精算師爲年北美最佳職業

Being an actuary, calculating statistics to determine probability and risk, is the best job to have in 2010, while working on an oil rig as a roustabout is the worst, according to a study released on Tuesday.

An actuary earns about $85,000 a year and has few physical demands, little stress, a good work environment and a positive outlook for employment and income growth, said , a job search site that analyzed 200 jobs in North America.

The second-best job is software engineer, followed by computer systems analyst, biologist and historian, said , which rated jobs in terms of stress, working environment, physical demands, income and hiring outlook.

Being a roustabout was rated the worst, followed by lumberjack, ironworker, dairy farmer and welder, it said.

A roustabout is a dangerous job that typically pays about $31,000 a year, with high unemployment and a negative outlook for growth, the study said.

Switching to many of the best jobs would mean returning to school, said Tony Lee, publisher of 's 2010 Jobs Rated Report. This is its 12th annual study.

The worst jobs are "fairly miserable," Lee said. They tend to require working outdoors regardless of the weather, have elements of physical danger and do not pay very well, he said.

"On top of that, the job opportunities are not very good so if you really want one of these jobs, you may even have difficulty finding one despite the fact that they're dangerous, in bad conditions and don't pay very well," he said.

Last year, actuary placed second and mathematician first, while lumberjack ranked as the worst job.

本週二發佈的一項研究報告稱，2010年的最佳職業是從事數據計算、確定可能性和風險的精算師，最差職業是油井工人。

求職網站對北美地區的200種職業進行了分析。該網站稱，一個精算師一年大約能賺得8.5萬美元的收入，而且無需耗費體力，壓力小，工作環境好，就業和加薪前景也很樂觀。

僅次於精算師的職業是軟件工程師，其次是計算機系統分析員、生物學家和歷史學家。網站根據工作壓力、工作環境、體力要求、收入和就業前景等因素對各種職業進行了評估。

該網站說，油井工人是最不理想的職業，其次是伐木工人、鐵匠、奶農和焊工。

研究稱，油井工人是一個很危險的職業，一年的收入一般爲3.1萬美元，而且不穩定、收入增長前景也不好。

網站的《2010年職業評估報告》的發行人託尼•李說，如果想換到這些理想的職業，人們也許要回到學校進修。這是該網站的第十二份年度調查。

李說，從事最差工作的人“相當悲慘”。無論天氣狀況如何，這些工作通常需要戶外作業，而且會有人身安全危險，薪酬也不高。

他說：“此外，這種工作機會並不多，所以如果你真的想從事這方面的工作，還不一定能找到，儘管這種工作危險、條件惡劣，報酬也不高。”

去年，精算師排在數學家之後，位列第二大最理想的職業，最糟糕的職業是伐木工人。

Vocabulary:

actuary: a person qualified to calculate commercial risks and probabilities involving uncertain future events, esp in such contexts as life assurance （保險）精算師

oil rig: rig used in drilling for oil or gas 石油鑽塔

roustabout:a laborer employed for temporary or unskilled jobs, as in an oil field 搬運工

lumberjack: one who fells trees and transports the timber to a mill; a logger 伐木工人