Apparently I have the worst job

[kgb18]

www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/worst-jobs-2013

I've got the worst job one can possibly have!

Today it actually feels that way. Most days I like my job. Newspapers are a labor of love that's why we put up with all the crappy stuff.

They ranked actuary as the best job to have. To me that seems like hell on Earth.

Where does your job rank? Do you think the ranking is accurate?

[The Captain]

kgb18 - I can't link to the article right now but can guess as to the content from your comments.

 

Truth is these types of articles make me crazy.  The "best" and "worst" job is entirely subjective to the person doing it.  The trick is to find something you're relatively good at, can do all day without committing suicide, and pays the bills.

I have a job that most of America considers soul-sucking (and yes, I'm sure there are some on these boards that would argue I don't even have a soul anymore ) but the truth is I love my job.  The fact that it enables me to support my family makes me love it even more, even when it sucks (and yes there are bad times).


My understanding from your comments is that you truly enjoy what you do (most of the time) and recognize the value it brings to society.  Hopefully you get decent pay for it as well, there - best job in the world!

[kittensaver]

Wow - I went looking for my job (and didn't find it), BUT I did notice that this article lists "Flight Attendant" twice:

#10 on the Worst list, AND #191 on the Best list. !!!

So which one is it?

[Bob Ross]

Apr 24, 2013 14:18:26 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

Wow - I went looking for my job (and didn't find it), BUT I did notice that this article lists "Flight Attendant" twice:

#10 on the Worst list, AND #191 on the Best list. !!!

So which one is it?

I think they used 200 different jobs, so the answer is both.

Mine is 3rd best.  Bitchin'.

[Deleted]

kgb I saw that and thought of you. With a certain degree of envy, I might add, lol.

It's a job that requires passion, and that has never paid well. That's nothing new, although the dearth of jobs is getting worse, of course. Also I think people go into it young, without necessarily thinking about how difficult it may be to reconcile that job with a family / kids.

Personally I think it's on the list because newspaper journalism is a "dying field", rather than because of the job itself, if that makes any sense. 

Athena must be preening LOL.

[kgb18]

kgb I saw that and thought of you. With a certain degree of envy, I might add, lol.

Some days I think, "I can't believe I get paid to this job." And other days, I think, "They don't pay me enough to do this job."  Today was not good. My morning started off with some angry man yelling at me that I'm a terrible, heartless person and, essentially, that I got paid to upset his family.

#10 on the Worst list, AND #191 on the Best list. !!!

LOL. Best of the worst? Worst of the best? I guess you can take your pick!

The "best" and "worst" job is entirely subjective to the person doing it.  The trick is to find something you're relatively good at, can do all day without committing suicide, and pays the bills ...

My understanding from your comments is that you truly enjoy what you do (most of the time) and recognize the value it brings to society.  Hopefully you get decent pay for it as well, there - best job in the world!

That sums it up nicely. Well, except for the decent pay part. That's probably one of the reasons it's considered the worst. The pay stinks.

[Cookies Galore]

I'm pretty sure "old French whore" is the worst job.

[wvugurl26]

I'm an auditor and I work with actuaries at times. I would claw my eyes out if I did that every day. I've been reviewing insurance bids forever and I'm so sick of actuary speak. We have running jokes about keeping them locked up on the top floor of the building here.

[Deleted]

Apr 24, 2013 14:24:14 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

Athena must be preening LOL.

No, this isn't the first year we've come out on top and I agree that it's totally subjective.  It happens to fit me- I like data and computers and have enough people skills that I've done well (and yes, most of the successful actuaries do have people skills).  I'm not at the top of the compensation scale for people who have been at it as long as I have, but I make a good living, have good benefits, have had 6 weeks of unemployment in 38 years, and I have a life outside of the office.

OTOH, I spent my first 8 years out of college working full-time and then going home and studying for actuarial exams.  There were 10 of them at the time (now I think there are 8), given every 6 months, with 300 hours of study recommended per exam.  The pass rates ran around 30-40% and the competition was equally bright, driven people.

There are barriers to entry to most enjoyable, lucrative professions.  That's why they're lucrative.

[Peace Of Mind]

kgb, sounds like now is the time to ask for a raise! 

[jinksd1]

My husband has been a journalist for a dozen or so years.  He works at a family-owned daily paper with a circulation of about 20,000.  He adores his job so much that I'm relatively certain he would shrivel up and die if he couldn't work in the business anymore. 

But he's definitely seen people burn out over the years and leave the field.  It's not a job for everyone, or a job that some can do forever.  I think you have to have the right personality to make it a career for life.  My husband handles stress better than anyone I've ever met.  He has thick skin and doesn't freak out or get angry easily.  He handles boredom well (important when you have to sit through things like county board meetings for hours).  He works fine in the chaos of a busy, loud newsroom, and deadlines don't faze him. He doesn't mind driving all over creation and going out in all weather to get a story.  He's outgoing and likeable, which is pretty essential for getting people to talk to you.  He knows his job and the ethics and responsibility that come with it.  And he's damn good at it, too...he has dozens of state awards and two national awards to prove it.

