Okay, everywhere I look it appears that we as humans are in for some tough times, oil prices and what not will cause this. Some industries could be heavily affected by this. The auto-industry could be hit hard, shipping, aeronautics, retail and lots of manufacturing could also be hurt bad.

I am trying to figure out what I want to do and study. I am worried about the future though and don't want to be stuck in a bad position when this depression hits.

People will have much less disposable income so jobs involving frivolous things will probably be gone.

Industries I could see there being a future are: Farming (especially local), renewable energy, and riot police to contain the starving masses (lol, *winces*).

I don't know how bad whatever is coming will be and I hope it won't be as bad as some say. Who knows though. Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, etc?

Thanks for reading.

As far as moneymaking goes self-employment is probably your best bet. I'd be thinking of such careers as soapmaker and candlemaker, seeing as how large-scale manufacturing will probably be significantly scaled back and the high price of energy in the future could seriously curtail incandescent bulbs and the juice needed to power them.

There's a good thread in DIY with a link to an article from Mother Earth News about building a fairly nice, yet not terribly expensive, cabin for a single person or couple. You may want to check that out, I'm already basing plans off of it.

Learning to take care of yourself wouldn't be a bad idea in more than one sense of the phrase. Self-sufficient food supplies, animal husbandry, making soap/candles, etc.

Also invest in firearms and ammunition. There will be many unprepared individuals, out to take your shit because they haven't thought things out in advance. You should not have to suffer because of their lack of foresight.

I know I sure as hell won't.

EDIT: Get your teeth taken care of now. Dental anesthetics, supplies, and services might be in short supply, and a bad dental infection can kill you. My teeth are absolute shit at the moment and I'm planning on getting permanent replacements in fear of the worst.

Yeah I plan on learning survival stuff and getting guns, although I am unsure if things will really get that bad.

I pray they won't.

And yeah, I have got a dentist's appointment tomorrow.

Seriously. You don't need to start stocking up on guns and becoming a survivalist just yet.

I wonder if shit started hitting the fan today, and kept going downhill, how long until it'd be necessary to be a survivalist. I'd give it at least ten years. So about a ten year cushion from where shit starts hitting the fan badly.

Regardless, I am planning on taking a winter survival course this year. I live in Canada and the winters are a bitch and long as fuck.

You're clearly not living in the right part of Canada . Well, okay, Vancouver is still cold as fuck in the Winter, but it's not too bad.

And if a economic worst-case scenario were to come, it'd be a bit sooner than 10 years from now. I don't believe anything like the Depression will come again; believe it or not, we actually did learn something from it. The individual is much more protected, regardless of how many huge banks go under.

Yes, but this says very little for a healthcare system which has essentially always been in shambles, a fragile energy distribution structure dependent on a non-renewable resource often allocated from other countries, and an entire food and goods market almost entirely resting on the continued availability of inexpensive, plentiful fuel.

Concerning the statement about firearms, I don't expect to be fending off mobs wanting to horde my food cache, but should economic woes miserably trickle down to semi-desperation, you can bet the crime rate will jump.

Personally, I won't be taking chances.

a winter survival course? isnt it all kinda......instinct?

make yourself a cabin now if you that worried. get the prime land before its all gone

Don't invest in D'Aconia copper!

an economic collapse would lead to anarchy in the streets and only the most ruthless will survive. therefore, i plan to be the guy who does the raiding and plundering of other peoples caches.