<p>"When parents look at their young children and imagine what they’ll be when they grow up, many different possibilities come to mind. They dream of little Junior growing up to be a surgeon, or perhaps a commercial airline pilot, or maybe a banker, and they imagine a rewarding future of power, prestige, and high pay.</p>
<p>The reality is actually a little different. The job search portal CareerCast.com, created a list of 12 jobs that are traditionally believed to be great occupations, but that actually look a lot better on paper than they might be in reality …"</p>
<p>Dang. You mean reality can be different than imaginations?</p>
<p>I have a fabulous job. Being a transactional lawyer suits me very well. I get to work indoors in a lovely office, with other smart people, and make enough money to put me maybe in the “three percent.” I can’t sing or dance. It’s a good job for a detailed oriented smart person.</p>
<p>Architecture has served me pretty well. My practice is mostly additions and renovations and they seem to go one whether or not the economy is booming or busting. However it’s definitely not a way to get rich and I count on dh for health insurance and have no overhead.</p>
<p>There cannot be any general statement/opinion. The job that do not suit you personally is overrated, the job that you love is not. I have been at both, I have switched from engineering after 11 years of experience, I am very happy that I did. I am sure that there are many others who would not consider engineering overrated as it was for me as well as many who consider my current job overrated, while I enjoy it immensely.<br>
How anybody can make such a general statements, I advise anybody not to listen to any others (I listened to my parents) and pursue what they think is the best for them personally and what can support you finanacially (have to make sure about second one)</p>
<p>I have a feeling that those of us in “the 12 most overrated jobs” are going to be posting here to defend them. In defense of airline pilots, whom the article listed as underpaid, over-stressed, and working long hours…I don’t know anyone at my company who makes as little as they list as an average salary, the stress is occasional, not constant (most of the time it’s fairly interesting), and some days have long hours, some don’t. Many times the length of the day is our choice.</p>
<p>Then again, I wouldn’t want to work for most of the airlines, because they did take large pay cuts and they don’t have the work rules my company does. But there still are some great airline jobs out there.</p>
<p>The reality is that most of us need some kind of a job. Perhaps the title should be more like “these jobs aren’t the road to wealth or adventure that they’re cracked up to be.” I mean, I’d rather be a lawyer than a dental hygenist or even a paralegal. It suits me and since I have to work, I might as well do that.</p>
<p>Every year, Parade magazine does a “What People Earn” article…just a lot of head shots, giving the person’s job, location and salary. They always throw in a few movie stars or professional athletes. But other than those, virtually all of them are not earning six figures.</p>
<p>I am surprised that my job/business is not on the list. I’m telling you right now----
Industrial Products Distribution is not half as glamorous as it sounds. :)</p>
<p>The top 25% in many of those make much more than the average. Every surgeon in my wife’s office makes well over $500k without killing themselves. And staff is well paid too.</p>
<p>I like how broad the last one is: “Senior Corporate Executive”. I don’t think anyone starts out with that as a career goal. (except possibly the kids in the WSJ article that are sitting on their parents’s couch eating their parent’s food and unhappy with job offers, but that’s another thread!)</p>
<p>Please note the article is addressing jobs from the perspective of families thinking they are dream jobs for their children. The point of the harsh listings is to give a reality check for jobs many perceive as the best path for their kids or jobs they envy. Lists like this are to capture the audience and make them rethink common misperceptions. They are not meant to be the final word. Obvioulsy many who like those jobs and do well with them. But there are also many who don’t. Why 12, not 10 or 50? It is a list to provoke thinking about reality instead of assumptions. It is a sampling only- some examples.</p>
<p>It is interesting to note “physician” between psychiatrist and surgeon- all 3 are physicians, “primary care” should have qualified the plain physician. It is good to list salaries and job stresses. Some people think all real estate agents earn tons, especially when expensive cars are driven by some to show success. Some jobs with high salaries may not be worth the stress and loss of family time.</p>
<p>^^That’s my point, exactly.^^ I am not complaining about the state of the architecture profession. I made a choice when I was in college and have since defined my career in a (non-traditional) way that works for me. My husband made the same educational choice and now struggles with a traditional, sole-proprietor practice.</p>
<p>But there is definitely an unrealistic perception both by CC posters and other high school students that I have met over the years, that architecture is a creative, glamorous, well-paid career field where one spends all day drawings and designing with plenty of time for family (ala Mike Brady). I blame movies and tv (see [Fictional</a> Architects in Movies](<a href=“Fictional Architects in Movies | ArchDaily”>Fictional Architects in Movies | ArchDaily)) and also colleges that emphasize creativity at the expense of practical application. I’ll bet this is true for most of the careers listed in the article.</p>
<p>::rolleyes:: Psychiatrist and surgeon as distinguished from physician? If by “physician” they mean primary care, internal medicine, or "family practice, they should say so. Psychiatrists are physicians, too.</p>
<p>This article is ridiculous…
The reason why being a psychiatrist is overrated is because they have to deal with the mentally ill?! SHOCKER
I’m sure that any prospective psychiatrist is totally averse to that…</p>
<p>“The firm cites “high stress, shaky stability, and long hours that affect family time” as factors that come with the territory, and make the position much less rewarding than it may seem.”</p>
<p>“imagine a rewarding future of power, prestige, and high pay.”</p>
<p>I’m sorry since when does prestige, power, and high pay not have “long hours that affect family time and high stress”, If only i could work 4 hours per week with no college degree and make $100K a year +…</p>
<p>Then we return to realize that hard work = power and prestige for the majority. I see this article as demonizing jobs that have “long hard hours”, when the pay is clearly proportional to the hours.</p>
<p>Doesn’t every job have long, demanding hours?
I’d much rather make 200k working demanding hours as a professional than 20k working long demanding hours as a janitor.</p>
<p>A former neighbor was an honest-to-goodness CEO of a public company - health care benefits related - that managed to run the company into the ground in his relatively brief tenure.</p>
<p>His (trophy) wife told us that his office HAD to be nearby so that Mr. CEO, unlike us working stiffs with 40 minute commutes, would be home by 5:00 PM to “be with his family”. Indeed he was home @ 5:00 PM and off the door @ 5:05 PM to the golf course.</p>
<p>After his company was bought out right before it went under, Mr. CEO found himself the recipient of a hefty golden parachute (a few $M) and yet he sued the new owners of his former company for more…</p>
<p>Many of my neighbors are doctors, orthodontists, executives, and other over-rateds and they seem to be working a lot LESS than us working stiffs for a living. Among the health care specialists around me, it is the rare doctor or dentist who works 5 days a week - and many of them don’t do emergency type stuff (opthalmologists, orthodontists, and the like)</p>
<p>I sure don’t begrudge doctors for their pay. They go through so much schooling and training, often not making the big bucks till their thirties or forties. With big bills from med school and liability insurance to boot. If they are able to work less than 5 days a week to manage their stress level and have more time for their family or hobbies, I say go for it. I’d rather have a rested happy physician than a tired, burnt out one.</p>
<p>We just got the bill for the doctors portion of my husband’s open knee surgery, though insurance paid it all. The doctor got very little for that kind of work and responsibility, less than $1K.</p>
<p>NJ2011…I hear you. I know exactly what you are thinking on this and I would agree…except I teach undergraduates in business. Oh lord have mercy but yes, yes, a lot aspire to exactly this. I regularly meet 18 year olds working on their resume who will say they want to be a CEO. Often in the next 10 years. Lol.</p>