Accounting Ranks High in Best/Worst Jobs for 2010

Validation is a good thing; I’ve talked about how accounting is a great profession for quite a long time – and even blogged about it when I met with the business students at Indiana University.
 
CareerCast recently published its annual ranking of the 200 Best and Worst Jobs for 2010. Accounting came in at a cool #9! Interestingly, “Actuary,” another analysis-oriented profession, came in at #1.
 
Although the study was commissioned by a company whose main interest is to broker available jobs, I do think the results are significant. Firms should use this kind of information when they recruit students on campuses to serve in intern positions or when they conduct interviews within firms. Any time you can say a profession like accounting ranked #9 among 200 professions, the outcome is truly significant.
 
The ranking are based on five factors – physical demand, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook. With a median income of almost $60,000, accounting ranked high based on seemingly low stress and a very positive hiring outlook.
 
The worst job? A “Roustabout,” who “performs routine physical labor and maintenance on oil rigs and pipelines, both on and offshore.”