Top 15 Recession Proof Jobs for College and High School Graduates

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.

Reports coming from national economists, labor specialists, and the National Association of Colleges and Employees state that employers are offering signing bonuses and higher starting salaries from 2008 onward, than in the past two decades and will continue to do so in several occupations, despite economic recessions.

These occupations are high demand jobs suitable to graduates that are specializing in the career fields of Business, Finance, and Information Technology and earning related academic degrees.

The Millennial Generation (b. ~ 1980 - 2000) is nearly as large as the Baby Boom Generation. This means that not only will Millennials require additional and longer-term Health/Medical care and wellness services, as have the Boomers, but that they require additional years of Financial Planning, because they will live longer in the advent of increasing medical advances. They may even work greater numbers of years and own more businesses or own them for longer periods of time.

Until 2100 AD or so, Millennials will continue to be top consumers of Information Technology advances, comptuers, and gadgets and they will be tracked in additional new databases globally. They will be emoployees, business owners, and consumers of products and services made avaiable in by the expanding worlds of Engineering of all kinds. Many will join the ranks of engineering-degreed Private Space Explorers, working for major corporations. Increasingly, they will also work in and consume the services and products of Green Industries.

Looking at data from the US Department of Labor, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and employment and labor specialists around the country, we have the results listed below, with some videos.

The industries doing the most hiring and expecting the highest percentages of job growth in high demand occupations nationwide through 2020 are the arranged by salary:

Marketing Managers

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Advertising or Journalism

Median salary: $98,720; Forecasted job growth: HIGH

Financial Managers

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Finance

Median salary: $90,970; Forecasted job growth: HIGH

Chemical Engineers

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Engineering

Median annual salary: $78,860; Forcasted Job growth: Moderate

Electrical Engineers

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Engineering

Median annual salary: $75,930

New Jobs Forecast: 10,000+

Mechanical Engineers

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Engineering

Median annual salary: $69,850

New Jobs Forecast: 10,000+

Civil Engineers

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Engineering

Median salary: $68,600; Forecasted job growth: HIGH

Computer Systems Software Engineers

College Major Studies/Degree: Computer Information Science [CIS]

Median annual salary: $85,370; Forecasted job growth: VERY HIGH

Computer Systems Analysts

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Computer Information Science and Systems

Median salary: $69,760; Forecasted job growth: HIGH

Financial analyst

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Business Administration

Median salary: $66,590; Forecasted job growth: HIGHEST of the Top 10.

Accountants

College Major Studies/Degree Required: Accounting

Median salary: $54,630; Forecasted job growth: HIGH

Education. This includes Certified Teachers, as well as Teacher's Assistants & Aides that do not all require degrees. Adult Education Instructors and self-improvement teachers may or may not require a degree.

The Baby Boomer Generation of teachers is retiringthrough 2030, and many of them are finding that teaching is simply not the job of their dreams or abilities in the first place. That leaves many positions on in Pre-K-12, adult education, life skills training, after school programs, college prep tutoring, summer and year-around work-and-learn, work readiness soft skills training, job skills training, and more. Moreover The Millennial Generation is just as large as the Baby Boomers and are having more children to fill up K-12 than the Boomers had. America needs 3,000,000 more teachers by 2015 and then, even more teachers will be retiring. National initiatives to require and mandate Pre-K 3 (age) and Pre-K 4 raise the number of required teachers considerably through to at least 2050.

Energy & Environment

Energy provides occupations the require anything form a high school diploma to a PhD in engineering. It should be the most productive and expansive of national industries in 21^stcentury America. Many states and counties, as well as increasing numbers of cities in the US have Green Initiatives and plenty of green reconstruction and new green industries. Green Industries advocates will be pleased to note that Oil will suffer 80% retirement of its 2008 work force by 2018. These vacant jobs in oil, coal, and gas are likely to attrite; coal mining already becoming defunct in the early 21^st century. Alternative and renewable energy sources and nuclear energy are likely to rise in importance and new job openings through 2100.

Educational required can vary from a high school diploma or GED to a PhD, MD, or other professional degree. This field is wide open for jobs and opportunities for advancement. Not only human health care, but veterinary health care is growing. Psychiatric and psychological services are also fast growing job opportunity fields within Health Care.

Half of all of the 30 Fastest Growing Jobs in the USA are health related, per the US Department of Labor and state and local labor board statistics. Some of these jobs include LPNs, RNs, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, physician assistants, physical and occupational therapists & aides, Workers Compensation nurse consultants, and home health aides. A national nursing shortage is expected to last until 2050 and beyond. California hospitals especially employ a lot of Travel Nurses at higher wages, even paying their rent, and entice permanent nursing staff via $3,500 - 7,500 in a signing bonus. They also offer $3,000+ in yearly Professional Development - continuing education and relocation assistance, paid time off for education, overtime pay, and 3, 12-hour shift workweeks to include 4 days off EVERY week. Some hospitals allow nurses to work 2 12-hour weekend shifts and have FIVE days off.

Security is a growing industry with unlimited potential, not because of Homeland Security requirements, but because of COMPUTER INFORMATION. Computer information security will continue to increase with the expansion of Information Technology applications and inventions. Industrial security job openings will add to this matrix of opportunities.

Aside form these openings, the US Border Patrol lists numerous job openings as well; and the Defense and Homeland Security agencies expect 83,000+ job openings to come available through 2010, with additional openings thereafter.

Security work can require a high scholl diploma/GED or higher education level.

The abundance of service related positions may wax and wane a bit within the economic climate created by each additional US presidential adminstration and its policies in America, but the US has trended more and more toward a service based economy since the 1980s.

In the 21st century, this is becoming more evident as well and will continue to do so.

One segment of the service industry that continues to grow steadily is the food preparation business at all levels of enterprise, from hotels and fine dining to fast food establishments and aerospace applications such a living places on the Moon.

In Central Ohio, for instance, our newly welcomed immigrants to the area have found gold in food preparation and service. In many instances, they have banded together in groups to work in dining establishments, saved their money together by sharing housing and other expenses, and purchased their own join-owned restaurant franchises after just a couple fo years.

These groups of individuals have worked hard and been most successful, and have increased the level of good customer service in our metropolitan area.