PSonCampus

Just released is this year’s CareersCast Top Job reports, and Accountants made it into the Top 10! The Jobs Rated report compares careers across a variety of industries, skill levels and salary ranges, ending up with a list of jobs that can be called “worst” and “best.” Accountants squeaked in at No. 9.

While accounting may not be highly sought after as the most glamorous, noble, or thrill-seeking job, it scored especially well on the Hiring Outlook, and, in this economy, that’s enough to boost it into the upper rankings. The report takes a look at five criteria; here’s how accounting fared.

• Stress. Overall scores in this category ranged from 18-100, and accounting scored a 31. I wondered how accounting scored so low, since busy season is one of the most stressful times around. Looking at the report methodology cleared up a few questions for me. While deadlines, precision, and attention to detail were measured as stress factors, also measured were factors like putting your own life at risk, and putting another’s life at risk. Busy season vs. running into a burning building to save someone’s life…OK, I get it.
• Working environment. Overall scores range from 89 – 3314, and accounting scored 276. Turns out that cubicles aren’t so bad, after all.
• Physical demands. No surprise here. Overall scores ranged from 3 – 43. Accounting scored, you guessed it, a 4.
• Income. Salaries from all of the jobs surveyed ranged from $17,000 – $300,000. Accounting clocked in at a respectable $59,176.
•  Hiring outlook. This is where we really shine! Accounting scored an 18, one of the very best.

So should everyone rush out to be an accountant? Or an actuary, number 1 on the list? Absolutely not. If you’re an outdoors person who needs to use your hands to build and make things, accounting is probably not for you. If you’d rather just “get it done,” instead of “get it done right” accounting is probably not right for you. Spend some time talking to people in the field about how they really spend their day before you commit yourself to a potential lifetime career that may not be the best use of your innate talents and abilities. Otherwise, you may feel like the #9 Best Job should belong as #1 on the Top Ten Worst List! (An honor currently held by Roustabout, those people who work on oil rigs).