Yet, when it comes to careers, I consistently recommend my students who are good with numbers to look into becoming an actuary (you know, people who come up with insurance premiums, things like that). It is challenging, utilizes what they learned in school, pays well, and provides them with some degree of autonomy because they are a professional.
Just recently, the Wall Street Journal published a list of the Best and Worst Occupations in the U.S. -- an actuary was the 2nd best job, as shown below. An economist was #11.
The Best and Worst Jobs
Of 200 Jobs studied, these came out on top -- and at the bottom:
The Best | The Worst |
1. Mathematician | 200. Lumberjack |
2. Actuary | 199. Dairy Farmer |
3. Statistician | 198. Taxi Driver |
4. Biologist | 197. Seaman |
5. Software Engineer | 196. EMT |
6. Computer Systems Analyst | 195. Garbage Collector |
7. Historian | 194. Welder |
8. Sociologist | 193. Roustabout |
9. Industrial Designer | 192. Ironworker |
10. Accountant | 191. Construction Worker |
11. Economist | 190. Mail Carrier |
12. Philosopher | 189. Sheet Metal Worker |
13. Physicist | 188. Auto Mechanic |
14. Parole Officer | 187. Butcher |
15. Meteorologist | 186. Nuclear Decontamination Tech |
16. Medical Laboratory Technician | 185. Nurse (LN) |
17. Paralegal Assistant | 184.Painter |
18. Computer Programmer | 183. Child Care Worker |
19. Motion Picture Editor | 182. Firefighter |
20. Astronomer | 181. Brick Layer |