The virus has made it challenging to keep or find jobs in these fields.
1. Restaurant Cook
As we all know, the coronavirus has crushed the restaurant industry. Many sit-down restaurants have shuttered, resulting in a lot of unemployed restaurant cooks.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t jobs. People have to eat, and many restaurants do carryout and delivery and have a need for cooks. But if you’re looking for a job as a cook during the midst of a global pandemic, you will have a lot of competition from experienced and now unemployed chefs – and you will find fewer openings.
2. Recreation and Fitness Worker
Recreation and fitness workers are important positions, and there will always be a need for them. The problem now is that most recreation and fitness workers work at places like parks and gyms and summer camps – all places that naturally attract a lot of people and are currently closed.
While you can lead a fitness class through videoconferencing, there is little doubt that as long as people are sheltering in place, you’re going to work up a sweat just trying to find a job in this field.
3. Hairdresser
While many people would consider their hairdressers to be essential employees, the coronavirus has shut down just about every salon and barbershop for the time being.
Hairdressers will be in demand when sheltering in place stops, but until a vaccine is developed, it will be a tricky career to navigate.
4. Maintenance and Repair Worker
You can expect disruption in this career, though you may still be able to eke out a decent living.
If you work, for instance, for a handyman service, you’ll probably find that you aren’t being called to do many jobs inside a house. Depending on your state, you may not even be allowed in someone’s home – and you may not want to go inside.
But while people won’t be likely asking you to do non-essential work inside the home, like remodeling a kitchen, they may need a roof, fence or garage door repaired, or a patio installed, all of which could be done safely away from a homeowner.
5. Bus Driver
This is a nerve-wracking but important job in a global pandemic.
People need to go where they need to go. You’re going to get them there, safely. But are you safe? Bus drivers have described their vehicles as petri dishes, with coronavirus germs potentially spreading from passenger to passenger to driver.
Many cities have reduced transit services, and so there may be fewer job opportunities while the pandemic is raging. On the other hand, if a city needs a bus driver, and you’re happy to get behind the wheel, you’d have to think they’ll be happy to hire you.
6. Taxi Driver
As you can imagine, not a lot of people are going out and about these days. That isn’t to say that there aren’t people who have important trips to make where a taxi is needed, but the industry has been hit hard.
Since the coronavirus broke out, at least one large taxi company has declared bankruptcy. Taxi drivers have reported waiting for six and seven hours before getting one passenger to drive around.
This isn’t the best time to go into the industry, unless you feel you can wait out the pandemic.
7. Real Estate Agent
It’s not a great time to become a real estate agent, though for those already in it, many are hanging in there. You’ll likely meet clients from 6 feet away, and you’ll likely be taking homebuyers through virtual walking tours in homes rather than the real thing.
Eventually, the threat of the virus will pass, and it’ll be a money-making career again. But it’s a slow process to make a sale right now – with many people afraid to look at homes, especially if they’re currently occupied, and many sellers afraid to have strangers dropping by to see their house.
8. Waiter and Waitress
Many waiters and waitresses, also referred to as servers, are now unemployed as restaurants throughout the country and world have been shut down.
Restaurants can still make food, and patrons can pick up the food or have it delivered. But the job of server barely exists right now, unless you don’t mind referring to yourself as a waiter-delivery driver. You may be able to find a job at a restaurant if you have a good car – and collect a tip when you take the food to a home. Then you could deliver food to tables once the restaurant opens back up.
9. Sports Coach
If you’re a coach, you may be working at a school, teaching students to play better football, softball or soccer. You might work for a community center. Either way, they’ve all been shut down to allow for sheltering in place.
You may be able to get a job during the pandemic – with the idea that you’ll start coaching once you have a team that doesn’t have to be socially distant from their teammates.
10. Retail Salesperson
If you love shopping – and don’t mind using your talents to help shoppers – you may love this career. Unfortunately, it’s a career that has been demolished by the coronavirus, due to numerous stores being forced to close. Years of competition with online retail, like Amazon, hasn’t helped.
Many brands still have their own online shipping components to help keep their companies alive, but that doesn’t help the retail salesperson, hired to work in a store.
For the time being, this is a tough gig. If you want a career in retail, your best bet might be to contact management and let them know you’d like to be considered as a retail salesperson once the economy and stores begin to open up again.
11. Plumber
The virus is disrupting this industry, though there is still work. Homeowners who would like to fix a leaky faucet or are considering installing a new sink but don’t need one are probably holding off on those projects. But homeowners and businesses that have plumbing emergencies are still going to call you for help.
Plumbing companies are posting on their websites that they’re still in business but keeping their distance and sanitizing everything they touch. You may not get a lot of overtime as a plumber while the virus rages on, but you will likely remain employed.
12. Construction Manager
This is a well-paying job that involves a lot of responsibility: overseeing a team of people putting up a building or home.
But it’s not a job you do from home all the time, and therein lies the problem. You can keep social distance to a point, but you work with architects, engineers, carpenters, stonemasons, electricians – and clients. You interact with people a lot. Many construction projects are moving forward, but many aren’t, and even the ones that are generate criticism over whether they should operate during a pandemic.
13. Pilot
This is typically a well-compensated job – and a wonderful career if you like to fly.
But many flights have been grounded. If you belong to an airline workers union, you may not lose your job – but there’s a decent chance you’re flying less and receiving a reduced paycheck. Private jet travel has been thriving somewhat; people like the idea of having a way to travel without a potential coronavirus-sickened passenger next to them.
But still, so many meetings have been scrubbed that pilots who work for private companies and corporations are reportedly seeing their flight time reduced.
