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Recession Proof Jobs and Others part 1
Top 10 Recessionproof Jobs and Others part 1
by Liz Wolgemuth
The most notable recessionproof industries used to be the vice industries: tobacco, alcohol, and pornography—the things people turn to in difficult times. But a new book called 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs by Laurence Shatkin finds there are jobs to be found in more virtuous business sectors.
Here are Shatkin's top 10:
Computer systems analysts
Network systems and data communications analysts
Network and computer systems administrators
Registered nurses
Teachers, postsecondary
Physical therapists
Physicians and surgeons
Dental hygienists
Pharmacists
Medical and health services managers
15 Hot Jobs in a (Gulp!) Depression
Even in the worst of times, some career fields will thrive
By Marty Nemko
Most economists do not expect the U.S. economy will go through a depression related to the credit-crisis-mortgage-meltdown-bailout bonanza. Most Americans, however, do.
A recent CNN poll finds that nearly 60 percent of Americans believe we're very likely facing a depression. It's a bearish view but probably bolstered by recent headlines, like those about a survey from consulting firm Watson Wyatt, which found that 26 percent of companies expect they'll conduct layoffs in the next 12 months. Indeed, a depression spells bad news for workers. The last time this country's economy saw such a painful downturn, 1 in 4 American workers was unemployed and looking for work. The unemployment rate was 24.9 percent in 1933, according to Labor Department data.
Of course, that means that 75 percent of workers were employed. So, while most Americans would suffer in a depression, some careers should remain strong, maybe even be bolstered. Here's a look at 15 career fields with particular resilience:
Accounting: Bad economic times increase businesses' and individuals' desire to wisely account for every last dollar.
Education: Even in the current slowdown, our political leaders seem committed to education spending, and voters continue to pass education bonds to upgrade facilities.
Entertainment: During the Great Depression, the movie industry boomed as people craved escapism and had time to burn. That would very likely be the same today: The film, video game, sports, and creative arts industries should remain viable.
Utilities: This is the classic defensive stock investment. Even in the worst of times, utilities stay cranking.
Home, car, commercial, and industrial repair: In a bad economy, the rule is—don't replace, repair. It doesn't just go for you and your 12-year-old sedan or your leaky toilet. In a depression, struggling car manufacturers will more often opt to repair than replace a balky welding robot.
Alternative energy: Despite all the media attention to solar and wind energy, it's possible that the nuclear industry would, over the next decade, create the most jobs.
Health care: The jobs with the most security include registered nurses, physician assistants, internal medicine physicians, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, and physical therapy assistants.
Law firms: If they specialize in discrimination law, immigration law, or sexual harassment—they'll still need plenty of employees.
Law enforcement: In tough times, the level of crime tends to increase.
Community colleges: Many people return to school for retraining when they're unable to land a good job. Even people with college degrees will turn to community colleges because they typically teach technical skills and offer practical, career-related training at a price that's affordable—even in a depression.
Senior services: There's a wide range of industries and fields that will most likely continue to benefit from baby boomers getting older, including senior housing, home retrofitting, geriatric care management, and, of course, the aforementioned healthcare.
Vice industries: Sex tends to sell well in a depression, as does liquor.
Clergy : People seek spiritual support in tough times.
Repossession, foreclosure, and debt collection: When borrowers can't pay back their loans on homes or cars or credit cards, someone has to collect and evict. If you're a car person, there will be jobs repossessing giant SUVs from borrowers who took advantage of no-qualification loans even when they knew it was more than they could afford.
Government (especially homeland security, health care, accounting/auditing, information technology, and taxes): Government has the power to collect taxes in good times and bad. It may be the last bastion of secure employment, requiring 40-hour workweeks and offering ample sick days, holidays, and vacation days.
The 6 Coolest Jobs for Weird Majors
You can put an unconventional degree to work for you in a surprisingly cool career
By Liz Wolgemuth
The start of the school year is close at hand—the pencils are being sharpened, the tree leaves are preparing to rust, and your school would like you to declare a major. It's tempting to write down something standard, but if you're willing to forgo the allure of everyday majors like English or philosophy, then an uncommon degree could put you in good stead for one of these jobs (Note: These majors might not be "weird" to the professors who teach them, but they aren't plain vanilla either.):
Linguistics: Question: How do companies choose the brand names for their products? Answer: Carefully. Companies aim to communicate a lot through the way a brand name looks, sounds, and the associations it carries. Linguistics majors look at the syntax, semantics, phonetics, and other components of language—and they'll find the job of a brand namer an unusually good fit for their knowledge of plosives, fricatives, and nomenclature.
Linguistics plays a big role at New York-based namebase, a brand naming firm responsible for coining "Fruitopia" and Tyson's "Any'tizers," says President and Creative Director Jim Singer. The daily grind at Singer's firm involves searching for a neologism (a coined word) that communicates so well, it virtually advertises the product itself. Sound is key. The name of a small car should sound small. The name of an antidepressant should sound helpful or upbeat. The company's linguistic analysis checks for word associations and colloquialisms in a variety of languages.
Consumer science: While a budding financial planner's first instinct might be to get a business or economics degree, a consumer science degree will offer a unique perspective: Students focus on the business of doing what's best for the consumer, rather than what's best for business, says Cynthia Jasper, chair of the Department of Consumer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Students in the Wisconsin program can join an extracurricular group where they train to offer financial counseling to fellow college students shouldering credit card debt or other financial burdens.
The outlook for the profession is good: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of personal financial advisers will grow 41 percent between 2006 and 2016—making it one of the top 10 fastest-growing occupations.
Classics: The classics, or classical civilizations, major is good preparation for a lawyer, but it's not—as some would suspect—because students will better understand the meaning of "habeas corpus" or "caveat emptor." Rather, says Prof. David Traill, director of the classics program at University of California-Davis, it's because study of Latin and Greek requires careful reading and attention to meaning and grammar. That skill can prove enormously useful to lawyers, and even to burgeoning law students who are tackling the LSAT exam. Latin and Greek students often gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the English language, which helps with the writing involved in legal careers. Plus, Traill says, the major may help students get into law schools that seek a diversity of majors among the crowd of applicants.
