{"id":35,"date":"2016-02-08T11:48:15","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T16:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/\/?p=35"},"modified":"2016-02-08T15:09:06","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T20:09:06","slug":"mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/","title":{"rendered":"From the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"black-and-white-915782_960_720\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Joe Carter<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the deal with actuaries?<\/p>\n

Whenever a new list of the best jobs is compiled\u2014like the\u00a0rankings by Career Cast<\/a>\u2014they are always near the top of the list. What could really be so great about interpreting statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters?<\/p>\n

And why have I never actually met an actuary? Are their jobs so exceedingly awesome that they don\u2019t take time to associate with non-actuaries?<\/p>\n

Anyway, here are the top ten jobs for 2013 according to Career Cast. Notice any patterns?<\/p>\n

1. Actuary<\/p>\n

2. Biomedical Engineer<\/p>\n

3. Software Engineer<\/p>\n

4. Audiologist<\/p>\n

5. Financial Planner<\/p>\n

6. Dental Hygienist<\/p>\n

7. Occupational Therapist<\/p>\n

8. Optometrist<\/p>\n

9. Physical Therapist<\/p>\n

10. Computer Systems Analyst<\/p>\n

Now look at the ten worst jobs:<\/p>\n

1. Newspaper Reporter<\/p>\n

2. Lumberjack<\/p>\n

3. Enlisted Military Personnel<\/p>\n

4. Actor<\/p>\n

5. Oil Rig Worker<\/p>\n

6. Dairy Farmer<\/p>\n

7. Meter Reader<\/p>\n

8. Mail Carrier<\/p>\n

9. Roofer<\/p>\n

10. Flight Attendant<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say from personal experience how the best and worst compare. While I\u2019ve had four of the jobs on the worst list (reporter, enlisted military, oil rig worker, and roofer), the closet I\u2019ve come to the top is #24 Web Developer (since college adjuncts don\u2019t really qualify for the perks of #14, University Professor). It appears to me, though, that a key distinction between the \u201cbest\u201d jobs and the \u201cworst\u201d are that the top ranked were all done indoors while the ones at the bottom of the list require working outdoors. Also, all of the top jobs require a college degree while none at the bottom of the list require any formal schooling. Even the vocational school trades fall in the middle of the list (53. Bricklayer, 59. Glazier, 66. Plumber, 76. Electrician, 158. Welder, etc.).<\/p>\n

What does this say about America\u2019s view of education and vocation that a college degree is perceived to be a prerequisite to getting a top-tier job? What message are we sending young people and older workers in dying industries?<\/p>\n

A refreshingly alternative perspective is offered by\u00a0Acton Institute\u2019s favorite working-class philosopher<\/a>, Mike Rowe, the former host of\u00a0Dirty Jobs<\/em><\/a>. In a\u00a0recent discussion with Glenn Beck<\/a>, Rowe explained the problem with the college-as-only-path approach:<\/p>\n

For decades, that formula has been: go to school, get your degree, and when you come out you will be offered a job with perks and benefits.<\/p>\n

But Rowe said that while that path may work for some, we\u2019ve been pushing it \u201cat the expense of all the other educational opportunities that are out there.\u201d What we should be emphasizing instead of a costly four-year-education for everybody, he said, is the benefit of having a solid work ethic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get the behavior we encourage, and we ought to be rewarding the behavior we need to see more of,\u201d he said simply.<\/p>\n

Rowe said he recently spoke with the head of one of the biggest engineering firms in the world, and the two discussed how the company invested millions in workforce development in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The company \u201ctrained people like they were on steroids for about twelve weeks\u201d in basic skills on how to rebuild and various safety protocols. But when the time came to deploy, immediately the workforce shrank, and the program \u201ccollapsed under its own weight.\u201d When they spent more money determining the problem, the company found out that people stopped coming to work because it was too hot outside, and they didn\u2019t want to work in such conditions.<\/p>\n

Rowe said rather than train everyone with tools they may not use, it\u2019s better to find the people who are willing to put in hard work, in rain or snow, and train them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more . . .<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Adapted from Acton Institute PowerBlog<\/a>. Image: Pixabay.<\/div>\n

Stay in touch! Like Patheos Faith and Work on Facebook:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Patheos Faith and Work<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s the deal with actuaries? Whenever a new list of the best jobs is compiled\u2014like the rankings by Career Cast\u2014they are always near the top of the list. What could really be so great about interpreting statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters?<\/p>\n

