According to the study, mathematicians fared best in part because they typically work in favorable conditions — indoors and in places free of toxic fumes or noise — unlike those toward the bottom of the list like sewage-plant operator, painter and bricklayer. They also aren't expected to do any heavy lifting, crawling or crouching — attributes associated with occupations such as firefighter, auto mechanic and plumber. The study also considers pay, which was determined by measuring each job's median income and growth potential. Mathematicians' annual income was pegged at $94,160.
And as if that wasn't enough — several of the other jobs at the top of the study's list are math-heavy including actuary, statistician, software engineer and computer-systems analyst. Guess we should have paid better attention in Algebra I.
In case you're wondering, jobs at the bottom of the list are lumberjack, dairy farmer, taxi driver, seaman, emergency medical technician and roofer. Hmmm. So we guess "he's a lumberjack and he's ok" wasn't exactly a truthful song. ;-)
Anyway, all this "what's the best/worst" job talk got us to thinking — what do you think makes a great job? Is it compensation, work environment, flexibility, challenge, sense of doing something worthwhile, or something else?
Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs [Wall Street Journal]
— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: foundphotoslj)
]]>ooooh snap.
this should be in it's own comment thread.
So they've never set foot inside a university? Well, it is the WSJ.
]]>The downside is that most consumerists have stopped commenting and gone to bed by that point, so you will always be a thread killer. :(
]]>@firestarsolo: Who would be the most likely to run a full statistical quantification on job quality? Mathematicians. What did they find? Mathematicians have the best job.
What does everyone work on? I do conducting polymers grown from surfaces.
]]>@nataku83: True, but then even though their training is as a mathematician, their job would be something else - analyst, programmer, etc. Odd that the WSJ chose 'mathematician' as a job title - sounds like only academics might end up being called that.
]]>@unobservant: Amazing!
The first time I saw Rear Window, I thought they ripped it off an episode of Mathnet. My 10-year-old self was very indignant. I am definitely getting some of these.
]]>Regardles of the pay, there's one universal truth I've seen in jobs, both my own and how others feel about theirs:
Jobs with a daily focus on money suck the most (e.g. sales, debt collection, etc.). Jobs where you never think about money are the most satisfying (computer support/technician within a company, teaching).
When helping people, inventiveness and/or discovery are the focus of the job and money is only thought of on payday, there always seems to be more satisfaction when you reach small, medium sized or large goals, and less stress in reaching them.
]]>Because of this, a software engineer is generally required to have knowledge in the software product that they are designing. They would need to know the math and physics behind something like a rocket or radar system or something, otherwise they won't be able to design for it.
A programmer would be handed the requirements and design for a particular section of code and be told "do this."
This says it best I think:
"A common analogy is that working in construction does not make one a civil engineer, and so writing code does not make one a software engineer." [en.wikipedia.org]
And my employer certainly cared whether or not I had formal education/training in software analysis and design, as well as some sort of a background in what I was designing. They were very direct about that in the interview.
]]>I have previous worked as:
-digital artist for photography studio
-meat market cleanup/grocery stocker
-fast food cook
-front desk working at boys & girls club
I would never do those bottom 3 EVER again and I loved the digital artist gig but my boss was a total .....
]]>@Oranges w/ Cheese: No Mathnet on DVD, you say? Check this out, biotches!
]]>I see what you did there.
]]>A: Absolutely not.
Q: How can you be so sure?
A: Because I had his brain in a glass jar on my examination table.
Q: Nevertheless, isn't it true that he could have still been alive.
A: I suppose he could still be alive and practicing law somewhere.
--
Q: What happened then?
A: He told me, he says, "I have to kill you because you can identify me."
Q: Did he kill you?
--
Q: I show you Exhibit 3 and ask you if you recognize that picture.
A: That's me.
Q: Were you present when that picture was taken?
--
Defendant: Judge, I want you to appoint me another lawyer.
Judge: And why is that?
Defendant: Because the Public Defender isn't interested in my case.
Judge (to Public Defender): Do you have any comments on the defendant's motion?
