The best and worst jobs for 2012 are out, and it doesn't look good for me or this area.
Oil-rig worker was the worst job last year but is only fourth worst this year. That means a large number of people in Estevan are working what was formerly the worst job in the country. The only ones worse are lumberjack, dairy farmer and enlisted military personnel.
The job right after oil-rig worker, but still slightly better is newspaper reporter. Ouch. I did not realize how bad I actually have it and now realize I am not nearly self-deprecating enough.
The rankings by careercast.com included 200 jobs and were based on five categories: physical demands, work environment, income, stress and hiring outlook.
Of those 200 jobs, newspaper reporter was 196.
Our hiring outlook was a negative number, only ahead of jobs like shoemaker, which I didn't think still existed outside of China.
The rankings aren't all about money, as only one job in the top 10 had a mid-level earner bringing in more than $100,000, and at $104,000 for the financial planner, that's just above.
Mid-ranked jobs were cosmetologist at 100. Hairstylist is 105, and at 54 is archeologist.
I never thought my job was the best, but here is a list of jobs better than newspaper reporter: meter reader, seaman and dishwasher. Chauffeur is considered a much better job, coming in at 153.
Advertising salesperson ranked 136 of 200. Editorial and sales are always in natural competition with each other.
I really hope the sales girls don't get wind of this list because it will go right to their heads.
I guess reporters are entitled to do more complaining than we already do. I remember working at my hometown paper in the summer between college semesters. All the papers in that area were under the same controlling corporation, so each summer the editorial staffs of about eight publications got together for a lunch.
The reporter whose office I shared told me the lunch wasn't mandatory, and that it's really just an opportunity for everybody to complain about their jobs with the others.
Norm Park asked if we were just stupid for liking a job that could be ranked 196 out of 200 jobs. I've only put up with it for a few years, but Old Parkie has been dealing with it for 40 or so. I'm not really sure, and I'm a little scared to ask.
The truth is, of course, that in our own way, we are a little stupid. Reporter isn't a job for everybody. If you like it, that's great, but of my graduating journalism class from Niagara College, which was about 30 or 35 people, maybe five to eight were going to continue on and be journalists in the long-term.
In a best-case scenario, that's less than a quarter of the people who paid tuition and fees in order to spend two years learning a craft they never intended to use.
I would certainly agree that on a list of 200 most desirable jobs, newspaper reporter would probably top out at around 196, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the fifth-worst job available.
As long as we stay ahead of the oil guys, at least we have some bragging rights around here.
