Lately the word recession seems to be on everyone’s mind but only half of the people thinking about it will come out and say the word. I’m not sure if this is because they don’t want to acknowledge that the economy is starting to go south or that they don’t know what a recession is. Either way its good to know what is going on and what you can do to help ease the burden on your family.
When I first started college in 1999 jobs were a flowing in every sector. Technology jobs were the “it” career to have and at LSU if you could snag a job with Enron you were set -$10k sign on bonuses and starting salaries of $60k - what more could you want. Well like most good things, the technology bubble burst in the early 2000’s and I vowed after that pitiful job market to make sure I got a Master’s in a field that isn’t impacted too greatly by fads or the economy.
So if you are in college or heading to college what are some “recession-proof” jobs that you might want to look into:
- Teaching - children will always need to learn
- Accounting - in down times there is an even greater demand for accountants
- Medical fields - with the aging baby boomers medical professionals will be in high demand - think nurses, doctors, clinical laboratory service workers, dentists
- Bankers - in troubled times people will need to save money and borrow money
These are just a few of the professions out there that don’t tend to be as impacted by the economy unlike sales/marketing, construction, and the arts. The most important thing though is to find a job you will enjoy doing at a decent wage. The economy operates in cycles so hopefully this cycle won’t last too long.
Summer months in Texas usually mean the temperature is very hot outside and very cold inside. Most of the time you can’t walk outside without immediately starting to drip of sweat. The challenge though has become how do I dress for both? I mean you can’t wear sweaters year round but with the office buildings keeping the air conditioning blasting it presents a problem once lunch time rolls around and you have finally cooled down from the morning walk between your parking lot/garage and your office.
So I’ve tried a few things over the past 2 years to figure out a happy medium: the cardigan and the long-sleeved or 3/4 sleeved shirt. Both have worked ok but I often find that the latter causes me to sweat in the morning and then I’m worried about smelling all day and the former usually doesn’t solve the problem. I always find my feet cold which in turn makes my entire body cold.
So I decided to look into space heaters. I know I know - they are frowned upon by fire marshalls. But I am cold and there has to be a safe one out there. Plus we finally got our audit room all fixed up with nice desks/cube-like set up and I have a way to hide it thanks to the extra office furniture we gained. I found something that seems promising while surfin at work (shhh!). Its called a foot heater mat - as shown below - and looks pretty safe to use and a non-fire hazard. Kind of like a heating pad for your feet. 
I think I might give it a whirl if the air conditioning keeps blasting me out in the afternoons because the coldness definitely lowers my productivity. Has anyone used one of these?
Ever wonder what goes on in an audit room? Well I can tell you about mine which may or may not be typical as I have mainly worked on one engagement my entire career. Basically, there is a pecking order of experience levels among the staff. Unfortunately, on my team right now its a tad unbalanced but nevertheless there is the pecking order and for now I’m at the top in the room. So basically I am allowed to have a certain attitude before it becomes a problem. This is important because I am allowed to get my work done without being bothered too much and up until now my hard-to-find office supplies have been safe (read pick stickies and flags, nice ruler, and pens).
My staff though seem to be having it out in a silent power struggle with the new guy who doesn’t understand that we have 2 entire cabinets full of office supplies for his use and open for the taking. No instead he would rather take the rulers that have people’s names on them to use for himself. Thus a silent power struggle over the good ruler vs. the wooden ruler. Its rather funny watching this go on each and every day but I understand the frustration. I know that at any moment my fun highlighters and ink pens could disappear while I am at lunch or in a meeting. I think I’m going to start moving the nicer stuff out of my cup holder and into my personal cabinet and fill my cup with bic pens just in case anyone tries to mess with me.
Gotta love office stories, power struggles, and gossip. Do your coworkers do anything to bother you? Next time I’ll post what we actually do.
