ID is listed as number 9.
How is painter way near the bottom? I find that totally relaxing.
I think they mean a house painter. Not an artistic painter. There is nothing better than creating “bathroom in latex” 
Yay! We just beat out accountant.
With articles like this, you have to read between the lines to understand what their definitions of “best” and “worst” really mean.
To me, being a mathematician or accountant or computer programmer would be at the bottom of my list next to scrubbing public toilets. Sitting behind a desk, staring at numbers all day, is much worse than hard manual labor in my mind. Skilled vocations, which seem to fall towards the bottom of their list, are to me strangely enjoyable in the sense that at the end of the day you can see what you have done and be proud of your creation(s). Something about physical exertion leaves me satisfied, while being sedentary makes me want to scream.
Just trying to say one person’s ideal job is another person’s hell…
73Lotus, I would agree.
If this was at all figured by people doing what they wanted to do, and that gives them fulfillment, why is Butcher so low? I know two butchers they booth have always wanted to be a butcher. I know a depressed mortician that says the same…
Finishing room personal should be on there. I did that and it sucked, and people got fingers ripped off and people died, so I would say it is a 'Bad" job.
73Lotus: Don’t knock scrubbing toilets, I enjoyed it. First there is the sense of personal satisfaction when you are done. After all, you have to improve the input to three senses when cleaning a bathroom, smell, touch and sight. Second, no one bothers the guy cleaning toilets, probably because no one else wants to see the mess he is tackling. Therefore, it is almost like working from home, if you are a slob.
I always find it surprising that ID is listed so high when they mention, “employment outlook” as a criteria. Are there a glut of open positions that I’m not aware of? Plus, what about income. Didn’t we determine in another thread that you “don’t become an IDer to be rich”. Some people didn’t get that memo.
I think that this list has the usual American bias against jobs that require physical exertion. It seems to me that people believe labor related jobs are bad jobs, and tend to look down on people in the service/manufacturing industries.
I used to work as a welder for several years, and I loved the job (except for the management). It is incredibly satisfying to walk around my home town and be able to point out all the things I built or worked on. I also feel after attending engineering and design schools that most students should work in manufacturing at some point to get a much needed dose of reality.
Looking at the way they tabulate the numbers, “physical demands” is a variable which has a negative correlation to the scores used to tabulate the rankings. So a more physically demanding job (all other variables being the same) is “worse” than a less physically demanding job. I can see how this may factor in long-term employment in one position, a more physically demanding job will take a toll on your body over time, could lead to health and longevity problems. However, I am curios how physically demanding jobs may also be more healthy than a desk job in some cases (maybe younger able bodied?) because work becomes atleast some means of physical exercise the individual may otherwise not be getting.
A recent study I saw on Oprah ( I know I know ) was showing areas where people lived longer (blue zones) mentions when elderly are more active (ie doing some low impact physical labor) it can increase longevity.
