Many of us dream of finding the perfect spouse, a fantastic place to live
and the absolute best college education for our kids. But most romances, house
hunts and academic pursuits aren't as perfect as we'd hoped. Your spouse is
loving and understanding, but snores. A house is large and airy, but expensive
to heat. A university offers exactly the fields of study your child seeks, but
is far from home.
Your perfect job may also come with a trade-off or two. But the likelihood
of having to accept trade-offs will be small if your abilities mesh well with
any of the nation's best careers. Fortunately, there are many great jobs out
there, which means the odds that you can find your perfect profession may be
greater than you think.
According to this year's edition of "Jobs Rated Almanac" by Les
Krantz (Barricade Books, 2002), the nation's single best job in terms of low
stress, high compensation, lots of autonomy, tremendous hiring demand and
several other key criteria, is biologist. Of course, the terrorist attacks and
related anthrax and chemical weapons fears are an obvious reason why biologists
are in demand and receiving greater respect from their employers. But several
long-awaited developments have had a great impact, such as the recent
completion of the human genetic map, which has made bioengineering possible,
and genetically altered agriculture, which is changing the ways in which the
world's populations will eat for years to come.
Other top-rated
jobs are somewhat less awe-inspiring, yet may still qualify as perfect if
they match your skills and interests. Financial planners, last year's No. 1
ranked job, still makes a strong showing in the No. 3 spot, as aging baby
boomers continue to seek help managing their money, both to fund their
children's college educations, and to prepare for their fast-approaching
retirements. Actuaries, who work autonomously and with little stress helping
insurance providers and others determine risk, rose to No. 2, while
computer-systems analysts and accountants round out the top five.
The jobs were analyzed according to six key criteria -- environment, income,
employment outlook, physical demands, security and stress -- using data from
such sources as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau,
as well as studies from trade associations and industry groups. The lower the
score, the higher the ranking.
Lumberjacks were ranked at the bottom of the list as the nation's
worst job. Their careers couldn't be much rougher in terms of work
instability, poor pay and pure danger. Prospects aren't much better for
commercial fishermen, cowboys, ironworkers and seamen, who labor aboard
commercial ships among pirates and hurricanes.
