If your chosen career is motivated by true passion, is the commute really that long? Are the office politics really that onerous? Are the inevitable extra hours really that tiresome? Whether the economy is “firing on all cylinders,” as the analysts are fond of saying, or whether one in 10 Americans are without steady work, there are always options.
Do you love foreign cultures? Learn another language—not out of obligation to work for a multinational company, but from real desire. From embassy to agency, you’ll always have a place to make a professional contribution.
Do you love specific products, those that you use every day and cannot live without? Learn all you can about them, not out of necessity to obtain a sales position (which remain abundant even in bad economies), but from real desire to convey what you’ve clearly benefited from yourself.