Jobs Rated

By: Victoria Brienza

The world is going digital, and Software Engineers who can help with that transformation are reaping the benefits. Their pay is great, hiring demand for their skills is through the roof, and working conditions have never been better. And that’s why the job of Software Engineer ranks tops in our annual Jobs Rated report on the nation’s best and worst jobs for 2012.

By: Victoria Brienza

There are days when we all feel like we have the worst job in the world. But when you actually quantify aspects of every job and compare one to another, there’s a definite measureable difference between jobs that are considered pretty good and those that aren’t.

Physical labor, declining job opportunities, a poor work environment and high stress are all pervasive attributes among those jobs that comprise our 2012 Worst Jobs List...

By: Victoria Brienza

Finding your dream job requires more than just hoping the stars will align in your favor. You probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than having the job fairy deliver you the perfect job just when you need one. In fact, you likely ended up in your current career because you followed in your parent’s footsteps (or heeded their advice), or you took a job because it was something you thought might be “cool” to do. Perhaps a teacher suggested your current career path, or maybe a job simply “opened up” just when you needed one.

By: CareerCast.com

How We Determine the Rankings of the 200 Top Jobs of 2012

To quantify the many facets of the 200 jobs included in our report, we determined and reviewed various critical aspects of all of the jobs, categorizing them into five "Core Criteria;" that is, the general categories that are inherent to every job:

Environment, Income, Outlook, Stress and Physical Demands.

Below is an explanation of how we determined the rankings in each of these five Core Criteria. After each of these Core Criteria were scored and ranked individually, we computed the Overall Rankings, which are explained as the last item in this explanation of the methodology.

By: Les Krantz

• Q: What qualifies the people behind the Jobs Rated Study to tell us what the best and worst jobs are?

A: The researchers and managers involved in the Jobs Rated study have been ranking and reporting on jobs for the past two decades (since 1988) and have achieved recognition and attention from media around the world for their expertise and knowledge. But frankly, their qualifications are not what are important. The study is "data driven;" that is, it uses primarily numerical data compiled from recognized organizations such as the U.S Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau and noted trade associations. The data provided is inputted into a statistical database, so that the jobs can be compared objectively. To be sure, those who read the rankings often view the results subjectively, which is how all of us evaluate the relevance of information.

By: Victoria Brienza

In the real world, no job is stress free.  Every occupation has the potential to cause some sort of pressure for the people who do it every day.   Your personality also affects whether you find a job to be stressful or not.  While some workers might feel more or less stress in physically challenging situations, others might be deathly afraid of speaking in public, even though there may be very little physical danger.  For example, in some surveys, people rank speaking in public as more fear-producing than undergoing a root canal or even dying.

“Our perception of a situation plays an essential role in our stress levels,” says Karen Sothers, a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) expert.  “The value or meaning that we assign to an event determines if we react to it as a threat or respond to it as an opportunity.”...

By: Victoria Brienza

Stress. We’ve all experienced it in our working lives. It’s that pressure we feel in response to particular situations, whether real or imagined.

Though our response to stress is an inherent part of our biology and was a key factor to our ancestors’ survival in the wild, we rarely have to worry about being eaten alive these days. The stress we encounter at work is very different and is felt more consistently…

By: Victoria Brienza

There are so many aspects of our world that we can say are overrated. From reality stars (ahem…the Kardashians!) and movies (Avatar) to food (red velvet cake), fashion (hair extensions) and air travel (fees and crowds). We all have our opinions on whom and what just can’t live up to the hype.

So when thinking about our jobs, many of us enjoy careers that the rest of world perceive as great, even though we know the truth. For example, others may see your high salary and not have an understanding of the amount of work you’re required to do. Or perhaps they’re wowed by the prestige of your job title. Or maybe they’re impressed by the perks they think you receive.