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Where does your job rank?

By Catherine Toth Fox • April 11, 2012 • Musings, The Daily Dish

So those computer geeks in high school had it right after all.

According to a recently published list of best and worst jobs of 2012 by CareerCast.com, software engineer ranked No. 1 for the second year in a row.

While the job itself is in high demand, it also pays well, with a midrange income of $88,142 and very little in the way of danger.

But the Top 10 list is, well, pretty interesting. Let me just say, these aren’t the most glamourous jobs:

1. Software engineer
2. Actuary
3. Human resources manager
4. Dental hygienist
5. Financial planner
6. Audiologist
7. Occupational therapist
8. Online advertising manager
9. Computer systems analyst
10. Mathematician

What? No travel writer? (Technical writer was at No. 37, higher than fashion designer, which was listed at No. 133 and actor at No. 178.)

Novelist, chef, professor, wedding planner, dessert taster, blogger, pope — none of these careers even made the list.

The worst job? Lumberjack, which pays $32,114 on average and has a high unemployment rate. Not to mention you could get injured, maimed or die on the job.

Newspaper reporter made the Top 5 worst jobs at No. 196 (out of 200). It ranked higher than maid, at No. 182.

That means I’ve made some pretty bad career choices.

I wonder if it’s too late to learn C++…

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About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

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16 Comments

  • Reply M April 11, 2012 at 11:21 am

    Hello Cat,

    My son is a freshman in college and his major is computer science. I guess he’s headed in the right direction.

    • Reply Catherine Toth April 11, 2012 at 10:28 pm

      Can’t beat the top, right?

  • Reply Ken April 11, 2012 at 2:06 pm

    No doctors, lawyers, movie stars, rock stars, astronauts? Where did this list come from?

    A big problem with software engineers is that your prime years are age 20-40 or so. After that companies can hire younger people with more modern skills who work longer hours for less money, so you’d better plan on retiring or switching to a new career before age 40.

    • Reply Catherine Toth April 11, 2012 at 10:29 pm

      That’s very true. But maybe that’s why it’s at the top. Job satisfaction = early retirement.

      Or, you can be like Instagram’s creators and sell for $1 billion!

  • Reply Jason April 11, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    Graphic Designer not even on the list… 🙁

    • Reply Catherine Toth April 11, 2012 at 10:30 pm

      It’s not? That seems like a heck of a lot better than a lumberjack!

  • Reply David Jackson April 11, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    Agree with Ken, even if you can sling code with the best of them age discrimination is RAMPANT in the computer science field. Apparently someone has convinced the powers that be that somehow the science itself morphs uncontrollably over the generations. Having been part of it all since the 1970s I know this not to be true. Algorithms in C/C++/C#/JAVA/etc. all do the same things they have been doing forever now. Unfortunately there are indeed plenty of idiots, excuse me young nerds, who are willing to work all day on code. Most programmers with experience can get more done that works correctly in less than half the time but appearance of work and efficiency at work have traded places in the modern era with appearances leading the way. After all, you can always ship Service Pack One.

    I digress. So what is the point? If you want to learn to sling code by all means get a certificate in C++ Programming or preferably Java and start a new career. But I think the real point is you should do what makes you happy. Who gives a rat’s rip if it doesn’t make some list of highest paid.

    All you need is a couple of boards and a few choice waves.

    • Reply Catherine Toth April 11, 2012 at 10:30 pm

      Hey, I didn’t see professional surfer on the list! I question its credibility…

      • Reply David Jackson April 11, 2012 at 11:07 pm

        EXACTLY!!!

  • Reply Andrew April 11, 2012 at 7:28 pm

    Nope, its not too late to learn C++… though java, ruby on rails, etc. are the new in thing 😀 (among other novelty languages)

    • Reply Catherine Toth April 11, 2012 at 10:31 pm

      No way. I hated DOS. I won’t be learning a new language anytime soon!

  • Reply matt April 11, 2012 at 8:05 pm

    hmm…my job’s not there. closest is #84: Occupational Health/Safety Inspector, but that’s not quite what I do. it’s actually a part of my job as a corporate safety director/manager, but it’s actually the part of the job that i enjoy the least. the best/most satisfying part of my job happens after the inspector portion is complete. that’s when I take the results of the inspection, identify the areas of concern and work with the affected work groups to develop and implement corrective actions that are compliant with the regulations (both internal as well as compliant with osha regs), effectively protect the workers and the plant as well as efficient with our operations so that the job can be completed. the problem solving aspect with results that actually help our company be more efficient and safer is the reason I got into this field in the first place.

    • Reply Catherine Toth April 11, 2012 at 10:32 pm

      I actually enjoy problem-solving, too, but I could imagine that would be stressful. It takes a certain kind of person… and I think I’d rather create the problems to get solved! 😀

  • Reply WildeOscar April 11, 2012 at 9:24 pm

    Actuary? Safe yes, but it’s one of the most dull jobs on earth, no offense intended to any actuaries out there. So, my job isn’t exciting either.

    Professional surfer and dog trainer on the list?

    • Reply Catherine Toth April 11, 2012 at 10:33 pm

      I know. I thought the same thing when I saw actuary. To be honest, a lot of the higher ranked jobs weren’t very sexy. Lumberjack was at the bottom and, frankly, I thought that was a pretty damn cool job!

  • Reply Chad Yoshikawa April 13, 2012 at 1:35 am

    What? I think Balloon Decorator should be on the top 10. =-)

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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