Jobs Rated

The 10 Most and Least Stressful Jobs of 2010

–by Andrew Strieber

Pressure Drop: Workplace stress can damage productivity, mental well-being and physical health. But is an anxiety-free office worth a potential loss in career satisfaction and job security?

Job-related stress has long been the nemesis of workers around the globe. Stress has been linked in studies to everything from low productivity to increased illness to obesity. Fallout from the recession has only compounded the problem. Many work harder for less money, and wonder if they'll still have a job at day's end. Combine this with new technology that makes it easier than ever to work around the clock (and even on vacation), and it's no wonder that on-the-job stress – and finding ways to manage it – has become an ever more important issue.

While it's possible to find countless books, teas, exercise techniques and more offering you a way to relax, this focus on peace at the office raises a question: Is there such a thing as too little workplace stress?

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The 10 Best Jobs of 2010

–by Andrew Strieber

Layoffs, bankruptcies and rising unemployment – the past 12 months have been an especially traumatic time to be looking for a new job. Yet when considering the best and worst jobs for 2010, the upheaval that spread across multiple industries last year hasn't altered the old adage: "the more things change, the more they stay the same." For the second year in a row, job hunters will want to brush up their math, science and computer skills if they want to land a top-ranked, highly rewarding position.

Actuary, a job that entails calculating the probability and financial impact of illness and property loss, ranks as the best job for 2010, based on research into 200 different positions in this year's exclusive CareerCast.com Jobs Rated report. Using five key measurement criteria – stress, working environment, physical demands, income and hiring outlook – the Jobs Rated report seeks to compare and contrast careers across a multitude of industries, skill levels and salary ranges, sorting them into a definitive list of jobs that can be called "worst" and "best."

So why is Actuary rated number one? For starters, the position ranks especially well for its low physical demands and stress levels, finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively, out of all 200 jobs. But more importantly, it is actuary's consistently strong performance overall that helped the job rise to the top of the 2010 Jobs Rated list.

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The 10 Worst Jobs of 2010

–by Andrew Strieber

Picture this as your typical workday: You wake up at 5a.m. (or 5p.m. for the night shift) and head to the dining hall for a breakfast of cafeteria food. Next comes a 12-hour shift working outdoors in either the desert heat, an ocean storm or the bitter cold of an Alaskan winter. There may even be armed groups nearby eager to kidnap you for ransom. As for the work itself, it's backbreaking physical labor with a high risk of injury or death. And when the day is over, you still can't go home because you work in an isolated location that you're able to leave only every two weeks or so. And when it's time to sleep, you head to your shared dorm room and crash until 5a.m., when work starts all over again.

Sound like fun? While conditions vary, this is the life of most Roustabouts, a job that ranks as the worst in 2010, according to research into 200 different positions in this year's exclusive CareerCast.com Jobs Rated report. while Roustabout is a title that can also be given to circus workers, in this case it refers to those who perform routine physical labor and maintenance on oil rigs and pipelines. What makes this particular career worse than all others for 2010? The Jobs Rated report evaluates positions based on five key measurement criteria – stress, working environment, physical demands, income and hiring outlook – and in the case of Roustabout, the job finished near the bottom for every one.

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