Recession Proof Jobs in Sales

After the jobless nightmare we have gone through, everyone should be thinking about recession proof jobs. CNBC recently came out with a list of Top 10 Best Cities to find jobs in recession hit America.

The article noted that the types of jobs that companies are looking for the most and are recession proof jobs are sales jobs and technology jobs because those are the functions that bring in revenue for a company.

Think about it, sales jobs are the ones that are bringing in the revenue for the company to pay everyone else.

On top of that, they are inherently revenue-based, where other jobs are not. What I mean is that people in sales are required to bring in enough revenue to pay for themselves and then some.

If this doesn't happen, the objective of sales reps is not being fulfilled. It's the same as if the receptionist wasn't answering calls or not forwarding messages in a timely manner. Except in that case, it's a lot more subjective.  Sales reps are easy to decipher whether someone should be in that job.

The other recession proof jobs were technology jobs, and that's because they create the products for the sales rep to sell. Without the technology jobs, because the US economy is so much based on innovation, sales reps would have nothing to sell.

That's not to say that The Great Recession is not having an effect on sales jobs. Economic recessions definitely make it harder to sell things. However, like I said already, these jobs are the first on the list of employers to hire and the last to fire.

Sales jobs can be very lucrative in addition to being recession proof jobs. Check out some of the salary statistics and information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Earnings

Median annual earnings of wage and salaries for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products, were $64,440, including commissions, in May 2006.

The middle 50 percent earned between $45,630 and $91,090 a year. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of sales representatives, technical and scientific products, were as follows:

Computer systems design and related services $75,240

Wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers $69,510

Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers $67,700

Drugs and druggists' sundries merchant wholesalers $66,210

Electrical and electronic goods merchant wholesalers $61,000

Median annual earnings of wage and salary for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products, were $49,610, including commission, in May 2006.

The middle 50 percent earned between $35,460 and $71,650 a year. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of sales representatives, except technical and scientific products, were as follows:

Wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers $54,900

Professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers $49,730

Machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers $48,620

Grocery and related product wholesalers $46,150

Miscellaneous nondurable goods merchant wholesalers $42,530

In addition to them being recession proof jobs, being a sales rep is great in that it's very transferable and can be very lucrative. They are transferable in that, as long as you are good at learning new things, you can pretty much work anywhere.

It's very rare that sales reps require specialized skill or an advanced degree, although if you have that, it would make you all the more marketable. But you really don't need that much specialized skill to sell something. Sales jobs only require you to know the features, values, benefits and a little bit about how it works.

If you have a background in sales, that's all the better for you.  But if you're not, this is a career that you should consider because it's one of those rare recession proof jobs that will always be around.