The securities industry pays well, but employment is highly volatile. And autumn is typically the season of greatest sadness. Horrid credit conditions and this summer's steady drip of firings suggest the ax will fall with full force when Wall Street hobbles back to business after Labor Day. ...

How bad could it get? Many recruiters claim this may be the direst financial crisis in decades. And the longer the crunch lasts, the better the chances become that this crack could cause Wall Street even more pain than the big downturn of the early 1970s.

About 17% of securities industry workers lost their jobs from 1972 through 1974. In New York City, nearly one in four did. Smart bankers should start squirreling away those nuts before the cold snap hits.