Top Jobs of 2011

CareerCast rated the top 200 jobs of 2011, as well as the worst 10.  The tops?  Software engineer, followed closely by mathematician, and then a big jump to actuary.  Apparently mathy/statistical jobs are awesome.  No surprise to me.

What's last?  Roustabout.

Their formula uses 5 main criteria, which then break down further: environment, income, outlook, stress, and physical demands.  The tops and bottom begin to make sense when looking at just those criteria.  Desk jobs have decent environments, good income, low physical demands, and potentially low stress.  Working on an oil rig is essentially the opposite.

Well, I was curious.  Where would teacher land?  I would think the stress would be somewhat high, with parts of the environment being good and parts being bad.  Where does this formula put teacher?

100.  Behind librarian (29), school principal (41), teacher's aide (91).  Also behind astronomer (22), barber (76), and telephone installer (97).  What's right after teacher?  Surgeon at 101.

It's an interesting list; check it out!

As for the students. . .there are certainly some good math applications here.  Would a better formula be more accurate?  How do the intangibles of a job factor in (and is there a fair way of doing that)?  Could the students come up with a different formula they would trust more?

Language arts applications: do you agree with the rankings?  Could someone be happy as a roustabout?  Could someone be unhappy as a software engineer?  What would make a good job for an individual?  What would make a bad job for an individual?  What would make a good/bad job for you?