CNN’s List Of The 100 Best Jobs In America Is Making Me Rethink My Entire Career Path

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Every time I see a list with the “100 Best” anything, I get a little skeptical. Isn’t determining the “best” of anything rather subjective? I mean, aside from sports championships and legitimate competitions, “bests” are usually determined with an arbitrary list of factors that may be of different importance to different people.

So before I decided to write about CNNMoney’s list of “100 Best Jobs in America,” I decided to take a read through the metrics they used to measure, and I have to admit, it seems pretty legit. Not only did CNN and PayScale.com look at a job’s growth prospects based on job growth estimated for 2014-2024 according to Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts, they also took into account data on overall job satisfaction; median pay for experienced workers, based on PayScale.com’s database of 54 million profiles; how large the career field is; how much education is required to enter the field; promotion opportunities; how employees rated their jobs for stress and meaningfulness, according to the quality-of-life survey; and percent of those in the career who can telecommute at least part of the time.

So in other words, this list is pretty much on the up and up.

So where does your job rank? Mine is hanging out down at #88, but I make more than the median income, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain..but I probably will anyway.

1. Mobile Applications Developer
Median pay: 97,100
10-year job growth: 19%

2. Risk Management Director
Median pay: 131,000
10-year job growth: 7%

3. Landman
Median pay: 93,600
10-year job growth: 7%

4. Product Analyst
Median pay: 74,900
10-year job growth: 19%

5. Information Assurance Analyst
Median pay: 98,900
10-year job growth: 18%

6. Quality Assurance Coordinator (RN)
Median pay: 69,000
10-year job growth: 16%

7. Clinical Applications Specialist
Median pay: 77,000
10-year job growth: 21%

8. Hospital Administrator
Median pay: 120,000
10-year job growth: 17%

9. Database Analyst
Median pay: 70,100
10-year job growth: 11%

10. Finance & Administration Director
Median pay: 97,300
10-year job growth: 7%

11. Auditing Director
Median pay: 141,000
10-year job growth: 11%

12. Portfolio Manager
Median pay: 118,000
10-year job growth: 30%

13. Information Technology Director
Median pay: 128,000
10-year job growth: 15%

14. Webmaster
Median pay: 61,200
10-year job growth: 27%

15. Real Estate Development Manager
Median pay: 111,000
10-year job growth: 8%

16. Quality Management Director
Median pay: 109,000
10-year job growth: 17%

17. Management Analyst
Median pay: 71,400
10-year job growth: 14%

18. Marketing and Sales Director
Median pay: 114,000
10-year job growth: 7%

19. Employee Relations Specialist
Median pay: 62,300
10-year job growth: 7%

20. Actuary
Median pay: 132,000
10-year job growth: 18%

21. Government Affairs Director
Median pay: 108,000
10-year job growth: 7%

22. Information Technology Operations Manager
Median pay: 97,200
10-year job growth: 15%

23. Project Control Specialist
Median pay: 89,600
10-year job growth: 14%

24. Operations Project Manager
Median pay: 87,100
10-year job growth: 7%

25. Customer Success Manager
Median pay: 98,100
10-year job growth: 10%

26. Community Relations Manager
Median pay: 63,600
10-year job growth: 10%

27. Certified Financial Planner
Median pay: 91,600
10-year job growth: 30%

28. Continuous Improvement Manager
Median pay: 94,700
10-year job growth: 7%

29. E-Learning Specialist
Median pay: 64,900
10-year job growth: 8%

30. Brand Manager
Median pay: 89,800
10-year job growth: 9%

31. Dean of Students
Median pay: 87,700
10-year job growth: 9%

32. Business Development Manager
Median pay: 96,000
10-year job growth: 9%

33. Video Game Designer
Median pay: 81,600
10-year job growth: 13%

34. Technical Services Manager
Median pay: 96,700
10-year job growth: 15%

35. IT Training Specialist
Median pay: 67,400
10-year job growth: 8%

36. Supply Chain Management Director
Median pay: 134,000
10-year job growth: 7%

37. Transportation Engineer
Median pay: 80,400
10-year job growth: 8%

38. IT Business Analyst
Median pay: 83,000
10-year job growth: 21%

39. User Experience Researcher
Median pay: 106,000
10-year job growth: 19%

40. Internal Auditor
Median pay: 66,200
10-year job growth: 11%

41. Analytics Manager
Median pay: 108,000
10-year job growth: 30%

42. Social Media Manager
Median pay: 57,400
10-year job growth: 9%