Food science: Got a good tongue? Try the work of a flavor chemist, or flavorist. Flavorists create natural and artificial flavors for a variety of food, beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. There's a lot of science involved in the laboratory re-creation of naturally occurring flavors, but there's also a great deal of creativity required. "It's an art," says Kenneth Kraut, president of the Society of Flavor Chemists. "It's almost like making a painting." A flavorist with 15 years or so in the business can make between $100,000 and $150,000, Kraut says.
Packaging: Bottled water has been getting a bad rap lately, in large part because of its plastic packaging, which requires plenty of petroleum in its manufacturing and takes up significant stretches of space in landfills. In fact, many products' packaging is getting a second look as consumers and companies become more concerned with environmental impact.
If you believe in green, you can put a packaging degree to work as a sustainability engineer, helping companies reduce the volume and weight of their packaging and improve its ability to be recycled. Job prospects are good for packaging majors. According to the School of Packaging at Michigan State University, starting salaries are regularly in the same range as those of engineering majors.
Logic and computation: It might be logical to continue on in academia with this rare degree, young professor. Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pennsylvania are the only schools listed by the College Board as offering a major in logic. The logic and computation major is brand new to Carnegie Mellon this term, and studies touch on analytical philosophy, computer science, math, and statistics. All in all, this makes it a good choice for business or law, but an especially good choice for academia. "Many students will continue on to graduate-level programs across the country and become faculty members at the university level," says Ray Mizgorski, a career consultant at Carnegie Mellon.
7 Best Nonpolitical Jobs for Political Junkies
If you want to sate your political appetite with a full-time job, here are some cool ideas
By Liz Wolgemuth
Ah, election season. There's nothing like a good battle between the Democrats and the Republicans (and Ralph Nader and Ron Paul) to whet the appetite of a political junkie. But if you're looking for something less temporal—the kind of work that will let you feed your addiction year-round—you don't have to become a legislator. Consider one of these (mostly) nonpolitical jobs where you may find a way to keep the spirit of the election alive every day.
Librarian: Not just any librarian—a special librarian. Special librarians work for companies, government agencies, nonprofits, universities, or museums, rather than for the general public. There are plenty of opportunities for people to focus on specialties. Janice Lachance, chief executive of the Special Libraries Association, says "it's absolutely a perfect fit" for people who are politically inclined, as leaders at nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, or government agencies rely on well-sourced, "top level information." Librarians can follow specific passions for policy or politics into jobs at places like AARP, which employs 13 association members. Most have a master's in library or information science, but the jobs pay: A 2008 association survey found the average salary of its members was $71,812.
Lobbyist: The word is practically an obscenity during election cycles, but the job and qualifications of a "lobbyist" are largely a mystery to Americans. While many think of lobbyists as Washington fat cats with standing reservations at the Capital Grille and closets full of suede loafers—that's only half the story. Lobbyists advocate for issues and petition government on behalf of organizations—farm bureaus and oil companies alike. They need to understand policy, and they need to know the ins and outs of politics. Most are college grads, and many have advanced degrees in law, communications, education, public relations, or journalism, according to the American League of Lobbyists. How to get in? A congressional staff position is one of the best ways to learn the legislative process.
Tour guide: Believe it or not, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports this occupation is growing much faster than average. It's a good pick for retirees and students, but full-timers and part-timers alike make political history or current events come alive as tour guides. "Politics is a sport in DC," says Adam Plescia, 35, who works as a tour guide in Washington while also writing his dissertation. Plescia stays up on political news and events with a regular diet of the Washington Post, New York Times, New Yorker, and NPR. The tours aren't, however, for sharing his political opinions. Instead, he gets to quiz and to teach. He takes visitors to the front of the Treasury building and asks, "Who's the secretary of the Treasury?" The good news: "More people know now," Plescia says. "Before the [financial] crisis, the majority of the people on the tour wouldn't know his name."
Radio announcer: Two words: Rush Limbaugh. The longtime radio announcer has made a major mark on the American conservative political scene through his top-rated radio show. This is a highly competitive industry with a median hourly wage of less than $12, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There may, however, be better opportunities for hosts or disk jockeys with specialized knowledge of subjects like politics. But if, like Limbaugh, you prove successful in smaller markets, you can test your mettle and opinionating on a much larger audience.
Pollster: This is a good fit for political junkies with a love of statistics, as well as a solid understanding of the larger political picture. Tom Jensen, communications director at Public Policy Polling, says polling firms look for people who are especially knowledgeable about politics, particularly those who understand the way voters think about elections. "It's a great job for someone who's very knowledgeable about politics but can also detach themselves from the process enough to keep a perspective about things and not get too swept up in the emotions of an election," Jensen says. Advanced degrees are pretty common.
Translator/interpreter: This probably isn't a great path if you have strong opinions, but it's got plenty of growth potential if you merely have a serious interest in being part of the political process. The Labor Department expects job opportunities to grow by 24 percent between 2006 and 2016. Thanks to globalization and increased security threats, there's been a greater need for translators (who work with written words) and interpreters (who work with spoken words), according to the American Translators Association. While many translators work for themselves, those who are employed by the government make an average of nearly $60,000 a year, the association reports.
Reporter: Some journalists today still labor under a kind of Woodward and Bernstein nostalgia, but many just love politics. Reporters at small-town newspapers continue to uncover local political transgressions, and major metro papers vie with bloggers for a piece of the national political pie. Beat reporters may also work long and hard enough to earn the right to state their pithy opinions as columnists, in blogs, or as TV pundits. In one example, New York Times columnist David Brooks started out working the cops beat for City News Service in Chicago and held various roles at the Wall Street Journal, even spending five months as its movie critic.
The 7 Best Jobs for Facebook Addicts
Forget the warnings about staying offline during work. These jobs require you to log on
By Liz Wolgemuth
Pity the college kids who are readying themselves for the boredom of working in an office where online profile views are sharply limited or not allowed. Don't they know that there are jobs that demand this stuff? More and more employers are scouting for social networking skills and trying to fill positions that require daily Facebook diligence. And it's not all Silicon Valley—the Securities and Exchange Commission just started Twittering.
