Best and Worst Jobs in the US

Subject: Best and Worst Jobs in the US Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:03 pm

For the article, click here.

Basically, some people listed 200 jobs and ranked them....

The Best:
1. Mathematician
2. Actuary
3. Statistician
4. Biologist
5. Software Engineer
6. Computer Systems Analyst
7. Historian
8. Sociologist
9. Industrial Designer
10. Accountant
11. Economist
12. Philosopher
13. Physicist
14. Parole Officer
15. Meteorologist
16. Medical Laboratory Technician
17. Paralegal Assistant
18. Computer Programmer
19. Motion Picture Editor
20. Astronomer

The Worst:
200. Lumberjack
199. Dairy Farmer
198. Taxi Driver
197. Seaman
196. EMT
195. Roofer
194. Garbage Collector
193. Welder
192. Roustabout
191. Ironworker
190. Construction Worker
189. Mail Carrier
188. Sheet Metal Worker
187. Auto Mechanic
186. Butcher
185. Nuclear Decontamination Tech
184. Nurse (LN)
183. Painter
182. Child Care Worker
181. Firefighter

Some more links:
FULL LIST

METHODOLOGY

Subject: Re: Best and Worst Jobs in the US Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:10 pm

Personally, I think this list sucks.

First, the "best" jobs are nearly impossible to get. Very few people are employed as mathematicians, historians, etc. Philosopher was also very high on the list. Other than the select few with PhD's that are employed by major universities, people with philosophy degrees will have a very difficult time finding a job in that field.

Second, dental hygienists are ranked ahead of dentists. If being a dental hygienist was a better job, all dentists would quit their job and be dental hygienists - they are already beyond qualified. Technically they lack the degree, but if you went to the dentist and a guy came in to clean your teeth and said "Hi, I'm Dr. Smith, I don't have the proper license to do this, but I am a real dentist" would you care?

Third, the methodology suggests working with the public is bad as it creates unnecessary stress.

Next, chiropractors are ranked ahead of real doctors. While surgeons (who are ranked near the bottom despite a mean salary of over $300,000 according to their research) do have more stress than chiropractors, I can't see how a chiropractor is ahead of a psychiatrist - psychiatrists make way more money and are less hands-on.

The survey ranks RNs ahead of Nurse Practitioners which makes no sense either. Quite often RNs aspire to be NPs. Jobs in this field are some of the most in-demand jobs in the world so I can't see why they're so "bad" since this survey claims to base it partly on job competitiveness. If a person is a licensed RN or NP they can get a job pretty much anywhere they want.

Subject: Re: Best and Worst Jobs in the US Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:23 pm

185. Nuclear Decontamination Tech

Yeah, that job would suck Nod

Subject: Re: Best and Worst Jobs in the US Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:26 pm

SoulRat wrote:: 185. Nuclear Decontamination Tech

Yeah, that job would suck

Couldn't they at least change tech to engineer to make it sound a little less bad?

Subject: Re: Best and Worst Jobs in the US Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:15 pm

Lets see...

I'm heading for #10 Accountant
My Grandpa was #81 Telephone Installer/Repairer (or was it #85 Communications Equipment Mechanic? What's the difference? The more I think of it, it's probably #85)
My dad is #165 Machinist