Where you work and what your beat is matters a great deal, too.  A big paper doesn't operate the same as a small daily, which doesn't operate the same as a weekly or bi-weekly.  Covering international news is different than covering county politics or sports or lifestyle or court.  DH wouldn't be happy at a big paper or covering sports, for example. 

As far as it not being a good fit with home life and children, that's not universally true.  DH has to work the occasional night for a meeting or whatever, but that's no big deal.  He almost never works weekends, and when he does, it's usually not for long.  Yes, he might be called out to cover a fire in the middle of the night, but that's not a common thing.  We don't have children, but if we did, he'd be getting off work about the time they'd be getting off school, which would work pretty nicely. And of course he can always move up to an editor position at some point, which has even more stable hours at his paper.

The pay sucks; there's no sugar-coating that.  That's the biggest strike against it.  But there really is something to be said for having a job you love and have a real passion for, and one that I absolutely consider essential to our American way of life.
 

[alabamagal]

My DS is studying finance/economics and plans to be an actuary. Glad to hear it is the #1 job. It certainly is the right job for him. He heard about it during career exploration class his freshman year and has been focused on that job ever since. He is a math nerd and proud of it. Last time he was home he was calculating odds of winning Monopoly after owning various properties, and he was enjoying it!

[KaraBoo]

What about if your job isn't even listed?  

I attended a meeting tonight of professionals in my current line of work (there were less than 40 of us from the DFW area).  At the beginning of the meeting, they had everyone introduce themselves and state how long they've been in the profession.

1 said a year and a half.
Another said 5 years.
Still another said around 6-7 years.
About half said 10+ years.
The remaining said 20+ years - including my boss and co-worker.  (There were a couple in the 30+ year range)

I got a round of applause for stating 6 months.

All I could think of while they were cheering and clapping was them thinking, "Hooray!  We suckered another one in!!!"

[taz157]

Apr 25, 2013 21:00:54 GMT -5 KaraBoo said:

All I could think of while they were cheering and clapping was them thinking, "Hooray! We suckered another one in!!!"

[Bluerobin]

I spent a career in collections and loved it.  Something satisfying about stickin it to deadbeats!

[Phoenix84]

My job is not on the list.  People who do what I do are not very common. 

[thyme4change]

They ranked actuary as the best job to have. To me that seems like hell on Earth.

I heard on NPR yesterday the announcement that some guy has just gotten "The Coolest Summer Job on the planet."  He has been hired to tour the country and ride all the water slides and rate and review them for quality, fun and adrenalin rush.  Paid $33k for 6 months of work.  Seems better than being an actuary!

[Deleted]

Do you remember when Australia had a contest for "the world's best job" which involved vacationing in Austria, blogging about it and getting paid $100k a year to do it.

[zdaddy]

Apr 24, 2013 13:14:04 GMT -5 kgb18 said:

www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/worst-jobs-2013

I've got the worst job one can possibly have!

Today it actually feels that way. Most days I like my job. Newspapers are a labor of love that's why we put up with all the crappy stuff.

They ranked actuary as the best job to have. To me that seems like hell on Earth.

Where does your job rank? Do you think the ranking is accurate?

KGB, hang in there. I spent a few years in the newspaper industry and my wife is still the online editor for our local paper. I remember the crazy hours for low pay (first job paid like $10/hour and yet I was often being asked to become a subject matter expert on everything from politics to law & justice to economics). I also remember how so many people really had no respect for the media or the important work they do.

That being said, I can't see journalism being the worst job. There are plenty of dirty, exhausting and dangerous jobs out there, and not all of them are very well paid. I think back to how I put myself through school by joining the Army at 18. I made far less than I did as a journalist, plus was out in horrible weather all the time and occassionally had to deal with people trying to kill me.

[Deleted]

Apr 26, 2013 11:45:01 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

Do you remember when Australia had a contest for "the world's best job" which involved vacationing in Austria, blogging about it and getting paid $100k a year to do it.

damn, I'd love that job....

[Deleted]

wait, so reporter beat out whore?

[kgb18]

KGB, hang in there.

Thanks.    I've been doing this for 15 years. I'm on the cops and courts beat, which is the most stressful beat I've had. My editor is always worried I'm going to burn out. Some weeks are tough. (TGIF this week.) But, for the most part, I love it. And while the hours can be challenging while raising a family, I also have bosses and co-workers who are very family-friendly people. In some respects, the job offers me a degree of flexibility that you just don't get everywhere. I would like to eventually go to a city paper, but not until my kids are older.

wait, so reporter beat out whore?

I guess so. That's bad, huh?