Mathematicians vs. Lumberjacks

In the left corner, 5' 2'', spectacle wearing, college nerd with a calculator, protractor and slide rule. In the right hand corner 6'0'', buff, flannel shirt wearing man with an ax. Who will win? According the the Jobsrated.com recent study of the best and worst jobs, life is far better for the mathematician. To compile this year's report, researchers relied on five criteria to compare jobs as different as librarian and sheet metal worker. Those criteria: stress, physical demands, hiring outlook, compensation and work environment. When I was slaving away at my office job in late night hours or during beautiful spring afternoons I yearned to be outside. Landscaping, park ranger, even picking up trash with the spear seemed ideal. Turns out some of the outdoor jobs are ranked the lowest: environmental hazards.

The Best and Worst Jobs

Of 200 Jobs studied, these came out on top -- and at the bottom:

The Best	The Worst
1. Mathematician	200. Lumberjack
2. Actuary	199. Dairy Farmer
3. Statistician	198. Taxi Driver
4. Biologist	197. Seaman
5. Software Engineer	196. EMT
6. Computer Systems Analyst	195. Roofer
7. Historian	194. Garbage Collector
8. Sociologist	193. Welder
9. Industrial Designer	192. Roustabout
10. Accountant	191. Ironworker
11. Economist	190. Construction Worker
12. Philosopher	189. Mail Carrier
13. Physicist	188. Sheet Metal Worker
14. Parole Officer	187. Auto Mechanic
15. Meteorologist	186. Butcher
16. Medical Laboratory Technician	185. Nuclear Decontamination Tech
17. Paralegal Assistant	184. Nurse (LN)
18. Computer Programmer	183. Painter
19. Motion Picture Editor	182. Child Care Worker
20. Astronomer	181. Firefighter

I guess Pythagoras was on to something. High School Math Teacher isn't really up there on the list. Too much stress on test performance, but all in all it's nice to know that all those nights using my Little Professor paid off. I have no recollection on how I obtained the Little Professor - a small toy similar to a calculator that provided randomized math problems. You could choose various levels. The "Professor" gave instant feedback after every 10 questions. I loved this thing. I used to play with it at night and I had to memorize where all the keys were. Every child should have this!!!! Texas Instruments if you are reading this...bring it back, bring it back! I know kids have more technology in their hands than ever before, but they don't know how to use it to their advantage. Even Regentsprep.org has a section for math where you can answer questions online and receive instant feedback and often see solutions.