Les Greco: Best Jobs in 2010

Doh. My career isn’t even close to the top of the list of best jobs in 2010.

Most of us do something to earn a living. Some call it a job, some a career and others claim it’s a passion. That’s important, because our classification denotes how we feel about it. But have you ever wondered how others think your “job” fairs among the thousands of careers out there? Now you can. According to CareerCast, the top 10 jobs of 2010, along with their respective starting salaries are:

Actuary – $49,000
Software Engineer – $54,000
Computer Systems Analyst – $45,000
Biologist – $39,000
Historian – $34,000
Mathematician – $54,000
Paralegal Assistant – $29,000
Statistician – $40,000
Accountant – $37,000
Dental Hygienist – $44,000

Here’s the List of the Best 200 Jobs

So What Can You Learn from This?

Lists always make for an interesting read, but it’s perhaps more important to understand the methodology behind how each one is ranked. So many of us think of jobs as it relates to how much income the career can bring us, but that’s hardly the most important. In the list above, all jobs were graded according to: Environment, Income, Outlook, Stress and Physical Demands.

You see. Income is important, but the environment and other intangible factors are just as crucial. It’s great to earn $100,000 a year, but it might not be worth it if you have to work 20 hour days and be stressed out for 24.

What Else Can You Learn

Here’s a few more snippets I picked up from the list.

Starting Salaries Mean Nothing – The historian position really caught my eye, because of it’s low starting salary. It’s not that $39,000 is a very low number, but because historians are usually all phDs, meaning that these people starting out are all around 30, when you are usually at a mid to high level position in other careers. This further reinforces that income means little, but starting salaries mean nothing.
Education is Still Important – Too many people believe that education is unimportant, and it’s with good reason because most of us never really gain from most of the material we learn in school. Yet, most of the top jobs require a high degree of knowledge. Knowledge that’s easiest to learn in a school environment. Stay in school, or if you want to have a better career, go back.
Outlook Changes (Obviously) – “Go Where the Jobs Are”. We’ve all heard this before, but how can we predict what’s going to happen a decade down the road? The only way to ensure that you will be comfortable is to learn skills that are always in demand, or what I’d like to call “evergreen jobs”. Look at the best jobs in the list. They are in demand whether the sky is falling or not.
Income Means Little, Until It Does – Don’t just look for high income jobs, but it’s still important. Don’t stress yourself out excessively, but don’t take the easy way out either. Hard work still pays, literally!
This is Just the Average – My sister is a actuary, and this career is ranked in the top 3 positions almost every single time. She makes good money alright, but I always hear about her lack of sleep, and intense work schedule. I know a few people in the field who have a pretty relaxed job, but not everybody will make the same amount money and have the same responsibilities. These lists are just guidelines, and at the end are based on subjective ratings. Before you spend multiple years of your life on schooling to switch careers, do your due diligence first and make sure it’s the right move for you.

So, what else can you learn from this? Anyone going to become a mathematician because of this? Let us know your thoughts!

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