Alexis Hauk is associate editor of Radio World.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, you already know that the news industry is in a bit of a crisis. Well then, perhaps it’s no huge surprise that the recently released2012 CareerCast.com Jobs Rated Report listed both “newspaper reporter” and “broadcaster” as two of the worst jobs to have in the entire country.
For the 200 professions that were considered, the report evidently weighed criteria like “income, outlook, environmental factors, stress and physical demands,” according to an official press release.
“Many jobs in the media are characterized by high stress, short deadlines, long hours and a poor hiring outlook,” explains a statement from Tony Lee, who published the report. “Despite these poor working conditions, competition is steep for what jobs remain after massive consolidation and layoffs in the media industry.”
Hey, at least broadcasters don’t have to work on the hottest and coldest days of the year like lumberjacks, another of the country’s worst jobs. While they may be a hilarious subject for a Monty Python sketch, the dangerous work and low pay as lumberjacks is no laughing matter.
On the other end of the spectrum, “software engineer” ranked as the best job in the U.S. for the second year in a row (damn them), followed by actuary, human resources manager, dental hygienist and financial planner (yeah, yeah, we’re happy for you and we’re gonna let you finish but…).
More bad jobs: waiter/waitress, dishwasher, butcher, enlisted military personnel, oil rig worker and meter reader. Cheers to journalists! Double cheers to journalists who cover broadcasting!