Fri, 13 Jul 2012

Software engineer, actuary and HR manager are respectively the top three jobs in job site CareerCast.com’s list of the best jobs in the US in 2012.

The research methodology for the jobsite’s report saw 200 jobs from accountant to zoologist rated across five key criteria: hiring outlook, income, physical demands, stress and work environment.

HR manager actually had the highest salary of the three – $99k (£64k) vs $88k in both of the other jobs – but fell down on other categories, in particular the hiring outlook.

The highest paying job in the top 10 was financial planner at number 5, with $104k, while petroleum engineer (16th place, $114k) was the most lucrative across the top 20.

Recruiter comes in at 78th, with an average income of $47k, while the least desirable job, at number 200, was lumberjack, with an average salary of $32k.

The full study is available online.