This is not a dream, folks. The Facebook future is now. Here are the seven best jobs for a Facebook addict:
Recruiter: The job hunt has in many, many ways gone digital. Boris Epstein, CEO and founder of BINC, a search firm that fills tech positions, has made it a priority to know his way around social networks and be an active Web 2.0 participant. Epstein is on Facebook; so are his company and his employees. They're all on LinkedIn and active on the company's Twitter account, as well as its corporate blog. "If we relied solely on phone and E-mail, we'd become recruiting dinosaurs in no time," Epstein says.
Sarah Lacy, cohost of Yahoo's Tech Ticker and author of Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0, says companies that are successfully using social networking to recruit college graduates are often choosing to make one individual their advocate or personality on Facebook or LinkedIn. Successful recruiters make the process friendly and humane: "They might say, 'Look, we're interested in this skill set: Maybe go do this, and you can come back,' " Lacy says. "Someone who's really being helpful and not cramming a marketing message down these kids' throats."
Social media marketing manager: Social media managers didn't exist a decade ago, but companies are looking for individuals to guide their Web 2.0 efforts—to organize company blogging, online communities, viral marketing, podcasting. It's part strategist, part evangelist, and it requires a real knowledge of social networking sites.
For recent college graduates who have a sound base of Web 2.0 savvy, those skills should be a good selling point to employers. "Overall, it's become increasingly more important for nearly every position, marketing in particular," says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. About a year ago, social networking skills were sought after merely as tools in recruiting, but the bigger driver now is in companies' networking and connecting, Haefner says.
Photographer: If you make your living with a camera, then there's no better way to market yourself than to show off your product. Social networks are no-brainers for photographers: They can post their photos, connect through blogs, and start groups, all of which will help build their brand and spread their name.
Ventures aimed at the E-commerce opportunities for photography have proved less than successful, says Lacy, whose husband is a photographer. "There's something about buying art online that doesn't work," she says. It's the online relationship-building that works for artists. Social networks allow them to have connections with their appreciators—or, literally, groupies, if you've got a Facebook group—and reach new customers.
Analyst—User Operations: It's a long title, sure, but keep reading: "Deep understanding of Facebook required." How do you like that as a job requirement? User operations analysts at Facebook interact with users to investigate abuse reports and answer queries. They may be charged with enforcing the terms of use or analyzing user habits.
The bonus here is that you don't need fancy tech credentials. You may, however, benefit from fluency in a second language. Of course, if you don't like interacting with people, as Valleywag points out, you may not enjoy this gig.
Tech reporter/blogger: It's your job to scout the Web for stories and build a big pile of sources for tech-related scoops. Sure, there are Digg meetups to attend, but tech reporters and bloggers belong online. Look at TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, who has turned his site into the source for Silicon Valley news. Aside from his site, Arrington has friends on Facebook, gets the news out in bits on Twitter, and makes connections and shares his résumé on LinkedIn. However Arrington gets his scoops, he's clearly not hard to find.
Lacy says she likes to use her Twitter account to cull ideas and sources for her BusinessWeek.com columns. At different points in her career, she has found Facebook or LinkedIn more helpful—"I think it just depends on what you're trying to accomplish at that period in time," she says.
Product managers and developers: Product managers keep their eye on consumers. They're looking for what drives their decision making and then translating the consumers' wants to developers, who build that into the product, Epstein says.
"These companies, like Facebook and all their competitors in the social networking world, they want their engineers and product managers to be avid Web 2.0 users themselves," Epstein says. "So they know themselves what they would want in an application, in a feature, so that they then could develop it, basically."
While a developer usually has a computer science degree or even an electrical engineering degree, an ideal product manager knows technically what it takes to build a product, plus has a strong dose of business acumen, according to Epstein. Many product managers start out as engineers and transition into the business side, sometimes picking up M.B.A.'s on the way.
How to Find a Fallback Job
Secrets of a discreet search when you're already employed
By Liz Wolgemuth
When layoffs loom, employees are often tempted to hide out until the tempest passes. Bad move. The private sector has shed nearly 900,000 jobs since January, and the unemployment rate is at a five-year high of 6.1 percent—in part, because companies need cash and consumers aren't spending. The job shedding has become increasingly democratic—affecting a broad swath of business sectors, according to the September jobs report. "The U.S. economy is shrinking, and there will be many more awful reports like this," says Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
So, what if you suspect your job is next? To safeguard your income, you may need to stick your head up—discreetly—and start looking for a backup. Here are tips for searching out a job you're not sure you'll need:
Be careful. You're still employed, so discretion is key when you begin connecting with outside companies. Much depends on your employer's style, but if management finds out you're talking with competitors and your job is already in danger, that may be reason enough to let you go, says Brad Karsh, a former recruiter, now head of JobBound and JB Training Solutions.
It's simple enough to preface a conversation by noting that confidentiality is important to you. Most recruiters and hiring managers will understand. Nevertheless, Bill Belknap, a career coach with the Five O'Clock Club, says he tells his clients to always be prepared for word to get back to their employer.
Assess your level of interest. You can tackle a job opening just as you would if you were unemployed, or you can take a more passive approach—making contacts and passing along your résumé while explaining that you're testing the waters.
If you would be willing to take a new job—because it meets your criteria or offers more stability—then you can follow the process through to the thank-you notes. But if you're so happy in your current job that you're not leaving until they kick you out the door, it's misleading to feign the interest of a true job seeker. "That could come back and bite you," says John McKee, a business coach and author of Career Wisdom: 101 Proven Strategies to Ensure Workplace Success. If a company puts time into preparing an offer, it expects that you're prepared to leave your current job if you get what you asked for.
Keep negotiations classy. Here's what not to do: You're offered a new job, which you accept (!). You tell your boss you're leaving; he or she counteroffers, so you go back and kiss off the outside bid. "To me, that's the cardinal sin of job seeking," Karsh says. "It is an absolute bridge burner."
Instead, if you get an outside offer, say "thanks" and ask for some time to think about it. Tell your boss the news and your plans to take the job—effectively resigning. If you get a counteroffer, you're free to choose between the two without breaking your word to either company.
Ask for security. An outside offer might give top performers some leverage. Despite rising joblessness, nearly 60 percent of hiring managers say their biggest challenge is finding qualified workers, according to a survey by Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.com. If your company values you, it might be willing to offer you an employment contract for a fixed period of time.
One note: Be careful bargaining for security with an outside offer you're not interested in, Karsh says. "You're playing a game of chicken with them, because they could call your bluff and say: 'Oh, go take it.'"
