SDS: Recruitment Agency
specialising in recruitment services for japanese speaking job seekers in Singapore

The best and worst jobs of 2013

The ranking of the 200 best and worst jobs, announced by US online talent recruitment service company CareerCast.com last month, has been on everyone's lips worldwide.

The data is based on the US Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as well as from a range of other governmental agencies, trade associations and private survey firms.

The ranking is determined by four factors - environment (competitiveness among all industries), income (expectation of growth), outlook (employment growth and income growth potential) and stress (stress factors such as deadline, life risk, exposure to the public, etc).

Here are the top 5 best and worst jobs:

Best 5 jobs
#1: Actuary
#2: Biomedical engineer
#3: Software engineer
#4: Audiologist
#5: Financial planner

Worst 5 jobs
#1: Newspaper reporter
#2: Lumberjack
#3: Enlisted military personnel
#4: Actor
#5: Oil rig worker

The jobs ranked as the worst 5 would demand a lot of dedication and commitment by the people in these occupations, wouldn't they?

Are the jobs requiring calculation and programming at the office popular because of current occupational needs?

There are some comments by the real actuaries (ranked as the very best job) on the survey website:

"I have been an actuary for 36 years. In that time I have been to Europe, Mexico, Canada, Australia... I have worked with many of the largest companies in the world and met numerous people from all over the world."

"Ridiculous choice of Number One! This survey looks extremely negatively on any physical aspect of work - important factors aren't considered at all such as stress of deadlines, the responsibility you have, no free time due to a ridiculously long exam process."

"As a 30+ year veteran of the profession I will tell you that it is definitely worth it, so keep going... I work with CEOs, I travel regularly and interact with really smart and interesting people."

After all, how good a job is depends to a large extent on the person holding it -- whether the job turns out to be positive or negative.

Would people take this ranking into consideration when they apply for a job? Is your job in sync with current demand?

Take a look at the full ranking results here. (www.careercast.com)