Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs（2009.1.26）

缘起

首次阅读这篇新闻稿是在2020年11月7日所购书籍《线性代数的几何意义》的第24页。2009年1月26日华尔街日报刊登的一篇关于职业优劣评比的报道“Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs”。

该篇文章中的统计数据显示，前十名职业：【数学家，保险统计师，统计学家，生物学家，软件工程师，计算机系统分析师，历史学家，社会学家，工业设计师，会计师。】 后十名职业：【伐木工，酪农，出租车司机 ，船员 ，屋顶员 ，焊工 ，清洁队员 ，码头工 ，钢架工 ，建筑工。】

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英文原文

Doing the Math to Find the Good Jobs
Mathematicians Land Top Spot in New Ranking of Best and Worst Occupations in the U.S.

By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN
JANUARY 26, 2009, 11:20 A.M. ET

Nineteen years ago, Jennifer Courter set out on a career path that has since provided her with a steady stream of lucrative, low-stress jobs. Now, her occupation – mathematician – has landed at the top spot on a new study ranking the best and worst jobs in the U.S.

“It’s a lot more than just some boring subject that everybody has to take in school,” says Ms. Courter, a research mathematician at mental images Inc., a maker of 3D-visualization software in San Francisco. “It’s the science of problem-solving.”

The study, released Tuesday from CareerCast.com, a new job site, evaluates 200 professions to determine the best and worst according to five criteria inherent to every job: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress. (CareerCast.com is published by Adicio Inc., in which Wall Street Journal owner News Corp. holds a minority stake.)

The findings were compiled by Les Krantz, author of “Jobs Rated Almanac,” and are based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, as well as studies from trade associations and Mr. Krantz’s own expertise.

According to the study, mathematicians fared best in part because they typically work in favorable conditions – indoors and in places free of toxic fumes or noise – unlike those toward the bottom of the list like sewage-plant operator, painter and bricklayer. They also aren’t expected to do any heavy lifting, crawling or crouching – attributes associated with occupations such as firefighter, auto mechanic and plumber.

The study also considers pay, which was determined by measuring each job’s median income and growth potential. Mathematicians’ annual income was pegged at $94,160, but Ms. Courter, 38, says her salary exceeds that amount.

Her job entails working as part of a virtual team that designs mathematically based computer programs, some of which have been used to make films such as “The Matrix” and “Speed Racer.” She telecommutes from her home and rarely works overtime or feels stressed out. “Problem-solving involves a lot of thinking,” says Ms. Courter. “I find that calming.”

Other jobs at the top of the study’s list include actuary, statistician, biologist, software engineer and computer-systems analyst, historian and sociologist.Mark Nord is a sociologist working for the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service in Washington, D.C. He studies hunger in American households and writes research reports about his findings. “The best part of the job is the sense that I’m making some contribution to good policy making,” he says. “The kind of stuff that I crank out gets picked up by advocacy organizations, media and policy officials.”

The study estimates sociologists earn $63,195, though Mr. Nord, 62, says his income is about double that amount. He says he isn’t surprised by the findings because his job generates little stress and he works a steady 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. schedule. “It’s all done at the computer at my desk,” he says. “The main occupational hazard is carpal tunnel syndrome.”

On the opposite end of the career spectrum are lumberjacks. The study shows these workers, also known as timber cutters and loggers, as having the worst occupation, because of the dangerous nature of their work, a poor employment outlook and low annual pay – just $32,124.

New protective gear – such as trouser covers made of fiber-reinforcement materials – and an increased emphasis on safety have helped to reduce injuries among lumberjacks, says Paul Branch, who manages the timber department at Pike Lumber Co. in Akron, Ind. Still, accidents do occur from time to time, and some even result in death. “It’s not a job everybody can do,” says Mr. Branch. But Eric Nellans, who has been cutting timber for the past 11 years for Pike Lumber, is passionate about his profession. “It’s a very rewarding job, especially at the end of the day when you see the work you accomplished,” he says. Mr. Nellans, 35, didn’t become discouraged even after he accidentally knocked down a dead tree and broke his right leg in the process four years ago. “I was back in the woods cutting timber in five weeks,” he says.

Other jobs at the bottom of the study: dairy farmer, taxi driver, seaman, emergency medical technician and roofer.

Mike Riegel, a 43-year-old roofer in Flemington, N.J., says he likes working “outside in the fresh air.” Since he runs his own business, which he inherited from his father, he can start and end his day early in hot weather or do the opposite when it’s cold.

The study estimates roofers earn annual incomes of $34,164, which Mr. Riegel says is consistent with what he pays new employees. Roofers also ranked poorly because of their hazardous working conditions. “You obviously can’t be afraid of heights,” says Mr. Riegel, who once fell two stories while working on a rooftop in the rain but luckily landed safely on a pile of soft dirt. “I missed some cement by 10 feet.”