Know your employer. Understand your company's culture. Some companies won't negotiate unless employees have another suitor. Others will have you escorted to the door if they hear you've been interviewing with a competitor. "Some truly will say: 'Hey, enjoy the interview, and don't forget to pull your stuff out of your office on the way out, because you've just been fired,'" Karsh says. "Others may say: 'Oh, my gosh, we can't lose [her]—she's too valuable.'" But it's pretty risky to bet you'll be the valuable one.
Stealth job search mode.
If you're on the hunt and don't want your current employer to find out, be very careful where you post your resume online. Consider using VisualCV (www.visualcv.com), not only does the free service allow you to build a better resume online, but it features user-controlled privacy settings that let you "share" selectively and be "found" according to your specifications.
20 Ways Older Workers Can Sell Themselves
Older workers don't need to be defensive about their age—they've got so many selling points
By Liz Wolgemuth
Older workers often subscribe to certain myths about themselves, and they may end up hiding their age or apologizing for it when they search for a job. Increasingly, too, the contrasts between people in their 50s and 60s and younger millennial workers have caused a strange kind of generational workplace clash. The truth is, the American workforce needs the input of both, and baby boomers have a vast assortment of strengths to recommend them.
While not all of these 20 strengths will be characteristic of every older worker, the assets here should give those with more experience plenty of great reasons to hold their heads high.
If you're an older worker, take note of your many selling points:
1. You understand recessions: Older workers have seen hard times before—the bursting of the 1990s tech bubble, recession in the early 1980s, the oil crisis of the mid-1970s—and they understand that businesses have to adjust. Knowing, too, that expansions always follow, older workers can bring a steady perspective to a jumpy workplace.
2. You have a healthy fear of slowdowns: Sure, you've seen them before. Older workers' steadiness can be accompanied by a fair dose of worry: You know that downturns can last for long periods of time, and you've witnessed the obliteration of job security, so you know that you need to be increasingly ready and willing to do what it takes to keep your job.
3. You're willing to work part time: Older workers most crave flexibility, according to a RetirementJobs.com survey. Many want to spend more of their time doing things they enjoy—traveling, perhaps, or playing with their grandkids—and they're often willing to accept a part-time schedule or reduced hours. As employers increasingly cut back on hours, a willingness to be flexible can make a job seeker more attractive to a greater variety of companies.
4. You have real-life experience: Today, employers need workers who can hit the ground running, and older workers have more real-world, less theoretical experience, says John Challenger of Challenger Gray & Christmas. "They've been there before and seen more situations," Challenger says.
5. You want to be challenged: Forget resting on your laurels—a Penn State study found that challenging work is the thing that older workers want most.
6. You know that tech savvy isn't everything: There will be younger workers with greater expertise in computer programs, social networking, and new tech trends—but you can sell yourself on the alternative. Businesses can't rely solely on tech savvy; they also need people with sales and leadership skills. You can provide support for the young tech talents.
7. You don't need constant feedback: Ron Alsop, author of The Trophy Kids Grow Up, reports that millennial workers may want weekly, or even daily, evaluations from their employers. Earlier in your career, you probably wanted lots of feedback, too. Today, you've got a pretty good handle on your value, and you're more confident in your abilities.
8. You're healthier: A recent study by employee assistance program provider ComPsych found that older workers— in their 50s or 60s—are likelier to have healthy diets, exercise regularly and have lower stress levels than workers in their 30s.
9. You can manage yourself: A recent study by TalentSmart, a provider of psychological assessments, found that self-management skills seem to increase with age. TalentSmart said that "60-year-olds scored higher than 50-year-olds, who scored higher than 40-year-olds, and so on."
10. You're able to control your emotions: The same TalentSmart study found that when it comes to managing emotions, "baby boomers reign supreme." Other studies show older workers have low levels of work-related stress. A cool head and calm demeanor can make a major difference in workplace dynamics during hard times.
11. Your network is bigger: All those years of networking groups and Chamber of Commerce meetings haven't been for nothing. You've got deep reserves of friends, colleagues, and contacts in the community. That's an asset to an employer who's trying to get out of a sales rut. It's also helpful to a hiring manager who wants to check out your reputation.
12. You're loyal: Take Colorado, for example, where older workers have the lowest turnover rate among working groups. Borders Group began making older workers a bigger percentage of its employee mix in the 1990s, when it found that workers over age 50 were staying longer with their jobs and were happier in them.
13. You're not competing for a top spot: You're working more for steady income now—not to climb the ladder. Female baby boomers were more likely to think "good for her/him," if a competitor won a new contract or client, according to a recent American Express study of female business owners.
14. You've been green a long time: Companies are increasingly using their environmental sensitivity as a selling point, and while gen Y is often characterized as the most passionately "green" age group, many older workers were raised with green principles: using a pencil down to the nub, repairing holes and worn spots in clothes, reusing jars and using little (or no) air conditioning. Seeyou were green before it was cool.
15. You're a team player: Older workers tend to be settled and comfortable in their own skin, John Challenger says. Those tendencies can help them fit in and work as part of a team more easily.
16. You're willing to learn: Older workers actually exhibit a greater willingness to learn than younger workers, according to a 2005 study by a Louisiana State University professor. Workers in their 50s and 60s are even more committed to technological change, the study found.
17. You're reliable: You'll get your work done. It sounds simple, but that's a huge asset for an employer. A 1998 survey by the National Council on the Aging found that 97 percent of the employers surveyed said older workers were thorough and reliable in completing their work.
18. You're more satisfied with your job and your benefits: Job satisfaction appears to increase with age, and workers ages 65 and older tend to be the most satisfied with the work they're doing. A University of Chicago study published last year found that 71 percent of the 65-plus group was very satisfied with their work, compared with 42 percent of those ages 18 to 29.
19. You're no one-trick pony: Over their careers, many workers have spent time in multiple industries, Challenger notes, and that ability to cross-pollinate is highly useful to employers right now.
20. You're cheaper: This isn't always true, but if you're starting someplace new, you're likely to be cheaper. (Or you should consider taking a cut in pay or hours where you're currently working.) After all, you aren't providing for a gaggle of kids anymore, and you may be looking for a more flexible schedule of reduced hours. Many seniors just need some income now to supplement their suffering investments.
by Liz Wolgemuth
The most notable recessionproof industries used to be the vice industries: tobacco, alcohol, and pornography—the things people turn to in difficult times. But a new book called 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs by Laurence Shatkin finds there are jobs to be found in more virtuous business sectors.
