get started, so it will take you some time to get into the fields unless you already have a degree. You can also get started with job training programs that allow you to be assistants in either field without earning a full college degree. This would be a good foot in the door and might hold you over until you finish school

If you’re looking for a shorter term career, consider capitalizing on the misfortune of others. It sounds bad, but even with hardship you can find an opportunity. For example, junk collectors are making a lot of money right now clearing out foreclosed homes where the owners just leave their stuff behind and jump ship. All of the furniture, appliances, clothes, and trash needs to be cleared out before the bank can sell or rent the home again.

On the same note of capitalizing on the misfortune of others, it is generally understood that vice related careers are safe during downturns (bars, casinos). Though, even this time around I’ve heard about downturns in Atlantic City and Las Vegas that seem to be telling a different story. The original idea is that when people get depressed about the economy, they turn to their vices for an escape.

On a more positive note, some financial institutions are also hiring temporary workers to help with the planned refinance boom. The hope here is that there will be a wave of qualified home owners and other loan holders looking to take advantage of lower interest rates and better terms for their loans.

Sales people are almost always in demand. There is a reason for this, though. It takes a salesperson to make a salesperson. Usually in the sales field it is understood that either you’ve got it or you don’t. Also, during a downturn, a commission only position might not be so reliable so you might want to consider a position that offers a base salary as well as an additional performance based pay structure.

Don't limit your career options to a single full or part time position during difficult times. Open your mind to the possibility of multiple part time jobs, Internet based income streams, and side jobs around the neighborhood. If you've got a skill or talent, think of ways to make money using it and just get to work.