Vocational type careers can be very sound during a down economy.  During a recession certain industries are affected more than others, typically the professional industries such as banking.

Vocational or service-oriented industries, on the other hand, can sometimes offer better job security.  Here are a couple of ideas if you want a fairly recession-proof career.

1. Nursing and health care.  The health care industry is particularly resilient, probably because good nurses and health care workers are so hard to come by right now.  By learning this trade you will guarantee yourself a lifetime of guaranteed work, and most likely pretty good pay to boot.
2. Hot tub service professional.  Hot tubs are no longer things owned solely by the wealthy — cheap hot tubs have made their way into many a middle class family’s home.  And of course, anyone with a hot tub will need people to clean and service them periodically.  If this is something you can do, there are many job opportunities here — and not much competition!
3. Plumber.  No matter how bad the economy gets, you can bet that one thing people will always spend money on is a plumber.  Most people have no idea how to fix their own plumbing, which makes these folks invaluable — and irreplaceable.

What other service-oriented jobs can you think of that will retain demand even in a down economy?

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