Here are Shatkin's top 10:
Computer systems analysts
Network systems and data communications analysts
Network and computer systems administrators
Registered nurses
Teachers, postsecondary
Physical therapists
Physicians and surgeons
Dental hygienists
Pharmacists
Medical and health services managers
15 Hot Jobs in a (Gulp!) Depression
Even in the worst of times, some career fields will thrive
By Marty Nemko
Most economists do not expect the U.S. economy will go through a depression related to the credit-crisis-mortgage-meltdown-bailout bonanza. Most Americans, however, do.
A recent CNN poll finds that nearly 60 percent of Americans believe we're very likely facing a depression. It's a bearish view but probably bolstered by recent headlines, like those about a survey from consulting firm Watson Wyatt, which found that 26 percent of companies expect they'll conduct layoffs in the next 12 months. Indeed, a depression spells bad news for workers. The last time this country's economy saw such a painful downturn, 1 in 4 American workers was unemployed and looking for work. The unemployment rate was 24.9 percent in 1933, according to Labor Department data.
Of course, that means that 75 percent of workers were employed. So, while most Americans would suffer in a depression, some careers should remain strong, maybe even be bolstered. Here's a look at 15 career fields with particular resilience:
Accounting: Bad economic times increase businesses' and individuals' desire to wisely account for every last dollar.
Education: Even in the current slowdown, our political leaders seem committed to education spending, and voters continue to pass education bonds to upgrade facilities.
Entertainment: During the Great Depression, the movie industry boomed as people craved escapism and had time to burn. That would very likely be the same today: The film, video game, sports, and creative arts industries should remain viable.
Utilities: This is the classic defensive stock investment. Even in the worst of times, utilities stay cranking.
Home, car, commercial, and industrial repair: In a bad economy, the rule is—don't replace, repair. It doesn't just go for you and your 12-year-old sedan or your leaky toilet. In a depression, struggling car manufacturers will more often opt to repair than replace a balky welding robot.
Alternative energy: Despite all the media attention to solar and wind energy, it's possible that the nuclear industry would, over the next decade, create the most jobs.
Health care: The jobs with the most security include registered nurses, physician assistants, internal medicine physicians, dentists, optometrists, pharmacists, and physical therapy assistants.
Law firms: If they specialize in discrimination law, immigration law, or sexual harassment—they'll still need plenty of employees.
Law enforcement: In tough times, the level of crime tends to increase.
Community colleges: Many people return to school for retraining when they're unable to land a good job. Even people with college degrees will turn to community colleges because they typically teach technical skills and offer practical, career-related training at a price that's affordable—even in a depression.
Senior services: There's a wide range of industries and fields that will most likely continue to benefit from baby boomers getting older, including senior housing, home retrofitting, geriatric care management, and, of course, the aforementioned healthcare.
Vice industries: Sex tends to sell well in a depression, as does liquor.
Clergy : People seek spiritual support in tough times.
Repossession, foreclosure, and debt collection: When borrowers can't pay back their loans on homes or cars or credit cards, someone has to collect and evict. If you're a car person, there will be jobs repossessing giant SUVs from borrowers who took advantage of no-qualification loans even when they knew it was more than they could afford.
Government (especially homeland security, health care, accounting/auditing, information technology, and taxes): Government has the power to collect taxes in good times and bad. It may be the last bastion of secure employment, requiring 40-hour workweeks and offering ample sick days, holidays, and vacation days.
The 6 Coolest Jobs for Weird Majors
You can put an unconventional degree to work for you in a surprisingly cool career
By Liz Wolgemuth
The start of the school year is close at hand—the pencils are being sharpened, the tree leaves are preparing to rust, and your school would like you to declare a major. It's tempting to write down something standard, but if you're willing to forgo the allure of everyday majors like English or philosophy, then an uncommon degree could put you in good stead for one of these jobs (Note: These majors might not be "weird" to the professors who teach them, but they aren't plain vanilla either.):
Linguistics: Question: How do companies choose the brand names for their products? Answer: Carefully. Companies aim to communicate a lot through the way a brand name looks, sounds, and the associations it carries. Linguistics majors look at the syntax, semantics, phonetics, and other components of language—and they'll find the job of a brand namer an unusually good fit for their knowledge of plosives, fricatives, and nomenclature.
Linguistics plays a big role at New York-based namebase, a brand naming firm responsible for coining "Fruitopia" and Tyson's "Any'tizers," says President and Creative Director Jim Singer. The daily grind at Singer's firm involves searching for a neologism (a coined word) that communicates so well, it virtually advertises the product itself. Sound is key. The name of a small car should sound small. The name of an antidepressant should sound helpful or upbeat. The company's linguistic analysis checks for word associations and colloquialisms in a variety of languages.
Consumer science: While a budding financial planner's first instinct might be to get a business or economics degree, a consumer science degree will offer a unique perspective: Students focus on the business of doing what's best for the consumer, rather than what's best for business, says Cynthia Jasper, chair of the Department of Consumer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Students in the Wisconsin program can join an extracurricular group where they train to offer financial counseling to fellow college students shouldering credit card debt or other financial burdens.
The outlook for the profession is good: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of personal financial advisers will grow 41 percent between 2006 and 2016—making it one of the top 10 fastest-growing occupations.
Classics: The classics, or classical civilizations, major is good preparation for a lawyer, but it's not—as some would suspect—because students will better understand the meaning of "habeas corpus" or "caveat emptor." Rather, says Prof. David Traill, director of the classics program at University of California-Davis, it's because study of Latin and Greek requires careful reading and attention to meaning and grammar. That skill can prove enormously useful to lawyers, and even to burgeoning law students who are tackling the LSAT exam. Latin and Greek students often gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the English language, which helps with the writing involved in legal careers. Plus, Traill says, the major may help students get into law schools that seek a diversity of majors among the crowd of applicants.
