Crash courses

Develop a sideline

When the economy turns sour, it’s nice to have multiple revenue streams to keep you afloat. View your career like a stock portfolio, and consider whether you could diversify. “One way to help recession-proof your career is to realize that you are not limited to your one job,” Westerman says. She suggests thinking about the range of ways you can use your professional expertise—by going into consulting, for example, or freelance writing.

Two career-management courses this fall at NYU look at freelance writing for newspapers, magazines and newsletters as a second income. At the New School for General Studies (212-229-5600, newschool.edu), “Writing for New York City Newspapers and Magazines” will show you how to break into freelancing—how to pitch a story the right way and to the right person, and then see it through to publication.

There is also money to be made online. Blogs, for example, may seem like cyberspace soapboxes, but with some Web savvy you can create a polished, profit-generating venture. Rather than keeping a LiveJournal collection of your random thoughts, you can draw on your professional expertise to create a niche blog that will draw traffic and advertisers. “Blogging Your Way to Profitability,” at NYU’s Center for Publishing, will show you how to create a focused blog and introduce you to money-making tactics like linking to “affiliate programs.” (If you review books, for instance, you can give readers a link to Amazon; if they buy, you get a cut.)

Besides using your skills and opinions to make money online, you could also sell…stuff. The art of launching an eBay business is the subject of some popular one-day courses offered at The Cooper Union (212-353-4195, www.cooper.edu/ce) each semester, Greenstein says. If your studio apartment is awash in thrift-store collectibles, maybe it’s time to think about making your obsession a business. At Cooper, “eBay: Beyond the Basics” gets into the nitty-gritty of the business—choosing what to sell, packing and shipping inventory, and managing online payments.

And while you’re working on ways to bring in extra cash, it’s also a good time to ponder what to do with it. In a sluggish economy, how much should you put into savings, toward slimming down your debt, or into your 401k? If your answer is a blank stare, a personal finance course—like “Personal Finance: Developing Your Financial Plan” and “Fundamentals of Individual Investing,” both offered at NYU—could be a good investment.

Anyone, regardless of their profession, should have a handle on the basics of financial planning, says NYU’s Oberstein. In his department’s “Personal Finance” course, for instance, you can learn about everything from the different types of insurance you need to understanding the ins and outs of credit card contracts. “Fundamentals of Individual Investing” will introduce you to the mysteries of stocks and bonds, mutual funds and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Baruch College (646-312-5000, baruched.com) also has a number of courses to get your finances in order, including classes on diversifying your investment portfolio and planning for retirement—because it’s never too early. The bottom line, say the experts, is that you shouldn’t let a broken economy get you own—even if you lose your job. “Don’t focus on the negative,” says NYU’s Oberstein. “You’re going to have to be motivated, do the networking, take the courses.”

“In truth,” he adds, “we are all adaptable, and we can all find the right fit.”

You might even find that that pink slip is the best thing that ever happened to you.

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