Public Defender: I'm sorry, Your Honor. I wasn't listening.
----
I rest my case.
Backup QB is much better, the expectations are usually low when you come in and you can surprise people with a few easy completions from a a simplified offense.
]]>Electricians ($43k) make less than plumbers ($46k). Computer service technicians make $33k. Telecom Installers installers make $56k.
Actual amounts generally found in Canada:
Electrician: $40 - 80k (Union factories will pay as much as $100k a year)
Plumber: $30 - 70k (Union factories again may pay as much as $100k a year)
Computer service: $18 (only because minimum wage goes no lower here) - 30k (absolute tops, and that would require some massive overtime)
Telco installers: $25 - 40k (much higher for contract workers, but I haven't seen many Bell techs making much more than 40k, of course I haven't asked in a long time)
There is no way an electrician would be paid less than a telco installer. You can legally hire a telco installer the day they quit high school (whether they finish or not) and they can do 100% of the job, assuming they have the knowledge. You cannot legally hire an electrician as a full electrician until they've completed as many as 5 years of apprenticeship. The danger aspect alone commands a higher salary.
Depending on the job, plumbing doesn't even always demand a license (many aspects of the jobs do). There are no electrician jobs that do not require a license whatsoever (anyone who tells you different either hired illegally or doesn't really have true electrician work).
Also, listing a plumber as having a nicer job that an electrician? Ask anyone who has worked in a factory which trade has the nicest job in the entire place, especially the plumbers keeping the waste extraction area running. It's always the electricians. Although they do forget who it is who has to install and repair the electrics for broken cooling fans and air conditioners... :D
]]>@Ash78: there is an enormous amount of competition for that sort of cushy tenured position. he might be working teaching at community colleges but teaching college level in that style, is very difficult to get into.
@Kavatar: It depends on what excites you... Some may like the idea of solvin a problem few others in the world will be able to even understand.
With that said all the "best" jobs every one is talking about require a very specific skill possesed by a very small portion of the population. But.. that's why the compensation is so high.
]]>/I'm an actuary so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.
]]>/keep your money
]]>good gosh almighty, I think porn producer/director may just be the perfect job!!!
]]>As someone who was a deep snapper in HS, it takes alot of practice to zip that ball back to the punter/kicker..
It's harder than it sounds.. Besides that was the only way I got into the games, that and special teams..
/just sayin'
]]>Also, I'm surprised Sales Engineer isn't on this list alongside SE/CP/Systems Analyst. Having done the latter and then moved on to the former, I'd have to say Sales Engineering is better in every respect: pay, flexibility, demand, hours, etc. Pretty much a Goldilocks job. I've seen it listed on similar "best jobs" lists in recent years, but not this one.
]]>@KyleOrton: Gov contracts always give you more time than you really need to execute. It also helps to have top notch engineers working with you.
]]>@HIV 2 Elway Resurrected: I also work for a defense contractor, and I really love it. I never have to work overtime and my benefits/other perks far outweigh any of the benefits my friends have at other companies in the commercial sector.
]]>@KyleOrton: NFL long snapper. Six figures for a job that requires just enough talent to make you hard to replace, but doesn't come with the high pressure and higher injury risk of other positions. Plus you might get to tackle a guy a couple times a year on punt plays.
]]>@INTPLibrarian: Yes, though material scientists generally have training in all types of materials including metals, ceramics, and polymers. I just stick to the polymer side of the materials world. But its loads of fun and I have been known to get very excited over things that most people have no clue about.
]]>Of the last 10 years, I've had a desk job for 9 of them and I've been bored to tears almost the whole time. The exception is the year I worked as a line cook. That was a great, fun job. The pay sucked, but I enjoyed the work and the camaraderie couldn't be matched.
As for problem solving, I'd wager that mechanics, plumbers, and EMTs do more real problem solving than any desk jockey. So the working environment isn't posh and ideal...so what? It goes hand in hand that manual labor doesn't afford the nicest environments, but if someone gave me the choice, I'd choose outside over inside any day of the week.
