CareerCast.com released a list of 200 jobs ranked by such factors as stress level, pay, work environment, and hiring outlook. Read their methodology here. The WSJ made it into a sortable multipage list but I took the liberty of making a single-page version with bar graphs showing the starting, mid, and top salaries.
At first glance…seems like it’s great to be a geek, with the top 6 jobs steeped in the mathematics and science (exception being historian…which is a geekiness of its own sort).
But going down the list…say, all the way to position #11, and your BS meter should be going off. Apparently, philosopher is the 11th best job, with very low physical demands and stress, a “very good” hiring outlook, and a median income of $60,000.
Really? A comment on this physicsforums thread sums up my a priori assumption: “I have no factual information but I guess your career choices would be either getting a faculty position at some university or flipping burgers.“