Marci Alboher writes a great blog at heymarci.com (I first started reading her work via the Shifting Careers blog on nytimes.com, but that was, sadly, discontinued recently. I wish the New York Times would reconsider…)

In Slashing by Necessity, she talks about building a slash career – one that involves multiple different roles. A slash career can be a full-time job with some part-time or freelance work on the side, or a combination of part-time, contract, or freelance work that can be as part time or full-time as you want it to be:

Way back in the pre-recession days of 2006-2007, I was encouraging people to cultivate slash careers (journalist/author/speaker/writing coach) as a way to spice up a career or provide some balance. It is now clear that many of us (myself included), will be slashing by necessity. In the past week alone, I have had at least five conversations with friends or colleagues who told me they are taking on projects they might have turned down when they were feeling more flush.

The economic downturn is an excellent opportunity to explore this, whether it’s by choice or by necessity. If you’ve been laid off and aren’t seeing anything good on the job sites or through your professional network, then consider how you might put together a combination of roles that play to your strengths, insulate you from future recessions, and give your work some variety.