Good Careers in a Bad Economy, Part 1

Today’s college and high school students listen to adults discuss “the worst recession since the Great Depression.” They hear their elders air concerns about what type of world their children and grandchildren will inherit down the road.

Guess what, elders: The next generation already has inherited its first hardship from the economic crisis: career uncertainty.

Today’s teens and young adults are receiving guidance to pursue “recession-proof careers.” This is in contrast to their baby boomer parents, who did not face such a rocky career road.

Will the next generation be the first to inherit a lower standard of living compared with their parents?

Geared to young adults and teens, this five-part series will outline both the best career prospects and the potential dead-ends in today’s job market. And yes, there will be advice on recession-proof careers. But the main intent is to demonstrate how members of the next generation still can pursue career dreams, while remaining realistic at the same time.

Employment Statistics Are Scary

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports more than 4 million job losses since January 2008, including 2.6 million from November 2008 through February 2009. The official unemployment rate was 8.1 percent at the end of February, up from 4.8 percent a year ago, and this doesn’t count an estimated 2 million people who are long-term unemployed.

Consider the Labor Bureau’s unemployment figures based on education compared with a year ago. The official count for high school dropouts is 12.6 percent, up from 10.4 percent. For high school graduates, 8.3 percent, up from 4.7 percent. For people with “some college,” 7.0 percent, up from 3.8 percent. For people with bachelor’s degrees and other advanced degrees, 4.1 percent, up from 3.1 percent.

Good Careers in a Bad Economy
Part 1: Graduating in a Recession
Part 2: According to the March 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics
Part 3: Potential Careers Arising from the Stimulus Bill
Part 4: Career Forecast: Look for Overlapping Opportunities
Part 5: Career Planning: The More Things Change, the More they Stay the Same

These Labor Bureau stats reinforce that it’s still in a young person’s best interests to pursue higher education, in spite of the increasing challenges involved in meeting tuition costs. A typical college graduate now takes about six years to attain a so-called four-year degree, according to the nonprofit College Board, because they take breaks or reduced credit hours to work.

Still, the question lingers: Pursue a dream career or a recession-proof career? Payscale.com suggests that college students can do both. The recession-proof career is described as a “parachute,” just in case the dream career doesn’t work out.

The Department of Labor’s “Dictionary of Occupational Titles” contains 28,800 listings. Among those, there should be room for both a dream career and a recession-proof parachute career.

Michael Thompson