]]>@chilled: A lot of them also went into software. When I was heavy in campus recruiting, I would grab tons of them (especially the ones who were planning on teaching math -- only took a semester of practice teaching to change their minds) and put them into a training program for software developers.
]]>Well, mathematicians do get all the chicks.
]]>It's like that for many scientific fields.
]]>The closest profession would be a contract lawyer.
]]>After almost 10 years at desk jobs, some of those "Worst Jobs" sound pretty awesome to me (barring any mutilation or death). Every day when I get home, I'm jumping out of my skin with restlessness. I'd love a more active job.
]]>@SF_iris: OMG, I'd been wondering on and off what the name of that was. Couldn't even remember what the main show was, just what happenned in it. I'll have to go find some episodes of Square One now that I know what it's called.
]]>I don't have a very good understanding of it,but I think that was the goal....nobody can figure them out.Warren Buffet called them weapons of mass financial destruction.Anyway,these guys were making big money...
]]>And everyone loves the spunky backup in pre-season when he always looks like a star.
]]>"So what do you do for a living?"
"I'm a Roustabout"
"Sounds intriguing, please tell me more."
And they get all the chicks!! Or dudes for all you female mathematicians out there.
]]>They crunched the numbers for the study, why wouldn't they come out on top?
]]>(note: a software engineer is very different than a software programmer...)
]]>Agreed. $380k a year (league minimum) for about an hours worth of work 4 days a week for 6 months works out to about $3600 per hour. A little hard on the knees but I would take it. Oh, and you retire by 40!
]]>LOLOLOLpfffft
]]>The thing is, the lumberjack is only okay. Whereas we nerds are awesome.
I also feel something is missing, but "excitement" is kind of hard to quantify. Average reported job satisfaction, maybe? Are mathematicians really happy with their jobs, or am I better off sticking with the degree I've got?
...Oh, wait: I live in Michigan. I know that answer.
]]>I like my job, as a program manager for a defense contractor, because I work 40 hours a week and never have to take work home with me. Knowing that I never, and I mean never, have to work more than 40 hours has allowed me to pursue hobbies and a graduate degree in the evenings. Also, while the rest of the economy is sluggish, defense is doing fine and most of our contracts extend 6 years out, so the security is nice.
]]>"...one occupation stood head and shoulders above the rest: mathematician. Yep, you read that correctly. Here's why it took the top spot:"
Mathemeticians organized and performed the study.
]]>I can't wait until the pendulum swings and they start rewarding those who paid attention in grammar class.
]]>So the best jobs are at universities where you teach a few basic classes, get job security after a few years, and play 8 rounds of golf every week? Who'da thunk it?
I have a good friend almost finished with his PhD in math and those are pretty specific to his reasons.
]]>@Oranges w/ Cheese: "The story you're about to see is a fib, but it's short. The names are made up but the problems are real."
]]>I left a job as a consultant/field tech to work as IT support for non-profit charter school. I took a pay-cut to do it, and was happy to. I hated my old job. Of course, if it was too much of a pay cut (which, in fact, their first offer would have been), obviously I couldn't have made that choice.
But I ended up working at a place where I enjoy where I'm at and the people I work with. And, there's a huge sense of accomplishment (something no job I've ever had gave me) in being part of a system that's giving under-privileged city kids a good education that would otherwise be unavailable to them. I've even started teaching a guitar class after school!
]]>This seems skewed. Back when I was in college math majors were struggling to find jobs after graduating. I think there are only a handful of high-paying math major jobs out there and a bunch of math majors that found work in other areas.
]]>Looking at the list, "excitement" was definitely not one of the criteria.
]]>I consider myself to have a great job because I get to exercise my passions, I solve problems, and I never do the same thing twice so I don't get bored. Its not hard for me to get out of bed in the morning and I don't dread going to work.
I'm a polymer chemist.
]]>Not if they have to spend their days working with differential equations and linear algebra, if my hazy memory of either subject serves me well!
]]>Best job ever...bullpen catcher.
]]>