There is a comfort that comes from a two-income household. While it isn’t easy when one spouse gets canned, at least the other is still bringing in a paycheck.

But what happens when both wife and husband hit career hell? And there are young children in the mix?

You have to rethink your job strategy pronto.

I got an email last week from a former newspaper colleague of mine from Tampa, Florida. It was a short note about how he was applying for a job as an emergency dispatcher with the Sheriff’s Office in town and wanted to know if he could add me to his list of personal references.

This was a bit surprising because this guy has been a journalist for years and was pretty set on this career.

He figured I would be perplexed so he added this line:

“Sounds strange, I know. I’ll fill you in on all the details soon. Right now I gotta rush this thing through.”

This morning I got the follow-up email explaining what was going on.

The newspaper he was freelancing for slashed its budget to the core and had little money for contractors like him; and his wife, a long-time employee in the mortgage sector, had been recently laid off after months of speculation that the pink slip was coming.

“So we’ve both been on the job hunt for quite some time,” he wrote. “After much drudgery and soul searching, not to mention financial hardship, here’s where we’re at now:”

His wife had just passed “her final state exam to become a certified nursing assistant, the first important (and employable) step to her eventually making RN or LPN. She’s sent out a barrage of resumes to local facilities. Fingers crossed.”

And he was pursuing the Sheriff’s dispatcher job.

Here’s some of the thought process that went into his decision to change careers:

Why do I want this kind of job? At first I was just as bemused. But I’m a good communicator if you boil me down, whether writing is involved or not. This job is mostly about talking to a wide range of people over the phone, getting the information I need out of them quickly, and recording it accurately. I’ve been doing that for the paper for over 15 years. That’s how I’ve been selling myself to the Sheriff so far, and it’s working (even though I had calm their early fears about my background in the news media. No, I’m not some deep cover reporter on special assignment, I told them.).
Besides, like most government jobs, this one has above average benefits and job security. Those are huge factors for young parents in a shaky economy.

This all makes sense. And it takes a lot of balls to totally embark on a new career path.

His choice and the choice of his wife may not be choices you would make. But I share this story because it’s a great example of how we have to all be ready to make changes and pursue new avenues in this economy. This couple was probably driven into action, in part, by the need to provide for their two young kid, both under 6.

But the bottom line is they looked at the world around them and figured out two gigs that would probably offer some job security.

Where they will end up is unclear, but they are both hard working individuals who won’t let economic hardships derail them.

It’s not easy folk, there is no way around it.

Here are some of my friends final thoughts:

“These past couple of years have been very trying to for us. We see some real light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re not quite there yet.”