http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/top50/index.html

Top 10:

Quote :

" Position, Title, Growth, Avg. Salary 1 Software engineer 46.07% $80,427 2 College professor 31.39% $81,491 3 Financial advisor 25.92% $122,462 4 Human resources manager 23.47% $73,731 5 Physician assistant 49.65% $75,117 6 Market research analyst 20.19% $82,317 7 Computer/IT analyst 36.10% $83,427 8 Real estate appraiser 22.78% $66,216 9 Pharmacist 24.57% $91,998 10 Psychologist 19.14% $66,359 "

Also ranks stress, flexibility, creativity and difficulty on the job. 166 total job titles on that website.

4/14/2006 5:32:06 AM

I can handle being #2

4/14/2006 5:33:08 AM

I can handle being #1

4/14/2006 6:06:15 AM

Only it's from Money Magazine and Salary.Com

4/14/2006 6:37:30 AM

^
Thanks for the correction ... no coffee in yet that early

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 6:48 AM. Reason : .]

4/14/2006 6:48:06 AM

Where do they get these salary statistics? Did they only do their study in NY?

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 6:58 AM. Reason : .]

4/14/2006 6:57:49 AM

curious if they corrected the salaries for where most of these people live.... i'm thinking about san jose/silicon valley. of course software engineers are paid 80k plus. and honestly the engineer category was waaaay too broad - you really can't lump in civil, chemical, ee, mech. etc all in one category. they jobs, stress, hours, pay can vary quite a bit.

4/14/2006 7:45:05 AM

I can handle being number 1 as well.

4/14/2006 7:45:21 AM

I think I can handle being #5 in a few years...being a glorified nurse and getting paid.

Actually, Duke has a Pathology Assistant's program that's 2 years and you're guranteed a job at Duke and a starying salary of $90k/year to sit in a lab and cut up tumors all day. It's just hard as shit to get into, I think either 8-12 applicants selected every year out of around 40 or 60. I know that's a wide range, but the point is, it's a bitch to get in.

4/14/2006 9:18:57 AM

great... and i'm in the #1 spot for "Big jobs that pay badly"

4/14/2006 9:19:17 AM

i think they based all their rankings off (salary * growth) and nothing more.

both my parents were pharmacists and literally wouldnt pay for college or talk to me if i had decided to do the same. they hated their jobs that bad.

4/14/2006 9:42:14 AM

Nuclear is looking pretty bright to me.

4/14/2006 9:46:03 AM

#1 Software engineer 46.07%

dayam!

4/14/2006 10:16:00 AM

41 Biological scientist 17.03% $61,317

Near the bottom, but good news to me!

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 10:32 AM. Reason : ]

4/14/2006 10:16:03 AM

Those are Indian dollars.

4/14/2006 10:54:27 AM

I can handle #3. I get to make my own hours and work out of my home.

4/14/2006 11:11:13 AM

the irony is i transferred from majoring in the #1 'top job' to the #1 'pays badly'... my advisor deserves a swift kick in the nuts

and i love this little poke in the eye:

Quote :

"But they may require a great deal of time and money in graduate education, offer working conditions that only passion can excuse, and there may be such a long run for the roses that you forfeit prime working and child-bearing years just to achieve a salary that college peers were earning a decade earlier."

4/14/2006 11:42:48 AM

9 Pharmacist 24.57% $91,998

That's me. Damn it, the secret is out.

4/14/2006 11:44:23 AM

work retail drive thru at CVS

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 11:53 AM. Reason : 4 best job ev4r]

4/14/2006 11:53:24 AM

damn, $91k to work in a drug store.

4/14/2006 11:53:36 AM

its takes just as long to get that degree as a engineering + masters

4/14/2006 11:54:49 AM

not all pharmacists work at retail pharmacies. I want to work for drug companies when I graduate.

4/14/2006 11:55:38 AM

Surprisingly, two of my potential jobs are on there, though they're incredibly broad fields -- "editor" and "writer."

