Worried you might join the growing ranks of those left jobless by the Covid-19 recession? As a help, the website Student Loan Planner has researched which white-collar jobs are recession-resilient.
The personal finance website surveyed members of its community last month on the stability of their incomes as the Covid-19 forces states across the nation to shut down business activity. Student Loan Planner received more than 4,000 responses.
Travis Hornsby, who established Student Loan Planner in 2016 to help college graduates construct a plan to pay down their student loan debt, said the dental profession has been the hardest hit financially of any graduate level profession. Only 31% of dental professionals said their income had stayed the same, while 40% said their dental office has struggled to pay staff and 29% said their office was closing.
Other health-care workers, however, are having a better time coping, the survey found.
Here, in ascending order, are Student Loan Planner’s top 10 financially secure jobs of the coronavirus recession.
10. Teachers
Many teachers will not be receiving an apple from students with most schools closed during the pandemic, but most are still employed. Three-quarters (76%) of 170 surveyed K-12 teachers said they are still being paid under contract while instructing students on Zoom. But 18% said their income had fallen, and 5% said it had gone away completely.
9. Architects
As long as real estate developers have investors with deep pockets and banks offer low interest rates, architects will have a job, whether it is performed in a commercial building or home office. Among architects, 81% of 16 respondents employed in the field said their income had not changed. Only 19% said it had fallen, and no one said it had gone away completely.
8. Clergy
In times of adversity, people of faith turn to their clergy for spiritual comfort. Whether ministering to their flock in a house of worship or live streaming services while their congregation is sheltering at home, 81% of 16 respondents said their income was unchanged during the recession. Just 13% said it had fallen and 6% said it had gone away completely.
7. Nurses
Elective surgeries have been curtailed since the start of the pandemic, but nurses in all health-care areas have been redeployed to treat Covid-19 patients. Three-fourths (82%) of 105 nurses surveyed said their income remained stable during the coronavirus recession, while 15% said it had fallen and 3% said it had gone away completely.
6. Corporate Employees
Many small businesses have shut down, but workers at large multinational corporation, many of them working from home, still have a job, according to the 83% of 274 respondents who said their income was unchanged. However, 15% of respondents said said their income had fallen and 2% said it had gone away completely.
5. Nurse Practitioners
Nurse practitioners can diagnose and treat acute illnesses, as well as prescribe medications – essential services during a pandemic. More than three-quarters (83%) of 41 people in this profession said their income had not changed during the recession, but 15% said it fell and 1% said it went away completely.
4. Lawyers
As the Covid-19 recession ramps up, attorneys are busier now than ever before, handling isues ranging from business bankruptcies to employment and malpractice claims. Out of 240 respondents, 87% said their income had stayed the same. But 12% said it fell and 1% said it went away completely.
3. Physician Assistants
Nine out of 10 physician assistants (PAs) said they are gainfully employed during the pandemic, with no change in income. Although some PA specializations are in areas that have been put in hold as far as treatments and surgeries, only 9% of respondents reported a drop in income and just 1% said it went away completely.
2. Physicians
With 480 respondents, physicians comprised the largest sample of the Student Loan Planner survey. Most of them (91%) said their income had not changed and none said their income had gone away completely. However, 8% said their income had fallen for such reasons as being forced to take two weeks unpaid leave while in quarantine.
1. Pharmacists
While most pharmacists are not working the front lines in the fight against Covid-19, many said that people were flocking to their pharmacies for “everything and anything,” with staff working extra hours. From a sample of 151 pharmacists, 93% said there was no change in their income, 5% said their income had fallen and 1% said it had gone away completely.
The full report can be viewed here.
