The nation’s job market may be in a recession,  but not nursing. According to the Department of Labor, careers in nursing are skyrocketing, even with the recession in full swing. This growth is expected to continue for years to come. If you are interested in starting a career in this field, online education makes it easier than ever to get a degree in health and nursing.

With a nursing degree, you will have the skills to participate in the fastest growing occupation in the world. Advancement opportunities are strong in nursing, especially with increased education and experience. In 2 to 4 years and with minimal investment, nursing degree-holders can expect to make, on average, between $48,000 and $80,000 with great benefits, stability and plentiful opportunities for advancement.

Many top online universities offer flexible, quick and well-respected nursing and healthcare degree programs that you can complete online.

Visit any of the following online universities to fill out a short "Request Info" form and receive free health and nursing degree information:

Kaplan University

University of Phoenix

Colorado Technical University

Visit any of the following online universities to fill out a short "Request Info" form and receive free health and nursing degree information: ClassesandCareers.com.  An education advisor will contact you and help you get started with the right nursing degree program for you and financial aid program.

If you’ve always wanted to be the one to take down the bad guys, there’s great news. According to the Department of Labor, careers in Criminal Justice are looking better than ever, even with a recession looming. In fact, according to Yahoo! HotJobs, security careers, which include Criminal Justice, are "recession-proof" careers.

Criminals don’t take a break when the economy slumps, and neither do criminal investigators. Fortunately, with online education options, it’s easier than ever to get a degree in criminal investigation. In fact, you can get free, customized information on Criminal Justice degree programs by filling out an online form with an accredited online university.

With a degree in Criminal Justice, you will have the skills to participate in some of the most exciting and personally rewarding jobs in the world. Unlike other industries, Criminal Justice is expected to increase in size, as drug- and computer-related crimes rise and our society becomes more security-conscious. In 2 to 4 years and with minimal investment, Criminal Justice degree holders can expect to make, on average, between $45,000 and $80,000 with great benefits, stability and plentiful opportunities for advancement.

The following top online universities offer flexible, quick and well-respected Criminal Justice degree programs that you can complete online. You can receive free information from each university regarding tuition cost, financial aid, course availability, and time to graduate by filling out a form.

* Kaplan University
* University of Phoenix
* Colorado Technical University

If you want to start a career in Criminal Justice, request free information about the best online degree programs. An education advisor will help you find the best Criminal Justice program and financial aid for your needs.

So, the ‘recession-proof’ label has become sickeningly overused. A year ago, Yahoo HotJobs! published an article featuring outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. They named Education, Energy, Healthcare, International Business, Environmental Sector, and Security as recession-proof careers. So how recession-proof were these careers?

Check out the list below and see which ones are actually doing as well as predicted:

1. Education With dozens of states in dire financial straits, education budgets are getting slashed and burned faster than the rainforest. As if public schoolteachers weren’t already getting ripped off on their salaries…

2. Energy The folks in this industry must have freaked last summer when people started seriously limiting their gas usage. Lucky for them, the price of gas plummeted and got everyone back to the good ol’ American tradition of burning petroleum like there’s no tomorrow. Keep in mind, however, that with a recession gnawing away at pocketbooks, Americans will cut back significantly on gasoline usage this year- guaranteed.

3. Health Care  While doctors and hospitals have seen a drop in non-urgent health care, this industry is holding relatively strong. People still need emergency care, and life-threatening injuries and diseases have not taken a holiday.

4. International Business What a lot of people didn’t realize last year is how quickly a financial crisis in the U.S. would spread to the rest of the world in a serious way. They thought that American businesses would simply migrate to more plentiful hunting grounds overseas. Well, a year later, everybody is pulling back, from Beijing to New Delhi to New York to Paris. This year, the grass is not greener on the other side… on any side, for that matter.

5. Environmental Sector In the grand scheme of things, in the history of business and commerce, let’s face it: the green movement is just a fad. When corporations are trying to figure out how to just stay alive for the next three years, the last thing on their minds is going to be buying chairs made of recycled bamboo shoots just because their existing furniture is non-biodegradable. The only hope for this industry is to create green solutions that also dramatically help cut costs. With any given corporation, it’s Company first, Earth second.

6. Security They said, "No matter what happens to the economy, the public has to be protected." Police careers are stable, they said. I say, NOT ANYMORE, for the same reason education is no longer safe. Our states are bankrupt and are looking for every way they can to trim down costs. As long as our state governments are neck-deep in debt, don’t count on them paying for one police officer after another. They are already having to say, "We just can’t afford any more."

So, look at the results: 2 out of 6 of their so-called "recession-proof" jobs actually were. One of those is at risk. That’s a 33 percent batting average at best. Not good odds. Funny thing? I haven’t been able to find any "recession-proof" job lists for 2009.