It's a growing lament among downsized executives and laid-off individuals to be looking for a survival job to make ends meet. With bills to pay and mouths to feed, you'd rather have a few hundred bucks to look forward to on each pay day than have nothing at all.

Survival jobs are any other type of job, usually part-time, that unemployed individuals are forced to accept for daily subsistence. These jobs usually pay much lower salaries than would a regular career job in a company. Yet, it's better to be earning something in the midst of a shaky economic situation, than have nothing at all.

Today, even former executives are walking dogs, taking orders at fast food joints, selling anything - or just doing what it takes to have some money to pay bills until employment becomes favorable again.

In a survival job, it doesn't matter what type of job you land on - if you've been out of work for a long time. Surviving jobs may be seemingly helpful, but going down from the top in many aspects of employment can be a gut blow to career people. Examine the pro's and con's of having these so-called "survival jobs".

Why should you take a survival job?

If severance pay has run out and you are still faced with unemployment, landing on an entry-level job seems like a good option. Many out-of-work professionals also take this as an opportunity to try something new that is different from the career they left off.

There are many who opt for survival jobs to keep themselves busy after being unemployed for months, and when they're starting to reel in financial drought.

Where it all boils down to is this: survival jobs are simply about earning to pay the bills when out of career. Although having several part-time jobs can help you solve problems with money, psychologists also see its impact on self-esteem. Laid-off executives, for instance, perhaps never saw themselves wiping tables but when it finally happens, questions race in their heads, such as: "What if former clients see me?"

Yet, when you think about it, survival jobs are not all that bad. There are many entry-level jobs that already come with healthcare benefits which ensure your family's healthcare for free.

Why should you not take a survival job?

Low wages is certainly what you will be paid with in entry-level jobs. Because of this, many of the unemployed will have to jump to another part-time job at the later part of the day just to earn enough. Having multiple jobs reduces your time for job-hunting and less flexibility in scheduling job interviews.

For most people, survival jobs are just temporary jobs and you most likely have no future in them, unless you intend to serve sandwiches and burgers or sell candles all your life.

Tips to Follow for Survival Jobs

Think of it as a lemon given to you - don't throw it away, rather make lemonades out of them. After all, millions of professionals are looking for survival jobs for financial reasons, not for career. It's like filling the unemployment gap when another electricity, credit card, or phone bill is coming at the end of the month. You can save building your self-esteem when the economy has raised its self-esteem first.

Find a survival job that lets you learn new skills and you can relate to. You can find companies with strong reputation so you'll be proud of putting your survival job experience in your resume eventually - something has to explain the unemployment gap.

Keep your spirits up. Think of a survival job as a new door opened for you just when another one just closed.