"The trades are recessionproof." It’s a common and compelling refrain, often repeated in the trade school classroom or on the job by a seasoned mentor. It’s also marketing speak, and an oversimplification of reality. Yes, water and wastewater trade careers have a certain insulation against economic volatility that other sectors do not, but what that means on the day-to-day, person-to-person level is much more complicated than, “Hey! I’ll never lose this job.”
The water and wastewater industries do not have all-powerful immunity from economic shifts, supply chain disruptions or changes in customer behavior. What sets water and wastewater apart is its integral, if often invisible, role in modern infrastructure. Let modern plumbing or onsite treatment standards go slack and we’d soon see rising cases of waterborne illnesses. Doubly so for municipal water and wastewater treatment standards.
Simply labeling any career as "recessionproof" without providing context minimizes the skill, adaptation and discipline required to sustain a successful career. The stability of the water and wastewater industries is rooted in essential human needs, not some monolithic shield. Critical infrastructure spending cannot be entirely paused, as much as customers, ratepayers and public officials wish it could be. Economic downturns may slow the pace of luxury upgrades, aesthetic renovations and other nonessential spending, but that doesn’t stop water mains from bursting or a sewer lateral from collapsing. Those problems are urgent and important; they cannot be ignored without endangering public health no matter the current economic climate. It’s nonnegotiable.
For you as future and new professionals, that means there’s a premium on your ability to adapt with the market. Economic downturns do not typically bring new-home construction booms; however, that pause in construction makes maintaining existing home plumbing systems a priority. Onsite professionals might perform more septic system rejuvenation jobs in a sluggish economy, and water/wastewater treatment professionals may prioritize maintaining and troubleshooting existing equipment. The economy slows down, and the work never stops.
This doesn't mean you’ll never lose a job or never be laid off. The demand remains, but the market does change, and your career stability depends on you. The trades do not offer a windfall without effort, so if your trade requires licensure or CEUs, keep up or exceed the requirements, make being a pragmatic problem-solver a priority and pick the brains of those with more experience. If you maintain a growth mindset, hone your technical skills and remain adaptable, you should be able to pick up work no matter the market. And in that case, you’ve become recessionproof, not the job.
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