New Best and Worst Jobs List Says, 'Be an Actuary, Not a Roustabout'

I've never been much of a fan of Top 10 lists. It's rare when I find one that I agree completely with and even then, I still know that someone disagrees with it. This is especially true when it comes to 'rating' jobs.

A new job site, called CareerCast.com, has become the recent topic of interest because of its Top 10 Best and Worst job lists. According to the website, they evaluated more than two hundred professions and used five criteria common to every profession: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress.

I read the Top Ten Best jobs and was a little surprised. Here is the website's list:

1. Mathematician

2. Actuary ("Interprets statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness and death and loss of property from theft and natural disasters.")

3. Statistician

4. Biologist

5. Software Engineer

6. Computer Systems Analyst

7. Historian

8. Sociologist

9. Industrial Designer

10. Accountant

I wasn't surprised that the majority of the jobs involved sitting in an office, but I was curious to see what the worst jobs were. The website stated that according to their data, the worst jobs "involve physical labor and extended time in the great outdoors."

1. Lumberjack

2. Dairy Farmer

3. Taxi Driver

4. Seaman

5. Emergency Medical Technician

6. Roofer

7. Garbage Collector

8. Welder

9. Roustabout ("Performs physical labor and maintenance on oil rigs and pipelines, both on and off shore.")

10. Ironworker

When I finished this list, I honestly didn't know whether to laugh or scream in frustration. The blurb before the list went on about how awful it is for lumberjacks to "perform backbreaking physical labor" and how horrible it must be for dairy farmers to "rise with the dawn."

None of these jobs are ideal. Many people work them as an in-between job until they have money to go to college, because they weren't fortunate enough to get an education, or maybe, because they actually like it.

For example, I do not envy an EMT's work. It's hard, it's emotionally draining, but it's necessary. As a daughter of a doctor and a nurse, I appreciate all jobs in the medical profession, but most people don't think of the EMTs until they need them. The same goes for all the jobs on this "worst jobs" list. We may not think being an ironworker or a taxi driver is a good job, but we need them.

How are we supposed to sit in our office developing software and be sheltered from the elements if we don't have a roof? What would happen if all the welders drop what they're doing and decide to be accountants? All these jobs that are supposedly so awful are necessary and enjoyable to some.

With childhood obesity ever on the rise, the last thing we need is to tell our children that these jobs are bad because they require "physical labor." As my mother always said, "a little work never hurt anyone." Let's hope the coming generation agrees.

CareerCast.com

Matthew C. Keegan, The Best & Worst Careers Today!, Say Campus Life.com