“Mathematician was listed as second best job in the world in the  latest poll based on salary/cushy working conditions …appreciate your life”, texted my daughter from her political science class, this morning.

I checked it out and indeed, the job of a mathematician ranks second best among 200 jobs in 2011 (up from sixth in 2010), right after software engineers. What changed since last year? Our stress level is down from 24. 673 to 12.780 (whatever this means).We must have all started smoking something.

This is according to the 2011 CareerCast survey, that you should compare to the previous one. But  before starting to gloat, you should know that dental hygienists are ranked 10th, and that philosophers are 16th but with a stress level of 12.560 (down from 30.497).

Scoring is done according to five key criteria: Physical Demands, Work Environment, Income, Outlook and Stress.

You can find here their methodology for the ranking.

Worth looking at their stress factors and scoring ranges. “Competitiveness”  and “meeting the public” may be undervalued for our breed.