With all due respect, I think the researchers at Careercast.commust be, as the Brits say, “having us on.”

That's the only conclusion I can come to after looking at theirmuch-touted “Best Jobs for 2010” list, just up on their Website.

Not so much that they rank the job of insurance actuary as No. 1. After all, therankings are based on a combination of “environment, income,outlook, stress and physical demands.” The fact thatactuaries make good money, wear nice suits and sit at adesk would obviously rank the profession higher on thelist than, say, anything seen on the “Dirty Jobs” show.

Nor do I take much umbrage over most of the other top 10 jobs,including the predictable computer software designer andanalyst, accountant (they're in demand in all economies)and dental hygenist (although I beg to differ with the “stress”element of that job — when my son was young he once threw up onone).

But guess what: ”Insurance agent” came in at an unenviableNo. 103, right between “telephone installer/repairer” and “artist(fine art).” While the job of insurance agent might well includeelements of both those jobs, I find it hard to believe that the joboutlook for insurance agents is only one step above that of anaspiring paint-flinger. (It's gotta be the stress level: 63.322compared with 51.994 for artistes.)

Another position that handed me a laugh was that of “publicationeditor” (in the immortal words of Bozo the Clown, “Hey, that's me!Wha-ha-ha-ha!”). Ink-stained wretches actually beat out insuranceagents for job viability, coming in at No. 65. And although thefine print did concede that the hiring outlook for editors was“very poor,” this relatively high ranking completely ignores thefact that more U.S. print publications went down the tubes in thelast two years than in the history of publishing.

I also had to laugh at other job entries that beat out insuranceagents on the list — including “historian” at No. 5 (hey, all youbusiness school students — ditch the MBA and startfocusing on the Punic Wars!), “author” at No. 74 (riiiiight…),“janitor” at No. 83 and “bookbinder” at No. 91. Althoughballerinas, astronauts, cowboys and pretty-pretty princesses didn'tmake the cut, this list suggests that even your wildestkindergarten career fantasy would have been a better choice thanwhat you're doing now.

Still, you can take some comfort in the fact that you're not inthe career that came in No. 200: “roustabout.” No, not in thecircus, but on oil rigs. Careercast.com describes it as a job withgood earning potential, but with long hours, dirty and dangerousworking conditions, isolation and high stress. Oh, wait…soundfamiliar?