Frank Benford pointed me to this news article listing Statistician as the third best job in America. The article came out in January, so I assume this has already been spread and debunked many times by now.
What really interested me, though, was seeing Lumberjack in the last position. I remember thinking about lumberjacks when reading the work of Peter Dorman, who discussed the fact that, contrary to the usual theory of the "risk premium," risky jobs typically pay less than safe jobs. Lumberjack is about the riskiest job there is, and it doesn't pay well. (I discuss the topic a bit in our recent book, A Quantitative Tour of the Social Sciences.)
Comments
Cowboy pays bad, too.
Posted by: Steve Sailer | November 6, 2009 9:21 PM
Sort of related. This was on CNN's website a little while ago: "Top-paying jobs". (It's a top 10 list.)
(Mine is even on the list.)
Posted by: Charles Iliya Krempeaux | November 8, 2009 12:49 AM
One thing that makes lumberjack a low paid job is that it's seasonal to some extent. Fortunately, the job and the equipment used is a lot safer than it was 50+ years ago when I was growing up in a sawmill/logging camp.
The one that surprised me was parole officer at #14.
Posted by: Donna B. | November 9, 2009 4:27 AM