The safest professions during recessions and slowdowns

Almost all the professions are prone to slowdown, recession or even a depression.However, there are certain professions which are either remaining unscathed completely or are partially impacted by these economic and market turbulence. There are a section of professionals just out of the recently concluded recession, or yet to conclude slowdown, since the great depression, who thinks about the so called protected professions during the time of slowdown, recession or depression.This sense of belief has led many a professional turn to these selected band of professions either by switching their career graph or by acquiring a new set of educational degrees or diplomas. Grapevine knowledge would point out to professions like teaching, healthcare, utility services to be those dreamt ones which may remain unmoved even by the mightiest economic turbulence.This is more of a wishful thinking as professionals representing these industries are getting affected intangibly(in a networked economy) as their respective employers are finding novel ways to reduce their expenses, which at times indirectly lead to forced or voluntary resignation en-masse.The ones who leave behind their lucrative professions for these selected band so as to make themselves immune against the market forces realizes that they were involved in a hara-kiri or one which is shortlived. These chopping and changing also allow the employers to segregate the genuine ones from the opportunist and thereby reward those who had weathered the storms even when the going was tough.It is therefore fool hardy to think that some professions are immune to recession/slowdown/depression.The actual happening is market driven, irrespective of the sector one is in.Its time for the common sense to sink in.

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Fanatical moves in the business world….Be cautious before your business reacts-proactively or reactively!

Fanatical moves are being made by global corporations. The rumour mongering that the present slowdown would be second in the list after the great depression if not more penetrative gas started to send most of the corporate executives, entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses react abnormally. School of thoughts emanating cites instances of Tech Mahindra over quoting Satyam, Japan and France along with Germany protecting the automobile sector by doling out car-substitution plans, G-20 showing a united developed and emerging nations fighting tooth and nail against the meltdown, Nano creating a flutter in the otherwise depressed global automotive markets, albeit with a concern in the mind of the Kyoto protocol supporters, innovation in ideating fiscal stimulus, precision of identifying toxic assets and gunning them down and so forth.

It’s often seen that a chunk of the people reacts simply to the rumour and initiates steps which are uncalled for. The moment may be alarming; however it also provides opportunity to look for a new segment, to reorganize the business model, to recheck the product portfolio and so on. It calls for thorough introspection as the dynamics in the environment should be treated differently by different business houses and individuals. One size fits all even during a slowdown would tantamount to following a bandwagon blindly.

My Article on 'Meltdown-A Boon in the True Sense'

Source- The Hitavada, Leading English Daily of Central India, dated 31st March 2009

My article on Recession and Students

The article published in the leading daily of central India, The Hitavada, dated 23rd December 2008 talks about the present downturn witnessed in the global economy and its impact on the Indian students.There are some measures which can be taken to survive the down turn though, they are presented in the article. Read and comment.

My latest Article Link on Handling Recession/Slowdown

http://www.iupindia.org/1108/gc.asp?mag=http://www.iupindia.org/1108/gc_sub.asp