Food science: Got a good tongue? Try the work of a flavor chemist, or flavorist. Flavorists create natural and artificial flavors for a variety of food, beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. There's a lot of science involved in the laboratory re-creation of naturally occurring flavors, but there's also a great deal of creativity required. "It's an art," says Kenneth Kraut, president of the Society of Flavor Chemists. "It's almost like making a painting." A flavorist with 15 years or so in the business can make between $100,000 and $150,000, Kraut says.
Packaging: Bottled water has been getting a bad rap lately, in large part because of its plastic packaging, which requires plenty of petroleum in its manufacturing and takes up significant stretches of space in landfills. In fact, many products' packaging is getting a second look as consumers and companies become more concerned with environmental impact.
If you believe in green, you can put a packaging degree to work as a sustainability engineer, helping companies reduce the volume and weight of their packaging and improve its ability to be recycled. Job prospects are good for packaging majors. According to the School of Packaging at Michigan State University, starting salaries are regularly in the same range as those of engineering majors.
Logic and computation: It might be logical to continue on in academia with this rare degree, young professor. Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pennsylvania are the only schools listed by the College Board as offering a major in logic. The logic and computation major is brand new to Carnegie Mellon this term, and studies touch on analytical philosophy, computer science, math, and statistics. All in all, this makes it a good choice for business or law, but an especially good choice for academia. "Many students will continue on to graduate-level programs across the country and become faculty members at the university level," says Ray Mizgorski, a career consultant at Carnegie Mellon.
7 Best Nonpolitical Jobs for Political Junkies
If you want to sate your political appetite with a full-time job, here are some cool ideas
By Liz Wolgemuth
Ah, election season. There's nothing like a good battle between the Democrats and the Republicans (and Ralph Nader and Ron Paul) to whet the appetite of a political junkie. But if you're looking for something less temporal—the kind of work that will let you feed your addiction year-round—you don't have to become a legislator. Consider one of these (mostly) nonpolitical jobs where you may find a way to keep the spirit of the election alive every day.
Librarian: Not just any librarian—a special librarian. Special librarians work for companies, government agencies, nonprofits, universities, or museums, rather than for the general public. There are plenty of opportunities for people to focus on specialties. Janice Lachance, chief executive of the Special Libraries Association, says "it's absolutely a perfect fit" for people who are politically inclined, as leaders at nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, or government agencies rely on well-sourced, "top level information." Librarians can follow specific passions for policy or politics into jobs at places like AARP, which employs 13 association members. Most have a master's in library or information science, but the jobs pay: A 2008 association survey found the average salary of its members was $71,812.
Lobbyist: The word is practically an obscenity during election cycles, but the job and qualifications of a "lobbyist" are largely a mystery to Americans. While many think of lobbyists as Washington fat cats with standing reservations at the Capital Grille and closets full of suede loafers—that's only half the story. Lobbyists advocate for issues and petition government on behalf of organizations—farm bureaus and oil companies alike. They need to understand policy, and they need to know the ins and outs of politics. Most are college grads, and many have advanced degrees in law, communications, education, public relations, or journalism, according to the American League of Lobbyists. How to get in? A congressional staff position is one of the best ways to learn the legislative process.
Tour guide: Believe it or not, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports this occupation is growing much faster than average. It's a good pick for retirees and students, but full-timers and part-timers alike make political history or current events come alive as tour guides. "Politics is a sport in DC," says Adam Plescia, 35, who works as a tour guide in Washington while also writing his dissertation. Plescia stays up on political news and events with a regular diet of the Washington Post, New York Times, New Yorker, and NPR. The tours aren't, however, for sharing his political opinions. Instead, he gets to quiz and to teach. He takes visitors to the front of the Treasury building and asks, "Who's the secretary of the Treasury?" The good news: "More people know now," Plescia says. "Before the [financial] crisis, the majority of the people on the tour wouldn't know his name."
Radio announcer: Two words: Rush Limbaugh. The longtime radio announcer has made a major mark on the American conservative political scene through his top-rated radio show. This is a highly competitive industry with a median hourly wage of less than $12, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There may, however, be better opportunities for hosts or disk jockeys with specialized knowledge of subjects like politics. But if, like Limbaugh, you prove successful in smaller markets, you can test your mettle and opinionating on a much larger audience.
Pollster: This is a good fit for political junkies with a love of statistics, as well as a solid understanding of the larger political picture. Tom Jensen, communications director at Public Policy Polling, says polling firms look for people who are especially knowledgeable about politics, particularly those who understand the way voters think about elections. "It's a great job for someone who's very knowledgeable about politics but can also detach themselves from the process enough to keep a perspective about things and not get too swept up in the emotions of an election," Jensen says. Advanced degrees are pretty common.
Translator/interpreter: This probably isn't a great path if you have strong opinions, but it's got plenty of growth potential if you merely have a serious interest in being part of the political process. The Labor Department expects job opportunities to grow by 24 percent between 2006 and 2016. Thanks to globalization and increased security threats, there's been a greater need for translators (who work with written words) and interpreters (who work with spoken words), according to the American Translators Association. While many translators work for themselves, those who are employed by the government make an average of nearly $60,000 a year, the association reports.
Reporter: Some journalists today still labor under a kind of Woodward and Bernstein nostalgia, but many just love politics. Reporters at small-town newspapers continue to uncover local political transgressions, and major metro papers vie with bloggers for a piece of the national political pie. Beat reporters may also work long and hard enough to earn the right to state their pithy opinions as columnists, in blogs, or as TV pundits. In one example, New York Times columnist David Brooks started out working the cops beat for City News Service in Chicago and held various roles at the Wall Street Journal, even spending five months as its movie critic.
The 7 Best Jobs for Facebook Addicts
Forget the warnings about staying offline during work. These jobs require you to log on
By Liz Wolgemuth
Pity the college kids who are readying themselves for the boredom of working in an office where online profile views are sharply limited or not allowed. Don't they know that there are jobs that demand this stuff? More and more employers are scouting for social networking skills and trying to fill positions that require daily Facebook diligence. And it's not all Silicon Valley—the Securities and Exchange Commission just started Twittering.
This is not a dream, folks. The Facebook future is now. Here are the seven best jobs for a Facebook addict:
Recruiter: The job hunt has in many, many ways gone digital. Boris Epstein, CEO and founder of BINC, a search firm that fills tech positions, has made it a priority to know his way around social networks and be an active Web 2.0 participant. Epstein is on Facebook; so are his company and his employees. They're all on LinkedIn and active on the company's Twitter account, as well as its corporate blog. "If we relied solely on phone and E-mail, we'd become recruiting dinosaurs in no time," Epstein says.
