By Patty Inglish

Recession Proof Employment With and Without a College Degree

Some careers maintain success and stability even during periods of recession and economic depression in America. One senior citizen told me the story of his career success, beginning his tale with the comment, We’ll, you gotta eat! He was referring to the food business, and mostly grocery retail and wholesale.

This particular gentleman lived from about 1910 through the 1990s, experiencing The Great Depression as well as a few recessions. He spoke of being able to purchase a pound of hamburger or 10 hot dogs for 5¢ in the early 1930s, and of how he found long lasting employment.

In high school, he worked part-time for a local small grocery before air conditioning was widely used. He told me how they put sawdust on the floors to absorb moisture, expeecially in hot weather and always in the meat department. After graduation, he went on to work in our city’s first Kroger grocery store and later purchased a franchise for a convenience/grocery store and continued his success into the retirement years. He said he always had work, even when his friends lost their jobs during the Depression Years and during recessions.

For some, then, grocery wholesaling or retail operations is a recession proof career field, despite rising prices.

This idea is the basis for economists’ and financial experts’ advise to people to invest in Consumer Staples — things we need to have in order to simply exist and survive, no matter the economy. It is a good bet, then, that if you work in Consumer Staples, you will keep your job long-term in up and down economies and even disasters, all other factors being equal. Consumer Staples include groceries, health care services and products, health & beauty aids and home products like soap, utilities and energy, and a few others. Some professionals advise that bars and taverns will continue to thrive during recessions, as well as the use of tobacco. remember that the first business to reopen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina was actually a tavern that stayed open despite the water damage, located on the edge of the undamaged sector of the city.

This article will present stable long-term employment oportunities for College Graduates through 2020 and beyond, with another 5 high growth career fields that do not require extensive classroom training.