Pharmacist labeled a "recession proof" job

Pharmacist labeled a "recession proof" job
Posted: Mar 10, 2009 3:09 PM Updated: Mar 13, 2009 8:54 AM

By Michelle Paynter - bio | email

SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) - While we are all hoping the recession ends soon, the reality today is folks are losing their jobs and new jobs are hard to come by.

But there are jobs out there that have been labeled by financial experts as "recession proof". Dozens of health care jobs top the list of recession proof jobs, but becoming a pharmacist in particular seems to be a very wise career choice.

Even in a down economy, customers lined up at the LoCost Pharmacy in midtown Savannah.

Pharmacist Jacque Cole has been busy all day filling prescriptions. "It doesn't look like there's going to be a huge recession in the pharmacy profession."

Cole said where ever you go, pharmacists are in high demand.

That's good news for the pharmacy students at South University in Savannah. Several students, like Lauren Werts and Kyle Saunders, are going to graduate and enter the job market in June.

"When I first chose pharmacy the economy wasn't in the state it is in now, so it wasn't really a deciding factor being as secure as it is," said Werts. "Now I'm definitely happy that it is."

"People are always going to get sick, be in pain, need something to relieve their conditions like diabetes; it's not going away," said Saunders.

Most of the third-year pharmacy students already have a job waiting for them. And they do realize just how lucky they are. "I have a lot of friends with business degrees and they say it's really hard right now to find jobs," said Saunders. "So it's real nice to be able to have something already lined up. I know what I'll be making and where I will be."

The average salary for a pharmacists is $95,000 a year.

Cole said, "It's a great profession, it's wide open, it has equal pay and equal opportunities for male and female, part time opportunities are also available. I don't want to say its recession proof but overall health care jobs tend to stay pretty well filled."

Which is a bright spot in this gloomy economy.

According to the book "The 150 Best Recession Proof Jobs," by Laurence Shatkin, there are many jobs that pay well and are still in high demand.

The top ten "recession proof" jobs include:

1. Computer Systems Analysts
2. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts
3. Network and Computer Systems Administrators
4. Registered Nurses
5. Teachers, Post secondary
6. Physical Therapists
7. Physicians and Surgeons
8. Dental Hygienists
9. Pharmacists
10. Medical and Health Service Managers

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