Sarah Lacy, cohost of Yahoo's Tech Ticker and author of Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0, says companies that are successfully using social networking to recruit college graduates are often choosing to make one individual their advocate or personality on Facebook or LinkedIn. Successful recruiters make the process friendly and humane: "They might say, 'Look, we're interested in this skill set: Maybe go do this, and you can come back,' " Lacy says. "Someone who's really being helpful and not cramming a marketing message down these kids' throats."
Social media marketing manager: Social media managers didn't exist a decade ago, but companies are looking for individuals to guide their Web 2.0 efforts—to organize company blogging, online communities, viral marketing, podcasting. It's part strategist, part evangelist, and it requires a real knowledge of social networking sites.
For recent college graduates who have a sound base of Web 2.0 savvy, those skills should be a good selling point to employers. "Overall, it's become increasingly more important for nearly every position, marketing in particular," says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. About a year ago, social networking skills were sought after merely as tools in recruiting, but the bigger driver now is in companies' networking and connecting, Haefner says.
Photographer: If you make your living with a camera, then there's no better way to market yourself than to show off your product. Social networks are no-brainers for photographers: They can post their photos, connect through blogs, and start groups, all of which will help build their brand and spread their name.
Ventures aimed at the E-commerce opportunities for photography have proved less than successful, says Lacy, whose husband is a photographer. "There's something about buying art online that doesn't work," she says. It's the online relationship-building that works for artists. Social networks allow them to have connections with their appreciators—or, literally, groupies, if you've got a Facebook group—and reach new customers.
Analyst—User Operations: It's a long title, sure, but keep reading: "Deep understanding of Facebook required." How do you like that as a job requirement? User operations analysts at Facebook interact with users to investigate abuse reports and answer queries. They may be charged with enforcing the terms of use or analyzing user habits.
The bonus here is that you don't need fancy tech credentials. You may, however, benefit from fluency in a second language. Of course, if you don't like interacting with people, as Valleywag points out, you may not enjoy this gig.
Tech reporter/blogger: It's your job to scout the Web for stories and build a big pile of sources for tech-related scoops. Sure, there are Digg meetups to attend, but tech reporters and bloggers belong online. Look at TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, who has turned his site into the source for Silicon Valley news. Aside from his site, Arrington has friends on Facebook, gets the news out in bits on Twitter, and makes connections and shares his résumé on LinkedIn. However Arrington gets his scoops, he's clearly not hard to find.
Lacy says she likes to use her Twitter account to cull ideas and sources for her BusinessWeek.com columns. At different points in her career, she has found Facebook or LinkedIn more helpful—"I think it just depends on what you're trying to accomplish at that period in time," she says.
Product managers and developers: Product managers keep their eye on consumers. They're looking for what drives their decision making and then translating the consumers' wants to developers, who build that into the product, Epstein says.
"These companies, like Facebook and all their competitors in the social networking world, they want their engineers and product managers to be avid Web 2.0 users themselves," Epstein says. "So they know themselves what they would want in an application, in a feature, so that they then could develop it, basically."
While a developer usually has a computer science degree or even an electrical engineering degree, an ideal product manager knows technically what it takes to build a product, plus has a strong dose of business acumen, according to Epstein. Many product managers start out as engineers and transition into the business side, sometimes picking up M.B.A.'s on the way.
How to Find a Fallback Job
Secrets of a discreet search when you're already employed
By Liz Wolgemuth
When layoffs loom, employees are often tempted to hide out until the tempest passes. Bad move. The private sector has shed nearly 900,000 jobs since January, and the unemployment rate is at a five-year high of 6.1 percent—in part, because companies need cash and consumers aren't spending. The job shedding has become increasingly democratic—affecting a broad swath of business sectors, according to the September jobs report. "The U.S. economy is shrinking, and there will be many more awful reports like this," says Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.
So, what if you suspect your job is next? To safeguard your income, you may need to stick your head up—discreetly—and start looking for a backup. Here are tips for searching out a job you're not sure you'll need:
Be careful. You're still employed, so discretion is key when you begin connecting with outside companies. Much depends on your employer's style, but if management finds out you're talking with competitors and your job is already in danger, that may be reason enough to let you go, says Brad Karsh, a former recruiter, now head of JobBound and JB Training Solutions.
It's simple enough to preface a conversation by noting that confidentiality is important to you. Most recruiters and hiring managers will understand. Nevertheless, Bill Belknap, a career coach with the Five O'Clock Club, says he tells his clients to always be prepared for word to get back to their employer.
Assess your level of interest. You can tackle a job opening just as you would if you were unemployed, or you can take a more passive approach—making contacts and passing along your résumé while explaining that you're testing the waters.
If you would be willing to take a new job—because it meets your criteria or offers more stability—then you can follow the process through to the thank-you notes. But if you're so happy in your current job that you're not leaving until they kick you out the door, it's misleading to feign the interest of a true job seeker. "That could come back and bite you," says John McKee, a business coach and author of Career Wisdom: 101 Proven Strategies to Ensure Workplace Success. If a company puts time into preparing an offer, it expects that you're prepared to leave your current job if you get what you asked for.
Keep negotiations classy. Here's what not to do: You're offered a new job, which you accept (!). You tell your boss you're leaving; he or she counteroffers, so you go back and kiss off the outside bid. "To me, that's the cardinal sin of job seeking," Karsh says. "It is an absolute bridge burner."
Instead, if you get an outside offer, say "thanks" and ask for some time to think about it. Tell your boss the news and your plans to take the job—effectively resigning. If you get a counteroffer, you're free to choose between the two without breaking your word to either company.
Ask for security. An outside offer might give top performers some leverage. Despite rising joblessness, nearly 60 percent of hiring managers say their biggest challenge is finding qualified workers, according to a survey by Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.com. If your company values you, it might be willing to offer you an employment contract for a fixed period of time.
One note: Be careful bargaining for security with an outside offer you're not interested in, Karsh says. "You're playing a game of chicken with them, because they could call your bluff and say: 'Oh, go take it.'"
