CareerCast today announced their annual ranking of the best jobs of 2011, factoring in five core criteria: Work Environment, Physical Demands, Outlook, Income and Stress.
In the Jobs Rated report, the top-ranked job was software engineer, a job that involves the design and creation of software for everything from operating systems to cell phone “apps” to interactive games.
In fact, a majority of the jobs that rank in the top 10 this year require proficiency in math, science or technology, and all of them require higher education or specialized training.
In a press release describing how they came to rank this job as number one, CareerCast writes, “While many factors push a career to the top of the rankings, the strong performance of Software Engineer this year can be attributed to two emerging industries: web applications and cloud computing.
“A proliferation of companies making applications for smartphones and tablets, along with the push to develop “cloud” software hosted entirely online, has made the job market for Software Engineers broader and more diverse. And a diverse job market brings improvements in stress factors such as Growth Potential and Competitiveness, as workers become less beholden to employers or vulnerable to outsourcing.”
Here are the top 10 jobs vs. how they ranked in 2010:
1. Software engineer (up 1 spot).
2. Mathematician (up 4).
3. Actuary (down 2).
4. Statistician (up 4).
5. Computer systems analyst (down 2).
6. Meteorologist (up 6).
7. Biologist (down 3).
8. Historian (down 3).
9. Audiologist (up 34).
10. Dental hygienist (no change).
And the top ten worst jobs:
200. Roustabout (no change).
199. Ironworker (down 1).
198. Lumberjack (up 1).
197. Roofer (down 18).
196. Taxi driver (down 2).
195. Emergency medical technician (down 9).
194. Welder (up 2).
191. Painter (down 32).
191. Meter reader (up 1).
191. Construction worker (up 2).
