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Ever thought of becoming a pharmacist? Or an economist? How about a veterinarian?

These are some of the highest paying recession-proof jobs, according to Laurence Shatkin, author of “150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs,” a new book by JIST Publishing.

Also recession-proof: anything in the medical field, according to Barry Brown, president of Effective Resources, a Knoxville, Tenn., firm that tracks salary information.

That’s one of the factors that led Greensboro resident Melissa Stancil, 27, to seek her certified nursing assistant certificate at GTCC. Following the 10-week course,

Stancil said she secured a job within a couple of weeks of completing an application at Moses Cone Health System.

“You’ll never be out of a job if you work in the medical field,” Stancil said. “Somebody’s always going to be sick.”

Moses Cone has about 250 patient care-related openings, said spokesman Doug Allred. Those openings include jobs as nurses, pharmacists, technicians and therapists, he said. Nurses make up about 2,500 of the system’s nearly 7,400 employees, Allred said.

“Each recession is a little different than the one before in terms of sectors of the economy,” Shatkin says. “The technology bubble in 2001 affected a lot of technology jobs. But construction was going well. This time, the tech jobs are doing fairly well.”

What’s not on the book’s list? Notably absent are jobs in real estate, construction, banking and finance.

The book is most useful for people making long-term career plans, young people or those making mid career changes, the author says. Some jobs take a larger investment of time and money to pursue than others.

Industries with the highest concentration of recession-proof positions are transit and ground passenger transportation, hospitals and ambulatory care services.

The best recession-proof job is computer systems analyst, an occupation that typically earns nearly $70,000 a year. New positions in that field are growing 29 percent a year. Other fastest-growing jobs are network systems and data communications analysts, veterinary technologists and medical assistants.

People seek certain jobs for reasons that go beyond their interests or talents, the author says. “Income, leadership, independence, lifestyle and security matters to some people,” Shatkin says.

Job security was one of the reasons that Greensboro resident Kaye Leonard chose nursing as a second career in 2004. Leonard, director of operations at Hot Wax Candle Co. at the time, had traveled the world with the candlemaking company until it folded.

She wanted her next career to be one where she worked with people, could find a job easily here or elsewhere, and she wanted something that offered opportunities for advancement. Leonard plans to pursue her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing.

“I did love my previous job,” she said. “But I love this one just as well. I can promise you that no two days are alike. It’s interesting every day.”

But it’s not for everyone, Leonard warned.

“You can’t just do it because it’s job security,” she said. “You have to want to do it, too, because of the kind of care you’re delivering.”

If you’re looking at pay, the national average salary for a pharmacist is more than $94,000 a year.

Economists make an average of $77,000 and veterinarians about $72,000, according to the Shatkin’s book, which uses U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

A closer look shows there can be vast pay differences even in recession-proof fields.

Dr. Andrew Turkell, owner of Calusa Veterinary Center in Boca Raton, Fla., says more graduates are going on to become veterinary specialists because that’s where the money is. “Instead of a $300 office visit, it’s $3,000 to $6,000 for a board-certified veterinary surgeon,” he says.

As for vets being insulated from the downturn, there are some vet expenses that are discretionary in tough financial times and some that are not.

Consumers may put off shots for their pet, but they don’t hesitate if the issue is more serious.

“For so many people their pet is a family member,” Turkell says. “If you have a dog that can’t walk, you’re taking it to the vet.”

Staff writer Jennifer Fernandez contributed to this report.