When the construction industry is in the doldrums and people are being laid off right, left and center you might not think this is a great time to train for a career in the industry. However, looked at another way it would be a great time. The trick is to think of this as a chance to upgrade your skills while you cannot be working. For example, think of a heavy equipment career. At the moment, while there's no work around, would be a great time to do the training needed to be a backhoe operator, or a mobile crane, or skid steers worker. For the cost of the work you're giving up to get the training is of course zero.

Further, I think we all know that the slump in the construction industry isn't going to last. It won't go on for ever anyway, that's obvious. But more than that, there's the huge stimulus program coming down the pike. Congress has authorised hundreds of billions of dollars of construction spending already and that's even before we all start working on the new green infrastructure we'll need to beat climate change.

It's one of those counter-intuitive things, somethimes the best time to go into an industry is just when everyone else is leaving it.