Rating the Nation’s
Best and Worst Jobs

If you’re looking for the nation’s best job in terms of low stress, high compensation, lots of autonomy and tremendous demand for your skills, look no further than financial planner. Everyone from new retirees to aging Baby Boomers to young dot-com executives needs their expert guidance — today and in the future.

On the other hand, as the top-selling novel and movie “The Perfect Storm” illustrates so well, the life of a commercial fisherman couldn’t be much rougher in terms of work instability, poor pay and pure danger, making it the nation’s worst job by a wide margin.

Those are the results of the latest ranking of best and worst jobs nationally, based on data gathered during the second half of last year and recently published in “Jobs Rated Almanac” by Les Krantz (St. Martin’s Griffin,). Using six key criteria, the Almanac determined the most and least appealing career opportunities. The criteria include environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands, security and stress.

The results from the rankings can be eye opening. If avoiding stress is a career goal, you might consider becoming a medical records technician, janitor or forklift operator, among three of the nation’s least-stressful jobs. Or, if finding a stable, healthy environment that doesn’t require long hours is your most critical issue, consider opportunities as a statistician, mathematician or computer systems analyst.

The following are lists of the 10 best and worst jobs overall, as well as the best three jobs in each of eight different industries, according to the “Jobs Rated Almanac.”

Best Jobs Overall

• Financial planner
• Website manager
• Computer systems analyst
• Actuary
• Computer programmer
• Software engineer
• Meteorologist
• Biologist
• Astronomer
• Paralegal assistant

Worst Jobs Overall

• Commercial fisherman
• Roustabout
• Lumberjack
• Cowboy
• Ironworker
• Garbage collector
• Construction laborer
• Taxi driver
• Stevedore
• Welder

Best Jobs by Selected Industry

The Arts

1. Motion picture editor

2. Architectural drafter

3. Antique dealer

Business/Finance

1. Financial planner

2. Paralegal assistant

3. Bank officer

Communications

1. Technical writer

2. Editor

3. Broadcast technician

Healthcare/Medicine

1. Hospital administrator

2. Dietician

3. Audiologist

Math/Science

1. Actuary

2. Meteorologist

3. Biologist

Production/Manufacturing

1. Industrial designer

2. Aerospace engineer

3. Electrical engineer

Public Sector

1. Judge (federal)

2. Parole officer

3. Postal inspector

Social Sciences

1. Historian

2. Archeologist

3. Sociologist

Technical/Online

1. Website manager

2. Computer systems analyst

3. Computer programmer