Jobs that do well in a bad economy
Careers in auto repair, air traffic control and apartments fair better than other fields
By GARRY BOULARD, Published July 5, 2009

When students at Tulsa Community College (TCC) in Oklahoma enter a new $1.5 million air traffic control simulator—complete with a 360-degree view and large-frame television images—they are not only participating in a unique high-tech virtual reality, they are also signaling their faith that there is such a thing as a recession-proof job.

“We don’t know if being an air traffic controller is a profession that is entirely resistant to economic downturns,” says David Sollars, associate dean of science, math and engineering technology at TCC. “But we do know that the demand for air traffic controllers is very strong and is only going to increase for the foreseeable future.”

One reason for that growth, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), is the expected retirement of baby boomer air controllers over the next decade, creating a need for up to 17,000 replacements between now and 2019.

Another reason is the ongoing expansion of a vital national industry that has seen some 5,000 new controllers hired in just the last three years.

In response, TCC established an FAA-designed air traffic collegiate training program that is expected to attract up to 25 students per class.

“If the program is entirely filled, we could end up with around 100 students per semester,” Sollars says.

The idea behind TCC’s air controller training program is simple, Sollars says.

“We have intertwined it with our professional pilots program, which means that by the time they are done with all of their classes, the students will have a real feel for what a pilot is experiencing up in the air and what they need to be doing to support them,” he says.

While TCC is one of eight two-year and four-year institutions approved last fall by FAA to participate in its air traffic training initiative, it is one of many community colleges nationally offering training for jobs that appear to be less dependent on the swings of the national economy.

“Any community college that is training students to get into a high-tech or service-oriented job is very much on the right track in today’s economy,” says Laurence Shatkin, author of 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs.

“There is always going to be a need for health care services, which means that jobs for nurses, medical assistants and the various types of therapists will remain in demand,” Shatkin says. “The same holds true for jobs in education. Kids have to go to school, whether there is a recession going on or not.”

Economic downturns also tend to make popular services that might be taken for granted when the economy is stronger, such as automotive and computer repair.

“The auto companies right now are not selling that many new cars,” says Jerry Nissen, program chair in the department of automotive technology at Iowa Western Community College (IWCC). “But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of cars out there that need work done on them. Anyone possessing repair skills today is going to be able to find a job.”

With up to 60 students taking automotive technology classes at IWCC each semester, Nissen says that employment prospects, particularly with independent dealerships, remain strong.

“We don’t know what all of the GM dealerships are going to be doing, which ones will be closing down and which ones are staying open,” Nissen says. “But the independents and after-market dealerships continue to do well.”

Nissen notes that in down times, repair work usually increases because owners are not in the market to buy new cars.

Job training during an economic downturn needs to also reflect changes in specific industries, according to Candace Moody, vice president for communications at WorkSource in Jacksonville.

“There is a lot of unemployment right now among mortgage brokers,” says Moody, whose WorkForce has partnered with Florida Community College at Jacksonville on job training. “But jobs in collections are stronger than ever, and the same goes with foreclosure specialists.”

“We talk to people about transitioning their skill set just a little bit to the other side of the house, so to speak, in order to make themselves more employable,” Moody adds.

A demand for services and goods reflecting the fact that many people tend to stay home more during recessions may also provide unexpected job opportunities, she says.

“People right now are much more likely to cook at home than eat out, which is a good thing for wine and cooking stores,” Moody says.

Bakeries are also doing well, observes Kay King, division chair of lifestyle, arts and design at Houston Community College in Texas.

“Our culinary arts program had a 15 percent increase in students this year from 898 to 1,055, while our pastry arts enrollment went from 293 to 371—a 21 percent increase,” King says.

The reason is that students who have seen their career plans altered by the recession often decide to take a different route and go into something that they feel passionate about, such as baking, King says.

Such career path changes often prove promising. A representative for the supermarket chain H-E-B, based in Texas, recently told King that he would “hire everyone who graduated in the pastry arts.”

“They have something like 240 in-store bakeries throughout the state and desperately need people who can make the bread, tortillas and cakes,” King says.

Some jobs that are even more directly related to home life are proving to be among the most stable. Students enrolled with the National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI) learn about an industry that doesn’t shift much, no matter what is happening on Wall Street.

“There will always be apartments and people who need to live in them,” says Maureen Lambe, executive vice president at NAAEI. The organization’s program is currently offered at Rio Salado Community College (Arizona), Trident Community College (North Carolina) and Ivy Tech Community College (Indiana).

“What many people are not aware of is the wide number of jobs that are an important part of the apartment industry,” says Lambe, as she lists an ongoing need for the services of managers, plumbers and electricians, among other professions.

Offering courses specific to the apartment business in leasing, maintenance and management, the NAAEI program opens students to an industry that is “if not recession-proof, very close to it,” Lambe says.

“It’s an industry that few people really think about, which is why they are surprised when they learn about the careers that go along with it,” she says.

Such surprises are typical of job market fluctuations in a recession, says author Shatkin.

“Old jobs go by the wayside and new ones appear when an economy is going through major changes” he says. “The challenge for community colleges is not just to recognize these kinds of trends, but to also figure out a way to use them to the advantage of their students.”