The Best, Overrated, and Secret Careers

US News has a set of lists all about various careers. They start with the 30 best careers for 2009 as follows:

• Audiologist
• Biomedical equipment technician
• Clergy
• Curriculum/training specialist
• Engineer
• Firefighter
• Fundraiser
• Genetic counselor
• Ghostwriter
• Government manager
• Hairstylist/Cosmetologist
• Health policy specialist
• Higher education administrator
• Landscape architect
• Librarian
• Locksmith/Security system technician
• Management consultant
• Mediator
• Occupational therapist
• Optometrist
• Pharmacist
• Physical therapist
• Physician assistant
• Politician/Elected official
• Registered nurse
• School psychologist
• Systems analyst
• Urban planner
• Usability/User experience specialist
• Veterinarian

Next they list 13 overrated careers as follows:

• Advertising Executive
• Architect
• Attorney
• Chef
• Chiropractor
• Farmer
• Medical Scientist
• Nonprofit Manager
• Physician
• Police Officer
• Professor
• Small-Business Owner
• Teacher

Finally, here's a list of 11 best-kept-secret careers:

• Accent-reduction specialist
• Casting director
• Child life specialist
• Creative perfumer
• Health informatics specialist
• Orthoptist
• Orthotist/prosthetist
• Program analyst
• Program evaluator
• Prospect researcher
• Surgical technologist

For each of these careers, they give a small snapshot of the career, how to get started in it, etc., so click through for details if you're interested in any of these.

Comments

[Jo]

I had to laugh at the perception of what farming is like: romantic notion of being close to the earth and animals (which is true to a degree), that you only work during daylight hours, and that you don't need a college degree. I think they did a wonderful job of painting what it is really like.

I grew up on a dairy farm and many of my parents' neighbors are still farmers. Although many of the older farmers don't have degrees they would qualify--they are business men, accountants, veterinarians, mechanics, and so many more things. Many of the younger family farmers do off and get some sort of agricultural degree before returning to farm. Unfortunately, gone is the day of small family farms to sustain a family.

[AdamCO]

I'm loving the overrated careers section. Everyone on TV is one of those...an architect or chef or one of the others.

Glad to see my professional...Urban Planning...made the list.

[Cara]

Engineering as a "best" career? Ha! When companies want to cut costs, engineers are the first to go. My own company is laying off engineers as I write this.

[Jim]

Engineering is a bit too broad to be grouped as one career. While some might have decent job prospects in the next decade others are losing jobs. And MANY engineering jobs are being shipped overseas.

Jim

[Miss M]

I'm a civil engineer, boom times as infrastructure crumbles and our transportation needs increase. But yes the term engineer can refer to many jobs and I've seen janitorial jobs with the term engineer attached. Some engineering jobs can be outsourced, like the grunt programming work, but what I do requires my ability to go to the job site. Architect is also on the list of lowest paying jobs that require a graduate degree. You have to get a masters degree and will start at under $30k a year. Ouch.

[texashaze]

My wife is a teacher and listing it as overrated is appropriate. Besides the school day she spends nights grading papers, answering emails and taking phone calls from parents. She probably puts in 60-70 hrs a week and is paid in the $40s. They nailed it regarding the demands of public schools - unachieveable expectations from administrators/gov't, unappreciative parents, special needs kids who disrupt the classroom (sorry but they really shouldn't be in general classrooms), behaviour problems, being forced to focus on standardized tests rather than teaching kids to think, etc., etc.

It's ironic the article recomends you go into the private schools. This is exactly what she did. Parents are supportive, students are respectful and the focus is on learning (not culture or life skills). The downside is the private sector pays 33% less but when is bad in both it really doesn't matter. Teachers are underpaid and underappreciated.

[aaktx]

Physicians as an overrated career? I dispute this. Despite all the whining about insurance, malpractice, and reduced reimbursements, it is still rewarding(on many levels). People will always be sick and for the most part you can be your own boss.

[poor boomer]

Exactly how would one become an accent-reduction specialist?

[rxjohnk]

aaktx-

Are you a physician? I am not either, but I often hear from my friends who are about the many downsides of the job. Specifically, one friend says she spends more time on paper-work than she does on patient contact.

Bad job? Not necessarily...

Over-rated? I think so.

texashaze-

I agree that teachers are under-appreciated. I'm not so sure about the pay... I work 50-60 hours a week, 50 weeks a year.

I might get paid a little more than a teacher, but I also miss out on the ski trips/beach vacations that my teacher friends take during their ample vacation time...

Also teachers have the option to work during these "vacation" times, which could probably push the salary close to $50-60k/year.

[texashaze]

rxjohnk

Not sure where you live or what kind of teacher friends you have but I've never heard of teachers spending their "ample" vacations on ski/beach trips. Do you live on fantasy island? Most of the ones we know are too busy raising families or delivering pizzas just to make ends meet.