Mar
26
Value : Recession Resistant
March 26, 2008 | Comments Off
CNN reported today that Nursing is a recession proof job. While it certainly tops my list of recession resistant jobs, there are many others: and they do not necessarily have to do with the degree printed on the diploma. Job resistance, in my opinion, is based on value and how much someone needs that value.
Value can be generally stated as something that someone is willing to pay for it (or barter something in exchange for it). Value is not the same as price — and not sufficient or enough: for as much as I put value on a flat screen TV, food is higher on my list of values — as watching TV is kind of boring if your stomach is grumbling due to lack of nourishment. Value is accompanied with how high is such an item or service on your priority list. When funds get scarce (as in a recession), you discover your priorities.
Health is a priority for many people. Food is as well. Even gas to be able to transport yourself to your source of income, as little as it could be, is a priority. However, working on the health, food, or oil industry is not enough. When times get tough companies try to find people to lay off and save some money. A health plan administrative employee may get replaced by computer software. A nurse can not be easily replaced by a robot — at least not yet. An oil firm human resources position may be off shored to India, while the worker that drill the hole in the ground is difficult to replace. That is when you start to discover which employees are valuable and which ones are not so valuable.
I think these are times to question yourself how much value do you add in your current job. It is important to question that before the layoffs begin. It is important make sure your job is not easy to replace by something less costly and that it is high on the list of necessities for a company to survive. It is also good to find out if it is a job that will survive a merger or a buyout (support personnel is vulnerable in those situations). If you find yourself in a position with low perceived value to a company or low in the list of positions that produce the most value to a company, it may be a good idea to transfer yourself into a higher perceived value position: one with lower recession risk. One that is recession resistant.
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