The quest to define what constitutes a "good" and "bad" job continues as CareerCast weighs in with a ranking of 200 jobs from "best" to "worst."
In fact, the ranking is really about relative difficulty rather than whether a job is good or bad. For one born to firefighting, this dangerous occupation will have the zealot leaping out of bed to have at it. The same person might consider this year's "best" job — actuary — some sort of karmic punishment for past life misdeeds.
Recommended For You
In producing its annual list, CareerCast evaluated four major job categories: Environment, income, outlook and stress. (Physical demands are taken into account in environment, not stress.) The lower the score, the higher the ranking.
Let us begin with the Top 10, considered by CareerCast to be the 10 best occupations for 2015. It will be noted whether a job fell in this hallowed category last year. Scores are based on a possible total of 100 points.
10. Computer systems analyst (2014 ranking: #8)
Score: 135
Income: $81,150
Low stress, tepid hiring outlook.
9. Occupational therapist (#9)
Score: 134
Income: $77,114
Low stress, OK hiring outlook.
8. Software engineer (#7)
Score: 129
Income: $93,113
Low stress, lousy hiring outlook.
7. Dental hygienist (#6)
Score: 125
Income: $71,102
Low stress, better hiring opportunity than a data scientist.
6. Data scientist
Score: 121
Income: $124,149
Low stress, poor hiring outlook.
5. Biomedical engineer
Score: 117
Income: $89,165
Low stress, OK hiring outlook.
4. Statistician (#3)
Score: 96
Income: $79,191
Low stress, OK hiring outlook.
3. Mathematician (#1)
Score: 92
Income: $102,182
Low stress, fairly low hiring outlook.
2. Audiologist (#5)
Score: 88
Income: $71,133
Very low on stress, pretty fair hiring outlook.
1. Actuary (2014: #4)
Overall score: 80
Income: $94,209
This job ranks low on stress and middling on work environment. And you can thank the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for the career's positive hiring outlook: Actuaries are in high demand after the law's implementation.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
