10 Best Jobs in America

The Web never ceases to surprise me. Here comes a list of 10 Best Jobs in America (and there is a list of 10 Worst jobs too!) published by Tony Lee on his site CareerCast.com by ranking 200 jobs based on five criteria of stress, physical demands, hiring outlook, compensation and work environment:

1. Mathematician
(Applies mathematical theories and formulas to teach or solve problems in a business, educational, or industrial climate).

2. Actuary
(Interprets statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters).

3. Statistician
(Tabulates, analyzes, and interprets the numeric results of experiments and surveys).

4. Biologist
(Studies the relationship of plants and animals to their environment).

5. Software Engineer
(Researches, designs, develops and maintains software systems along with hardware development for medical, scientific, and industrial purposes).

6. Computer Systems Analyst
(Plans and develops computer systems for businesses and scientific institutions).

7. Historian
(Plans and develops computer systems for businesses and scientific institutions).

8. Sociologist
(Studies human behavior by examining the interaction of social groups and institutions).

9. Industrial Engineer
(Designs and develops manufactured products).

10. Accountant
(Prepares and analyzes financial reports to assist managers in business, industry and government).

Back in 1960s when I chose to study Mathematics and Statistics as subjects of study at the undergraduate level, I never thought that they would figure in top three jobs. What attracted me to mathematics was its rationality and thus its predictability and what attracted me to statistics was the brave attempt it made to reduce uncertainty to certainty via probability theories. The downside was that by the time I took my Master’s in Statistics, I had forgotten all about language and writing simply meant writing in Greek alphabets! And there in lies the real appeal of Mathematics: Condensing a paragraph of material or a very powerful thought to just a few symbols!

So it appears I made a right choice in my subjects of study at that point of time!