Via Cosmic Variance, JobsRated.com has put out a ranking of 200 jobs and can tell us what the best ones are. Guess who won? Mathematicians. Physicists came in at a lowly 13.
Ok…so the methodology isn’t perfect. But still, I’ve got to get some validation from somewhere while waiting to hear back about fellowships…
Charles Siegel
Jim Stankewicz
Matt DeLand
Rigorous Trivialities 
Do you find it odd that “Philosopher” ranks at 12? I mean, as a job. Is it even a job in the first place? “Professor of Philosophy,” or something along those lines, seems like a job to me in the same way “Mathematican” does. But just plain “philosopher,” as they describe it?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that philosophy isn’t a valid and important practice. I’m just confused about why it’s the 12th best job in the world?
I think they mean professor of philosophy. Also, the methodology definitely seems to skew academic jobs to the top, partly due to the lack of manual labor.
As I mentioned in my post on the subject, I’m almost certain they’re using “mathematician” to include non-academic mathematicians.
But you have to know what the assumed values were. Maybe it’s the best job where best = boring!
Just kidding there, but you get the point. Other bloggers have pointed out something similar. Their criteria were, in the words of one blogger, “arbitrary.”
NS
http://sciencedefeated.wordpress.com/
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