by Nayab Naseer

Created on: January 16, 2009   Last Updated: January 27, 2009

Recession Proof Careers

With the economic forecast gloomy, the focus is on recession-proof careers, careers that would always be in demand and pay well irrespective of the economic scenario. The following is the list of such careers:

1. Health care and allied support services - Careers in health care and allied services have been, for long, the number one recession-proof profession. People always get sick, and careers as doctors, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, medical transcriptions, pharmacists, and others are always recession-proof even if there is pressure on salaries owing to out-of-work people not being able to afford the costs.

2. Education - People tend to give priority to education over other needs, and as such teachers, especially Math and Science are always in demand. In times of recession, even out-of-work adults would be picking up from where they left off.

3. Security - Careers in the police and other public security agencies and in the armed forces are always recession-proof. It would take a severe crisis before the government starts cutting back on vital functions like public security.

4. Government jobs - Governments usually step up their services during recession. If nothing else, they have to dole out increased unemployment aid. Recession-proof careers in the government include public administrators, politicians, and contractors doing maintenance works.

5. Energy - Energy is indispensable for the world to go round. One niche in this sector is green energy, which has the backing of the government and is poised to create five million new jobs in the next decade. Since global warming is not going to go away soon, this sector is unlikely to go into recession in the near future. Specific recession-proof professions in this field include ecologists, hydrologists, environment chemists, battery technicians, nanotechnologists and those involved in natural gas exploration, wind, solar and carbon emission technology.

6. Sales, Accountants and Lawyers: Corporate employees would be among the first to face lay offs at recession time, but people in sales and customer support are usually the last to go, as their services are required needed to retain clients and keep operations running. Common trends during recessions are for companies to hire consultants and freelancers instead of regular employees, and rely more than ever on accountants to find out ways to plug cash outflows and get tax deductions.

There are also some careers, like that of debt-collectors and debt-managers, bankruptcy lawyers and others actually thrive during recession, as people need their services more during such times.

The bottom-line is, the key to a career being recession-free is the extent to which such careers have a clear-cut value proposition in the market.

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