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com

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中文翻译

《做数学找到好工作：数学家在美国最佳和最差职业的新排名中名列前茅》

作者：SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN
美国东部时间 2009 年 1 月 26 日上午 11：20

19年前，詹妮弗·考特开始了一条职业道路，这条道路为她提供了源源不断的利润丰厚、压力较小的工作。现在，她的职业——数学家——在一项对美国最好和最差工作进行排名的新研究中位居榜首。旧金山3D可视化软件制造商 mental images 股份有限公司的研究数学家考特女士说：“这不仅仅是每个人在学校都要学的一些无聊的科目。” “这是解决问题的科学。”

这项研究于周二在新的招聘网站 CareerCast.com 上发布，根据每项工作固有的五个标准：环境、收入、就业前景、身体需求和压力，对200种职业进行了评估，以确定最佳和最差的职业。（CareerCast.com由Adicio股份有限公司出版，《华尔街日报》所有者新闻集团持有该公司的少数股权。）

这些发现由《就业年鉴》的作者 Les Krantz 汇编，基于美国劳工统计局和人口普查局的数据，以及行业协会的研究和Krantz自己的专业知识。

根据这项研究，数学家的表现最好，部分原因是他们通常在有利的条件下工作——室内和没有有毒烟雾或噪音的地方——而不像污水厂操作员、油漆工和泥瓦匠等排名垫底的人。他们也不应该做任何重物搬运、爬行或蹲下——这些都与消防员、汽车修理工和水管工等职业有关。

该研究还考虑了薪酬，薪酬是通过衡量每个工作的收入中值和增长潜力来确定的。数学家的年收入固定在94160美元，但38岁的Courter女士说她的工资超过了这个数字。

她的工作需要成为一个虚拟团队的一员，该团队设计基于数学的计算机程序，其中一些程序已被用于制作《黑客帝国》和《速度赛车手》等电影。她在家远程办公，很少加班或感到压力。“解决问题需要很多思考，”Courter女士说，“我觉得这很平静。”

排名第一的其他工作包括「精算师」、「统计学家」、「生物学家」、「软件工程师」和「计算机系统分析师」、「历史学家」和「社会学家」。马克·诺德（Mark Nord）是华盛顿特区农业部经济研究服务中心的社会学家。他研究美国家庭的饥饿问题，并就自己的研究结果撰写研究报告。他说：“这份工作最棒的部分是感觉到我正在为良好的政策制定做出一些贡献。”“我创作的那种东西会被倡导组织、媒体和政策官员所接受。”

这项研究估计社会学家的收入为63195美元，尽管62岁的诺德先生说他的收入大约是这个数字的两倍。他说，他对这些发现并不感到惊讶，因为他的工作几乎不会产生压力，而且他每天早上7:30到下午4点都有稳定的工作时间表。“这一切都是在我办公桌上的电脑上完成的，”他说。“主要的职业危害是腕管综合征。”

在职业光谱的另一端是伐木工。研究表明，这些工人，也被称为木材切割工和伐木工人，他们的职业最糟糕，因为他们的工作性质危险，就业前景不佳，年薪仅为32124美元。

印第安纳州阿克伦派克木材公司木材部门负责人 Paul Branch 表示，新的防护装备，如纤维增强材料制成的裤套，以及对安全的日益重视，有助于减少伐木工的伤害。尽管如此，事故确实时有发生，有些甚至导致死亡。“这不是每个人都能做的工作，”布兰奇说。但埃里克·内兰斯（Eric Nellans）对自己的职业充满热情，他在过去的11年里一直为派克木材公司（Pike Lumber）砍伐木材。他说：“这是一份非常有回报的工作，尤其是在一天结束时，当你看到自己完成的工作时。”。35岁的内兰斯并没有气馁，即使四年前他在这个过程中意外撞倒了一棵枯树并摔断了右腿。他说：“五周后，我又回到了树林里砍伐木材。”

排名垫底的其他工作：奶农、出租车司机、海员、急救医疗技术员和屋顶工。

43岁的 Mike Riegel 是新泽西州弗莱明顿的一名屋顶工人，他说他喜欢“在户外新鲜空气中”工作。由于他经营着从父亲那里继承的自己的企业，他可以在炎热的天气里早早开始和结束一天，也可以在寒冷的时候做相反的事情。

这项研究估计，屋顶工人的年收入为 34,164 美元，里格尔先生说这与他付给新员工的工资是一致的。屋顶工人的排名也很低，因为他们的工作条件很危险。“你显然不能恐高，”里格尔先生说，他曾经在雨中在屋顶上工作时从两层楼上摔下来，但幸运地落在了一堆软土上。“我离一些水泥还差 10 英尺。”

致函 sarsh.E.Needleman@wsj.com。