The Best Jobs In America

[radhak]

The link is here : http://www.focus.com/images/view/7362/

But this is the picture (the colors matter, check the legend on the right):

Lot of "IT"(Information Technology, ie computers related) jobs...

[cabinetman]

It's an interesting chart. But, "best jobs" may not mean money. How can "best" be evaluated?

Would it be fun to have, or one that's satisfying, or a constant challenge. "Best" could to some mean jobs like Playboy photographer, or maybe just a clerk at Victoria's Secret, or Fredericks of Hollywood.
.

[smorris]

Whoever did this survey and listed computer/network security as any form of low stress is clearly not a practitioner in the field.

[natausch]

Looks like a list of jobs with lots of stress, no weekend, too much travel, lots of debt from education and negative work environments.

[charliex]

[QUOTE=cabinetman;455381]It's an interesting chart. But, "best jobs" may not mean money. How can "best" be evaluated?

RETIRED Personal opinion based on experience and not conjecture.

Although the pay, or should I say the lack thereof is one small drawback. I've never been abundantly rewarded for my labors but my employers always tried to convince me otherwise. I thought I made a decent living then but now my income ranks me as a person of poverty.

Chas

[crokett]

Hmm... I'm underpaid according to that chart. I need to show this to my boss.

[smorris]

Hmm... I'm underpaid according to that chart. I need to show this to my boss.

Let us know how that works for you.

[gsmittle]

Isn't "highest low stress" an oxymoron?

Most of the "education consultants" I've seen at Professional Development Meetings seem to have a pretty sweet gig. Show up, tell us all what we already know and have heard a dozen times, collect a check, and leave town…

BTW, I have one of the best jobs in America.

g.

[Rand]

I *was* a system engineer until I got laid off in the great tech purge of 2001. If that's the best job in America I feel really sorry for everyone else. There were times when I would sit at my computer and fantasize about being a garbage man. You get to be outside all day. No deadlines. You don't have to solve other people's problems for them etc.

I have to agree with smorris - whoever compiled that list is clueless.

Come to think of it. Whoever made that chart is a graphic designer and I don't see graphic designer on the chart. Go figure.

[dkerfoot]

Most of the "education consultants" I've seen at Professional Development Meetings seem to have a pretty sweet gig. Show up, tell us all what we already know and have heard a dozen times, collect a check, and leave town…

That was my gig for 11 years, except I was one of 5-10 full-time training developers/consultants for a large office furniture manufacturer with sites in a dozen countries.

All I will say is that job was much better than being in the Navy (did that the preceding 9 years) but not nearly as good as being self-employed (the last 6 years).

I now have the best job in the world and I don't even like to consider what circumstances would require me to go back to "working for the man." Being my own employer completely changed my perspective on work.

[leehljp]

I really enjoy my work and with kids grown and gone, and put in 60+ hour weeks consistently. While my natures is as an introvert, I enjoy being around people most of the time. Pastoring is a high pressure job of balancing ideals versus demands of some people, being tormented by a few watch people sleep who should be listening, and caught between two sides of the two biggest contributors . . etc. I manage to get around most all of that in my work.

That said, on personality, temperament, work style, and likely job skills, every test I have taken since college deemed me as a systems engineer, particularly in the chemical, petroleum or mechanical engineering field. I never did care for those but I did enjoy and excelled in physics in HS and college. My second listing was in psychology/counseling and ministry. That is where I went. - lowest paying too.

[os1kne]

It's interesting to see these things, but it's mostly BS. I have one of the jobs listed as "low stress". I like my job and I'd probably continue to do it even if I hit the lottery, but it's definitely not "low stress". I've worked for a few companies in my field, and my current employer is much better than most and I still have a significant amount of stress most of the time.

[radhak]

Personal experiences apart, the research on this list seems to be better than most - it's a statistical effort, gathering facts and opinions by talking to a group of people. And they have talked to at least 35,000 people, which is an impressive sampling. (Think about it - if you hear nice things from a couple of people at the office cooler about their job, and then another person at the cafeteria, and another at the parking lot, you'd report a good job satisfaction in that company, though you'd have spoken to only 4 or 5 people!)

That list is not compiled by a person or persons at their whim. They have listed their criterion, and how they eliminated most of the jobs : you might argue a median pay of $65,000 is too high a bar, but I feel it is a good criterion, as is eliminating positions that suffered a lot during the recession.

The ranking for stress, satisfaction and others must have been done with sliding scales (rate your stress level at work between 1 and 10...), and then averaged. So looks like more system engineers rated their stress levels lower than any other profession and I am not surprised; I am in a similar position, and while there are times I could throw a fit, I'd rather not change places with the others I know who have more of those moments.

And the salary helps in valuing their job. Note, a median pay of 87 thou means there are as many people paid above that as below, so that's not a fantastical figure. But it's far better than, say, a public school teacher, or even a cop, who have far more stressful jobs.

[gsmittle]

Pastoring is a high pressure job of balancing ideals versus demands of some people, being tormented by a few watch people sleep who should be listening, and caught between two sides of the two biggest contributors

That sounds exactly like teaching high school!

g.