4/14/2006 11:57:50 AM

i wouldnt mind an engineering job developing pharmacy automation equipment . that shit costs a fortune

4/14/2006 11:57:53 AM

Quote :

"Those are Indian dollars"

haha, that made me laugh

4/14/2006 12:00:10 PM

The $texas is listed incorrectly on the initial list ... drill down to the indvidual page for each job title, its listed as "total compensation" ... which makes a bit more sense to include bonuses, matching funds, etc.

I also agree with moonman about it being extremely broad fields.

4/14/2006 12:32:34 PM

how does one become a human resource manager?

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 12:42 PM. Reason : I could handle being #2 as well]

4/14/2006 12:37:51 PM

I would guess the HR manager would be the worst job in the company

4/14/2006 6:00:15 PM

i was starting to wonder what PA is making 75 large

4/14/2006 6:16:28 PM

the HR manager at my (former) company (90-person archietcture firm) said she started out as a receptionist/secretary/something like that and worked her way up

4/14/2006 6:22:44 PM

^^Shit man, a lot of nurses make 75 large.

PA's make good money because they are in high demand.

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 6:23 PM. Reason : 1]

4/14/2006 6:23:26 PM

i am a #3 . . . trying to get the $122,000

4/14/2006 6:38:17 PM

^do you need an MBA to be a "financial advisor"? btw, nice saltwater tank you got there.

4/14/2006 6:52:05 PM

^no, and thanks.

But you do need to get life/health state certifications, register with the NASD, pass the series 7 and series 66, et al

[Edited on April 14, 2006 at 6:53 PM. Reason : sp]

4/14/2006 6:52:56 PM

#3 Best Job in America
#8 Highest Paid Job

Yeah. I think I'll be happy sticking with this for another 20 years or so.

Speaking of which, I need to go finish studying for the S66.

4/14/2006 7:06:21 PM

Quote :

"damn, $91k to work in a drug store."

You can make more than that. They'll typically offer new graduates $100k+/year if you sign a multi-year contract these days.

But retail pharmacy has to be one of the shittiest jobs I've ever seen.

4/14/2006 7:24:25 PM

who you working for gamecat?

4/14/2006 7:30:51 PM

Major financial planning company a mile or two from State.

4/14/2006 10:39:44 PM

maybe i should go back into psychology...

4/14/2006 10:47:22 PM

Only if you plan to go all the way with it.

4/14/2006 10:49:41 PM

so is it time to switch to CSC?

4/14/2006 11:02:55 PM

Come to think of it...having Balik for Intro to Java, which convinced me to get out of CSC, was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.

4/14/2006 11:52:18 PM

Time to switch out of ECE and into Accounting...(that qualifies for "financial advisor" right?)

4/15/2006 1:00:20 AM

Quote :

"Physician/Surgeon GRADES: Stress: D / Flexibility: D / Creativity: B / Difficulty: D"

4/15/2006 1:04:44 AM

^dermatology is where it's at.

4/15/2006 1:05:51 AM

Nah, I have zero interest in derm. Good pay, good hours...but it's skin.

Not my thing.

4/15/2006 1:06:29 AM

College prof is where it is at.

Hell even a high school teacher making 35k is where it's at.

Hard for me to argue with a 2+ month vacation every summer, 2-3 weeks off in december, and 7 hour workdays (8-3).

College schedules are even better.

[Edited on April 15, 2006 at 1:16 AM. Reason : Time > Money]

4/15/2006 1:16:23 AM

^^is derm a hottest specialty right now? or is it still plastic surgery?

4/15/2006 1:20:59 AM

hell yeah #2 is my ultimate goal

4/15/2006 9:23:35 AM

I would imagine the salary varies among professors too. Probably less if you're a humanities professor, and more if you're a researcher getting grants.

4/15/2006 9:29:08 AM