Know your employer. Understand your company's culture. Some companies won't negotiate unless employees have another suitor. Others will have you escorted to the door if they hear you've been interviewing with a competitor. "Some truly will say: 'Hey, enjoy the interview, and don't forget to pull your stuff out of your office on the way out, because you've just been fired,'" Karsh says. "Others may say: 'Oh, my gosh, we can't lose [her]—she's too valuable.'" But it's pretty risky to bet you'll be the valuable one.
Stealth job search mode.
If you're on the hunt and don't want your current employer to find out, be very careful where you post your resume online. Consider using VisualCV (www.visualcv.com), not only does the free service allow you to build a better resume online, but it features user-controlled privacy settings that let you "share" selectively and be "found" according to your specifications.
20 Ways Older Workers Can Sell Themselves
Older workers don't need to be defensive about their age—they've got so many selling points
By Liz Wolgemuth
Older workers often subscribe to certain myths about themselves, and they may end up hiding their age or apologizing for it when they search for a job. Increasingly, too, the contrasts between people in their 50s and 60s and younger millennial workers have caused a strange kind of generational workplace clash. The truth is, the American workforce needs the input of both, and baby boomers have a vast assortment of strengths to recommend them.
While not all of these 20 strengths will be characteristic of every older worker, the assets here should give those with more experience plenty of great reasons to hold their heads high.
If you're an older worker, take note of your many selling points:
1. You understand recessions: Older workers have seen hard times before—the bursting of the 1990s tech bubble, recession in the early 1980s, the oil crisis of the mid-1970s—and they understand that businesses have to adjust. Knowing, too, that expansions always follow, older workers can bring a steady perspective to a jumpy workplace.
2. You have a healthy fear of slowdowns: Sure, you've seen them before. Older workers' steadiness can be accompanied by a fair dose of worry: You know that downturns can last for long periods of time, and you've witnessed the obliteration of job security, so you know that you need to be increasingly ready and willing to do what it takes to keep your job.
3. You're willing to work part time: Older workers most crave flexibility, according to a RetirementJobs.com survey. Many want to spend more of their time doing things they enjoy—traveling, perhaps, or playing with their grandkids—and they're often willing to accept a part-time schedule or reduced hours. As employers increasingly cut back on hours, a willingness to be flexible can make a job seeker more attractive to a greater variety of companies.
4. You have real-life experience: Today, employers need workers who can hit the ground running, and older workers have more real-world, less theoretical experience, says John Challenger of Challenger Gray & Christmas. "They've been there before and seen more situations," Challenger says.
5. You want to be challenged: Forget resting on your laurels—a Penn State study found that challenging work is the thing that older workers want most.
6. You know that tech savvy isn't everything: There will be younger workers with greater expertise in computer programs, social networking, and new tech trends—but you can sell yourself on the alternative. Businesses can't rely solely on tech savvy; they also need people with sales and leadership skills. You can provide support for the young tech talents.
7. You don't need constant feedback: Ron Alsop, author of The Trophy Kids Grow Up, reports that millennial workers may want weekly, or even daily, evaluations from their employers. Earlier in your career, you probably wanted lots of feedback, too. Today, you've got a pretty good handle on your value, and you're more confident in your abilities.
8. You're healthier: A recent study by employee assistance program provider ComPsych found that older workers— in their 50s or 60s—are likelier to have healthy diets, exercise regularly and have lower stress levels than workers in their 30s.
9. You can manage yourself: A recent study by TalentSmart, a provider of psychological assessments, found that self-management skills seem to increase with age. TalentSmart said that "60-year-olds scored higher than 50-year-olds, who scored higher than 40-year-olds, and so on."
10. You're able to control your emotions: The same TalentSmart study found that when it comes to managing emotions, "baby boomers reign supreme." Other studies show older workers have low levels of work-related stress. A cool head and calm demeanor can make a major difference in workplace dynamics during hard times.
11. Your network is bigger: All those years of networking groups and Chamber of Commerce meetings haven't been for nothing. You've got deep reserves of friends, colleagues, and contacts in the community. That's an asset to an employer who's trying to get out of a sales rut. It's also helpful to a hiring manager who wants to check out your reputation.
12. You're loyal: Take Colorado, for example, where older workers have the lowest turnover rate among working groups. Borders Group began making older workers a bigger percentage of its employee mix in the 1990s, when it found that workers over age 50 were staying longer with their jobs and were happier in them.
13. You're not competing for a top spot: You're working more for steady income now—not to climb the ladder. Female baby boomers were more likely to think "good for her/him," if a competitor won a new contract or client, according to a recent American Express study of female business owners.
14. You've been green a long time: Companies are increasingly using their environmental sensitivity as a selling point, and while gen Y is often characterized as the most passionately "green" age group, many older workers were raised with green principles: using a pencil down to the nub, repairing holes and worn spots in clothes, reusing jars and using little (or no) air conditioning. Seeyou were green before it was cool.
15. You're a team player: Older workers tend to be settled and comfortable in their own skin, John Challenger says. Those tendencies can help them fit in and work as part of a team more easily.
16. You're willing to learn: Older workers actually exhibit a greater willingness to learn than younger workers, according to a 2005 study by a Louisiana State University professor. Workers in their 50s and 60s are even more committed to technological change, the study found.
17. You're reliable: You'll get your work done. It sounds simple, but that's a huge asset for an employer. A 1998 survey by the National Council on the Aging found that 97 percent of the employers surveyed said older workers were thorough and reliable in completing their work.
18. You're more satisfied with your job and your benefits: Job satisfaction appears to increase with age, and workers ages 65 and older tend to be the most satisfied with the work they're doing. A University of Chicago study published last year found that 71 percent of the 65-plus group was very satisfied with their work, compared with 42 percent of those ages 18 to 29.
19. You're no one-trick pony: Over their careers, many workers have spent time in multiple industries, Challenger notes, and that ability to cross-pollinate is highly useful to employers right now.
20. You're cheaper: This isn't always true, but if you're starting someplace new, you're likely to be cheaper. (Or you should consider taking a cut in pay or hours where you're currently working.) After all, you aren't providing for a gaggle of kids anymore, and you may be looking for a more flexible schedule of reduced hours. Many seniors just need some income now to supplement their suffering investments.
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