And why have I never actually met an actuary? Are their jobs so exceedingly awesome that they don\u2019t take time to associate with non-actuaries?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1787,"featured_media":3326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[118,135,1263,153,1262,12,154],"class_list":["post-35","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faith-and-the-workplace","tag-blue-collar-work","tag-blue-collar-workers","tag-dirty-jobs","tag-industry","tag-mike-rowe","tag-vocation","tag-work-ethic"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What\u2019s the deal with actuaries? Whenever a new list of the best jobs is compiled\u2014like the rankings by Career Cast\u2014they are always near the top of the list. What could really be so great about interpreting statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters? And why have I never actually met an actuary? Are their jobs so exceedingly awesome that they don\u2019t take time to associate with non-actuaries?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What\u2019s the deal with actuaries? Whenever a new list of the best jobs is compiled\u2014like the rankings by Career Cast\u2014they are always near the top of the list. What could really be so great about interpreting statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters? And why have I never actually met an actuary? Are their jobs so exceedingly awesome that they don\u2019t take time to associate with non-actuaries?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MISSION:WORK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-08T16:48:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-08T20:09:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/436\/2013\/12\/black-and-white-915782_960_720.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Acton Institute\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Acton Institute\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/\",\"name\":\"From the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such.\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-08T16:48:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-08T20:09:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#\/schema\/person\/d9303ab53025612363bc63f6dcc02d5f\"},\"description\":\"What\u2019s the deal with actuaries? Whenever a new list of the best jobs is compiled\u2014like the rankings by Career Cast\u2014they are always near the top of the list. What could really be so great about interpreting statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters? And why have I never actually met an actuary? Are their jobs so exceedingly awesome that they don\u2019t take time to associate with non-actuaries?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/\",\"name\":\"MISSION:WORK\",\"description\":\"Promoting conversations about faith and work\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#\/schema\/person\/d9303ab53025612363bc63f6dcc02d5f\",\"name\":\"Acton Institute\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e26c8c6741c971e320cabeb976699fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e26c8c6741c971e320cabeb976699fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Acton Institute\"},\"description\":\"The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is named after the great English historian, Lord John Acton (1834-1902). Inspired by his work on the relation between liberty and morality, the Acton Institute seeks to articulate a vision of society that is both free and virtuous, the end of which is human flourishing. To that end, the Institute engages in research, publishing, documentary film production, engagement with the media, and organizes seminars aimed at educating religious leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, university professors, and academic researchers. Acton promotes sound economic thinking and an awareness of the moral underpinnings necessary for a free society.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/author\/actoninstitute\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such.","description":"What\u2019s the deal with actuaries? Whenever a new list of the best jobs is compiled\u2014like the rankings by Career Cast\u2014they are always near the top of the list. What could really be so great about interpreting statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters? And why have I never actually met an actuary? Are their jobs so exceedingly awesome that they don\u2019t take time to associate with non-actuaries?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such.","og_description":"What\u2019s the deal with actuaries? Whenever a new list of the best jobs is compiled\u2014like the rankings by Career Cast\u2014they are always near the top of the list. What could really be so great about interpreting statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters? And why have I never actually met an actuary? Are their jobs so exceedingly awesome that they don\u2019t take time to associate with non-actuaries?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/","og_site_name":"MISSION:WORK","article_published_time":"2016-02-08T16:48:15+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-02-08T20:09:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":432,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/436\/2013\/12\/black-and-white-915782_960_720.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Acton Institute","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Acton Institute","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/","name":"From the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such.","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-02-08T16:48:15+00:00","dateModified":"2016-02-08T20:09:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#\/schema\/person\/d9303ab53025612363bc63f6dcc02d5f"},"description":"What\u2019s the deal with actuaries? Whenever a new list of the best jobs is compiled\u2014like the rankings by Career Cast\u2014they are always near the top of the list. What could really be so great about interpreting statistics to determine probabilities of accidents, sickness, and death, and loss of property from theft and natural disasters? And why have I never actually met an actuary? Are their jobs so exceedingly awesome that they don\u2019t take time to associate with non-actuaries?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/2016\/02\/mamas-dont-let-your-babies-grow-up-to-be-newspaper-reporters-let-em-be-actuaries-and-optometrists-and-such\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From the archives: Mamas, Don\u2019t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Newspaper Reporters. Let \u2018Em Be Actuaries and Optometrists and Such."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/","name":"MISSION:WORK","description":"Promoting conversations about faith and work","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#\/schema\/person\/d9303ab53025612363bc63f6dcc02d5f","name":"Acton Institute","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e26c8c6741c971e320cabeb976699fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e26c8c6741c971e320cabeb976699fd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Acton Institute"},"description":"The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is named after the great English historian, Lord John Acton (1834-1902). Inspired by his work on the relation between liberty and morality, the Acton Institute seeks to articulate a vision of society that is both free and virtuous, the end of which is human flourishing. To that end, the Institute engages in research, publishing, documentary film production, engagement with the media, and organizes seminars aimed at educating religious leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, university professors, and academic researchers. Acton promotes sound economic thinking and an awareness of the moral underpinnings necessary for a free society.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/author\/actoninstitute\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1787"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/missionwork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}