Actuaries fare better than cowboys when weighing some of the best and worst jobs

PRINCETON, N.J. óMany children dream of one day being a cowboy or a cowgirl. Few, if any, want to be an actuary. Little do they know.



The editors at CareerJournal.com, The Wall Street Journalís executive career guide, recently asked themselves a pair of questions: What are some of the best jobs out there, and what are some of the worst? And not in terms of glamouróor just in terms of salaryóbut in terms of things such as job security, emotional stress and basic physical safety.

When people are working full timeóperhaps in a job that they donít particularly enjoyóitís easy to imagine that the proverbial ìgrass may be greenerî for those in other careers. But unless they are peppered with questions, itís difficult to find out what their work is really like. How stressful is the work, whatís the work environment like and is there room for growth?

CareerJournal.com editors conferred with Les Krantz, a nonfiction publisher and researcher based in Lake Geneva, Wisc.ófor some help. Mr. Krantz has researched good jobsóand bad onesóusing data from sources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and judging by some of his own hunches.

Mr. Krantz uses six main factors to judge a job: income, stress, physical demands, outlook, security and work environment. Sometimes, data behind the factors is old, and sometimes itís tough to come byóthus, the hunches. Along the way, Mr. Krantz makes some assumptions about those factorsí importance for workersóassumptions that some might disagree with. One assumption, for example, is that itís better to work indoors in an air-conditioned office than to work outside. Another assumption is that itís better to be in a noncompetitive environment. Yet another is that itís important to earn more money.

The upshot: Some secure, well-paying office jobs, such as an actuary, landed high. Some physically demanding, high-risk jobs, such as cowboy, brought up the rear.

Based on these factors, listed below are some of the other best and worst jobs that Mr. Krantz came up with.

BEST

Accountant

Actuary

Bank Officer

Biologist

Computer systems analyst

Financial planner

Parole officer

Software engineer

Statistician

Web site manager


WORST

Construction worker (Laborer)

Cowboy

Dancer
Fisherman

Garbage collector

Ironworker

Lumberjack

Roofer

Seaman
Welder


ìAre these the best and worst jobs for everyone? Of course not. Was there as much art as science at play in coming up with these jobs? Of course,î says Tony Lee, publisher, CareerJournal.com. ìBut they made us rethink just what it means to have a good job. We hope they do the same for jobseekers.î

For more information, visit