43. Operations Director
Median pay: 108,000
10-year job growth: 7%

44. Dentist
Median pay: 151,000
10-year job growth: 18%

45. Radiologist
Median pay: 316,000
10-year job growth: 15%

46. Career Counselor
Median pay: 46,900
10-year job growth: 8%

47. Front End Developer/Engineer
Median pay: 81,000
10-year job growth: 27%

48. Biostatistician
Median pay: 91,800
10-year job growth: 34%

49. Accounting & Financial Reporting Director
Median pay: 126,000
10-year job growth: 7%

50. IT Security Director
Median pay: 147,000
10-year job growth: 15%

51. Certified Public Accountant
Median pay: 81,400
10-year job growth: 11%

52. Database Administrator
Median pay: 93,800
10-year job growth: 11%

53. Financial Analysis Manager
Median pay: 106,000
10-year job growth: 12%

54. Music Teacher
Median pay: 52,100
10-year job growth: 8%

55. Instructor, Postsecondary/Higher Education
Median pay: 50,900
10-year job growth: 12%

56. Videographer
Median pay: 49,600
10-year job growth: 12%

57. User Interface Designer
Median pay: 73,800
10-year job growth: 27%

58. Associate Director, Non-Profit Organization
Median pay: 68,100
10-year job growth: 7%

59. Product Owner
Median pay: 103,000
10-year job growth: 15%

60. Corporate Paralegal
Median pay: 71,500
10-year job growth: 8%

61. Tutor
Median pay: 51,200
10-year job growth: 7%

62. Marine Engineer or Naval Architect
Median pay: 115,000
10-year job growth: 9%

63. Technical Support Engineer
Median pay: 70,600
10-year job growth: 13%

64. Programmer Analyst
Median pay: 82,300
10-year job growth: 21%

65. Patient/Health Educator
Median pay: 50,600
10-year job growth: 12%

66. Proposal Manager
Median pay: 87,600
10-year job growth: 7%

67. Education Program Manager
Median pay: 58,700
10-year job growth: 7%

68. Content Strategist
Median pay: 84,400
10-year job growth: 19%

69. Marketing Communications Director
Median pay: 92,500
10-year job growth: 7%

70. Applications Engineer
Median pay: 81,900
10-year job growth: 19%

71. Training & Development Specialist
Median pay: 62,500
10-year job growth: 8%

72. Environmental Health & Safety Coordinator
Median pay: 66,500
10-year job growth: 11%

73. General Practice Physician
Median pay: 179,000
10-year job growth: 10%

74. Nursing Instructor
Median pay: 64,700
10-year job growth: 19%

75. Forester
Median pay: 61,800
10-year job growth: 8%

76. Sales Account Manager
Median pay: 80,800
10-year job growth: 7%

77. Area Operations Manager
Median pay: 89,500
10-year job growth: 7%

78. Customer Service Director
Median pay: 106,000
10-year job growth: 7%

79. Financial Services Product Manager
Median pay: 113,000
10-year job growth: 9%

80. Software Developer
Median pay: 96,600
10-year job growth: 13%

81. Petroleum Engineer
Median pay: 152,000
10-year job growth: 10%

82. Division General Manager
Median pay: 135,000
10-year job growth: 7%

83. Revenue Manager
Median pay: 74,000
10-year job growth: 7%

84. Clinical Research Associate
Median pay: 76,000
10-year job growth: 8%

85. Implementation Manager
Median pay: 87,600
10-year job growth: 15%

86. Nursing Home Director
Median pay: 95,100
10-year job growth: 17%

87. Statistician
Median pay: 95,100
10-year job growth: 34%

88. Administrative Director
Median pay: 82,600
10-year job growth: 8%

89. Pharmacy Director
Median pay: 144,000
10-year job growth: 17%

90. Asset Manager
Median pay: 95,600
10-year job growth: 12%

91. Clinical Services Director
Median pay: 80,400
10-year job growth: 17%

92. Environmental Specialist
Median pay: 69,400
10-year job growth: 11%

93. Nursing Manager
Median pay: 84,900
10-year job growth: 17%

94. Accounting Analyst
Median pay: 58,500
10-year job growth: 10%

95. Environmental Engineer
Median pay: 81,500
10-year job growth: 12%

96. Engagement Manager
Median pay: 115,000
10-year job growth: 7%

97. Civil Engineer
Median pay: 81,200
10-year job growth: 8%

98. Occupational Therapist
Median pay: 79,800
10-year job growth: 27%

99. User Experience Designer
Median pay: 85,900
10-year job growth: 13%

100. Anesthesiologist
Median pay: 335,000
10-year job growth: 21%

So who’s looking for a new gig? I don’t care that it’s #100, I’m thinking anesthesiologist looks pretty good.

[via CNNMoney]

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Jenna Crowley

Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, documenting her love of all things cheese related, and hosting the new PGP podcast Don't Take It From Us. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.

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