What Do Newspaper Reporters and Lumberjacks Have in Common?

April 23, 2013 — -- intro:If you hate your current job, you might have the worst job of 2013, according to CareerCast.com. The website today released its Jobs Rated 2013 list, a ranking of the 200 best and worst jobs of 2013.

Which job might have people reconsidering their career path?

CareerCast rankers found that newspaper reporter was the worst job of 2013.

"It's been towards the bottom of the list over the course of 25 years," Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast.com, told ABCNews.com. "It's been increasingly worse over time." With low salary prospects, tight deadlines, and a 24/7 news environment, newspaper writing is a demanding job, with a negative employment growth, according to CareerCast. Newspapers have been closing by the dozens and those that are still open face continual contraction as revenue dwindles and ads migrate to the Internet.

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Even lumberjacks and soldiers, whose jobs were ranked as worse in past years, have improved in CareerCast's criteria compared with newspaper writers. For lumberjacks, the higher demand for lumber has given them a positive employment growth, Lee said. "Same for military soldiers, there's been a draw down," he said, which leaves some entry-level room in the ranks.

As for the best job of 2013, actuaries can happily keep their day job. According to CareerCast, actuaries are in high demand, with a great work environment and high salary. Other best jobs of 2013 include biomedical engineer, software engineer, and audiologist.

For its list, CareerCast considered four core job categories that Lee said are inherent in every job: environment, income, outlook, and stress.

"We have a wide range of criteria we look at when we do the rankings," Lee said.

Other considerations within those categories include emotional factors, income potential, and unemployment rates within a specific job.

"If you have any aptitude at all for any of the science, math, or engineering fields, look to see how you can apply your skills to those differently," Lee said as his advice for those stuck in one of the top ten worst jobs. "That's where the demand is now."

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Take a look below to see which jobs ranked as the "worst" and "best" of 2013, according to CareerCast.com.

quicklist:category: 1. (Worst) title: Newspaper Reportermedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $36,000
Projected Job Growth: -6%

quicklist:category: 2. (Worst) title: Lumberjackmedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $32,870
Projected Job Growth: 4%

quicklist:category: 3. (Worst) title: Enlisted Military Personnelmedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $41,998 (E-7, 8+ years experience)
Projected Job Growth: Varies

quicklist:category: 4. (Worst) title: Actor media: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $17.44/hour
Projected Job Growth: 4%

quicklist:category: 5. (Worst) title: Oil Rig Workermedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $37,640
Projected Job Growth: 8%

quicklist:category: 6. (Worst) title: Dairy Farmermedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $60,750
Projected Job Growth: -8%

quicklist:category: 7. (Worst) title: Meter Reader media: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $36,400
Projected Job Growth: -10%

quicklist:category: 8. (Worst) title: Mail Carriermedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $53,090
Projected Job Growth: -26%

quicklist:category: 9. (Worst) title: Roofer media: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $34,220
Projected Job Growth: 18%

quicklist:category: 10. (Worst) title: Flight Attendant media: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $37,740
Projected Job Growth 0%

The following are the 10 best jobs of 2013:

quicklist:category: 1. (Best) title: Actuarymedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $87,650
Projected Job Growth: 27%

quicklist:category: 2. (Best) title: Biomedical Engineer media: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $81,540
Projected Job Growth: 62%

quicklist:category: 3. (Best) title: Software Engineermedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $90,530
Projected Job Growth: 30%

quicklist:category: 4. (Best) title: Audiologistmedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $66,660
Projected Job Growth: 37%

quicklist:category: 5. (Best) title: Financial Plannermedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $64,750
Projected Job Growth: 32%

quicklist:category: 6. (Best) title: Dental Hygienistmedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $68,250
Projected Job Growth: 38%

quicklist:category: 7. (Best) title: Occupational Therapistmedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $72,320
Projected Job Growth: 33%

quicklist:category: 8. (Best) title: Optometristmedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $94,990
Projected Job Growth: 33%

quicklist:category: 9. (Best) title: Physical Therapistmedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $76,310
Projected Job Growth: 39%

quicklist:category: 10. (Best) title: Computer Systems Analystmedia: text: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Salary Median: $77,740
Projected Job Growth: 22%