Toops Scoops: At Least You're Not a Roustabout

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

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

Not so much that they rank the job of insurance actuary as No. 1. After all, the rankings are based on a combination of “environment, income, outlook, stress and physical demands.” The fact that actuaries make good money, wear nice suits and sit at a desk would obviously rank the profession higher on the list 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 and analyst, 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 on one).

But guess what: ”Insurance agent” came in at an unenviable No. 103, right between “telephone installer/repairer” and “artist (fine art).” While the job of insurance agent might well include elements of both those jobs, I find it hard to believe that the job outlook for insurance agents is only one step above that of an aspiring paint-flinger. (It's gotta be the stress level: 63.322 compared with 51.994 for artistes.)

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

I also had to laugh at other job entries that beat out insurance agents on the list — including “historian” at No. 5 (hey, all you business school students — ditch the MBA and start focusing on the Punic Wars!), “author” at No. 74 (riiiiight…), “janitor” at No. 83 and “bookbinder” at No. 91. Although ballerinas, astronauts, cowboys and pretty-pretty princesses didn't make the cut, this list suggests that even your wildest kindergarten career fantasy would have been a better choice than what you're doing now.

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