Writing, Editing, and Other Poor Career Choices

The Wall Street Journal reports that actuaries have the best jobs in the world. The worst job? Newspaper reporter. Those careers bookend a list of the 200 Best and Worst Jobs of 2013, “based on five criteria: physical demands, work environment, income, stress, and hiring outlook.”

So where does writing rank? While being an author (156) is slightly better than being a magazine editor (168), it’s still worse than being a funeral director (116), nuclear decontamination technician (65), or podiatrist (23). However, being a technical writer (60) isn’t too bad.

If you feel like your life as a novelist is nothing but unfulfilling navel gazing, you may want to look a little further south and become a foot doctor instead. Or you could look on the bright side: at least “author” is still considered a career.

Find the full 200 Best and Worst Jobs of 2013 here.