The worst job: lumberjack.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A jobs report, compiled and released by Internet job search portal CareerCast, rates mathematicians as having the best jobs in the US, with other math and science-related occupations filling out the upper echelon of today’s job market.
Mathematicians came out on top, with $101,360. The rise to the #1 spot meant that the occupation jumped 17 places from CareerCast’s 2013 list. The company defined a mathematician as one who “applies mathematical theories and formulas to teach or solve problems in a business, educational, or industrial climate,” giving the profession an overall rating of 63.00, but relatively low ratings for work environment, stress, and hiring outlook.
The rankings were done by analyzing a combination of factors, including income and the aforementioned three, along with growth prospects and hiring trends. That means that a higher-paying job does not necessarily rank about one that is somewhat lower paying, if it means that the latter has better working conditions, or could see demand rise significantly in the coming years.
The rest of the top 10 jobs was filled out by tenured university professor ($68,970), statistician ($75,560), actuary ($93,680), audiologist ($69,720), dental hygienist ($70,210), software engineer ($93,350), computer systems analyst ($79,680), occupational therapist ($75,400), speech pathologist ($69,870).
“Healthcare careers are also strong, with Audiologist, Dental Hygienist, Occupational Therapist and Speech Pathologist ranking among CareerCast’s best jobs in 2014,” said CareerCast publisher Tony Lee, in a press release. “In the coming decade, the BLS [US Bureau of Labor Statistics] projects five million new healthcare jobs added by U.S. employers. “
Lee also pointed out that the reason for math and STEM-related jobs being so high and in-demand was because of the fact that the world is adopting an increasingly “data-driven economy,” one which demands that workers have well-developed technical and analytical skills.
The worst jobs remain largely in the service industry, with taxi driver ($22,820), head cook ($42,480), and garbage collector ($22,970) ranking #197, #195, and #193, respectively. The worst job was listed as lumberjack, with an annual income of $24,340 and rapidly dwindling job prospects due to rapid technology growth within the industry that is putting human workers out of jobs.
Newspaper reporters ($37,090) were ranking second-to-last, while broadcasters ($55,380), flight attendants ($37,240), firefighters ($45,250), and correctional officers ($38,970) also made the bottom ten. Ranking at #198, as in the third-worst job in the US, were enlisted military personnel.
However, military personnel were listed as having the most stressful jobs in the country, and understandably so. The least stressful job was listed as audiologist, which was also listed as one of the five best jobs overall. Audiologists’ jobs are relatively simple, require little-to-no travel (a stress factor, according to CareerCast), pay well, and have a very strong growth outlook.
Based in Carlsbad, California, CareerCast is one of the Internet’s leading employment sites, connecting employers with job seekers from around the US. According to its websites, its annual reports garner attention from some of the biggest corporations in the US, including the Wall Street Journal and America Online.