How Long Will the Recession Last?

Recently a fellow alumni posed a question to other college honor society alumni regarding the current U.S. recession and it's duration. I responded to him as follows:

Q: Does anyone have any thoughts on when they feel the economy will get back on its feet?

A: Bradley, That's a great question. I'm not sure if I'd go as far as Richard, however consider the following. The National Bureau of Economic Research tracked back and say the current U.S. recession started in December 2007. Normally a US recession lasts between 8 and 16 months (based on the history of US recessions), however we are currently in a worldwide recession (as evidenced by the collapse of Iceland's govt recently, the worst recession in Japan since WWII, bank bailouts in Europe, etc) which lasts at least 2 years minimum. By that count, the world (and the US b/c the world economy takes it's cues from the US/Wall Street) will be in recession until at least 2010. Likely longer.

However, regardless of how horrible the economy is, there are fields where folks are still making great money (healthcare, IT, etc) while other fields (automotive, recruiting/HR, marketing, banking/finance, real estate/housing/construction, government, etc) are taking a hit. When corporations & businesses again gain confidence in federal governments, then you'll see Wall Street & by definition world markets respond in like manner.