I paid $1.71 for gas yesterday. It only cost 40 bucks to fill my 26 gallon tank. That ROCKS.
So everyone has been talking about the economy and how it sucks. And how we should all be worried. I get the investment aspect for our retirements, but really, we're all barely 30 or in our early 30's, don't we have time for things to rebound? I'm not sweating my retirement account. It's secure. It's diverse. Am I stupid to have such faith?
But what I don't relate to at all is the job security issue.
I called my brother today to talk about my mom's Christmas gift. We were discussing how much money he could kick in on a large ticket item. What struck me was that he said with the state of this economy he doesn't know if he'll even be employed for much longer. He's a painter. His job directly correlates to whether or not people are building new homes. So it makes total sense. But I don't have the worry, so it never occurred to me he might be trying to tighten the purse strings a little this year.
Because of the nature of mine and Kendall's jobs, we don't really feel the effects of the sagging economy. Because really, we work in two professions that will always exist. Education and Medicine. People will never stop getting sick (good thing he's not a plastic surgeon!) and kids will always need to be educated. Now I guess my job could get cut due to levies not passing, but with the amount of time I've been working, my seniority saves me. Unless I really start to suck as a teacher, my job is safe. And even then, think about how many crappy teachers you had growing up? Yeah, even the crappy ones still get to keep their jobs.
Kendall's job is secure because Miami County is already hurting for family doctors. He's full all the time. Even if people start losing their jobs and subsequently their health insurance, he'll still have a job. He may take a pay cut due to insurance companies becoming more stingy than ever in what they'll pay for, but when it comes down to it, he'll never lose his job completely.
I realize that we are very fortunate to have chosen the careers that we did, but I also think some of it was intentional. While we ultimately picked our jobs because they were something we wanted to do, we also tried to think on a practical level, and that involved job security. Did anyone else out there pick a job that way? Anyone else not really feeling the crunch?
7 comments:
not feeling the crunch here. I'm in sales for something (telecom) that businesses can't do business without. In fact, when i councel my students on a sales industry to test the waters in i tell them to pick a necessity item (like pens, long distance, copiers) and not a "nice to have" (art).
Ummmm...Notice on my blog that Ryan has been home during the day for the past 3 weeks?
I'm secure in my job - affordable housing will always be a need, and really there's a greater need now that the ecomony is bad. Therefore, my company will always need to be staffed, and since my (HR) department is already overworked I can't see any way we'll be cut down any more.
I do worry a little bit about the repercussions on Trey's job. A company that makes silencers for industrial equipment will sell less if manufacturing is down. So far that hasn't really happened, and it seems like the worst that will happen is that he'll just continue to get his base salary and no comission...still, I worry.
People will always need to eat. That makes it sound like job security.
I joke that it IS job security. However, I also work for a manufacturing company, and a small-mid sized one at that. Not that the company I'm currently with is having problems, however, I could see a similarly sized company even with similar items to have problems. Banks aren't giving out loans as easily - many companies need those loans literally every year, especially if their products are seasonal - i.e. a soup company's season is always Winter.
That being said with my skill set, I could move between manufacturing jobs, around the country (i.e. unlike some professions, I don't need certification in my area to work), and even between disciplines. I COULD work in a restaurant if I really had to. Could. Would not want to long term.
As for teachers, I read an article where several hundred teachers in one district alone were laid off - they were closing down and merging schools, increasing class sizes.
I feel pretty secure in my field and job right now. My field could lose some financial support becuase the less money you have the less you are concerned with the environment. That being said, the US has policies in place to ensure complaince and we constantly pollute, so I should have good security. Personally, my group at work is doing the best in the company, so unless something wierd happens, I should be good for awhile!
There are days I feel secure and others not. Working for a small nonprofit though anything could happen that would force our doors to close, especially with our childcare program directly attached.
Now, hubby on the other hand. Retail, low volume, too many stores... anything could happen.
I was just telling Damon before the election that both candidates talked about how poor the economy was, blah, blah, but what about us? We are doing so much better financially than we were even two years ago!! We have more in savings than ever before (not counting the adoption savings), a larger, more beautiful home, a son (saving the teaching profession), two dogs, and two cars (that are both paid off now). We are government workers, so believe me - our jobs are crazy-secure :) I am not naive though, I know one of us could get sick and not be able to work (thus saving the medical profession), but that could happen in any economy. So to answer your question...we are doing alright!
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