With the current economic woes and increasing fear of layoffs and downsizing, Americans are searching for employment that is recession-proof.

For a select number of students, including Amber Paulsen, sophomore business major at Kishwaukee Community College, this type of job opportunity comes in the form of the U.S. military.

Paulsen, who is a first-class private in Kishwaukee’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, said she first joined the service after seeing how much her two brothers enjoyed it. There were also added benefits for her besides family ties.

“I knew it’d be a paycheck for each month so I wouldn’t have to worry as much about money issues,” Paulsen said. “With that, there would be pay for schooling, and of course I’d also have training that could help me get a good job.”

Joseph McClelland, Petty Officer First Class and Navy recruiter working in DeKalb, said what seems to attract most people to join the service are the educational benefits. After serving a four-year term, McClelland said the Navy provides a full ride to college. In addition, the pay received by service members is equal to what a civilian would make at a normal job.

McClelland said the Navy is susceptible to budget cuts, but once someone has been accepted into the service, they won’t experience a layoff. He added that recently, the local recruiter’s office where he is employed has experienced more office traffic, which translates to more people looking into a position in the service.

“During a recessionary period, jobs are hard to obtain,” said economics professor Khan Mohabbat. “This is especially true for younger people and low-skilled workers.”

Mohabbat said after a person looking for work has been unsuccessful in the civilian world, they may turn to branches of the service.

“Younger workers, after exhausting job opportunities in the private sector, may look into the government sector, be it Army, Navy or the Air Force,” Mohabbat said. “This has been the norm during the downward phase of the business cycles.”

Paulsen said after she experienced life in the service, it became much more important to her than simply the money that came with the job.

“After I joined, it was about more than money,” Paulsen said. “I was a part of something bigger than me, and I was proud of it.”

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