Job security

As the bad news about the economy continues, I have been reading strange stories about career choices that people make in the name job security. When I first heard that applicants to mortuary science schools have practically tripled, I chuckled -- until I realized that people were seriously choosing to become funeral directors in an effort to obtain job security. The reasoning -- that people have to die, even if the economy is bad - bears some relationship to the truth. On the other hand, people may choose to spend less money on lavish funerals. If so, the industry will undergo its own metamorphosis: expect price wars, deep discounts, and more cremations.

The lead story in tomorrow's Chicago Sun-Times relates that applications to medical schools are up for the same reason. In the frantic search for job security, students are now choosing medicine in record numbers. But medicine is also in a state of flux. Doctors complain about burgeoning demands on their time, the pressure to see more patients, and excessive insurance industry oversight.

President Obama promises to reform the health care system but will this make the medical profession a better, more humane place to work? Nor do physicians have the kind "write your own ticket" that some people seem to believe they have. I have worked with many doctors who have difficulty finding good jobs. And they don't have the best transferrable skills. It's hard for them to leave medicine without making huge financial and professional sacrifices.

There is still a small bastion of security in academia. But jobs are scarce and the pay is not always competitive with other industries.

So what's the answer? The answer is: there is no recession-proof job. No one can guarantee you a paycheck for life. The best way to guarantee your future is to continuously scan the employment horizon for new trends and opportunities, actively upgrade and expand your skills and experience, and build a solid professional network. While there are no recession-proof jobs, there are recession-proof people.

Be one.