Ink-stained wretches at bottom of job ranking

Sometimes it's better to save the worst for last. Thursday's column featured the 10 best jobs for 2013, as rated by CareerCast.com's annual list of 200. What the Wall Street Journal began in 1995, CareerCast took over in 2009, ranking careers by nearly 100 considerations from money to job satisfaction, from growth potential to time off.

So for 2013 the 10 worst jobs - beginning with the very worst - are:

1. Newspaper reporter. Sniff, sniff. Grumble and sigh. How such a vital part of democracy - the observation and public reporting, by local and trained journalists, of local events and acts by local officials - could be declining is so sad. Who else performs that role?

Consistently: No one. We aren't reading anymore. More and more, those who pay any attention rely on openly biased blogs, TV stations, or social media "tweets," never with the full story and rarely more than one viewpoint. That isn't news. That's slant, or dubious entertainment, resulting in a less informed (and worse, misinformed) voter-citizen.

According to the Newspaper Association of America, the newspaper industry earned approximately $49.2 billion in 2006, just prior to the Great Recession. By 2011, it had dropped to $23.9 billion, taking jobs with it. Editor & Publisher magazine and Pew Research report a steady decline in the number of daily newspapers since 1985, from 1,730 dailies to 1,397 in 2009. Editorial staffs are down by an average 27 percent. And yeah, despite college degrees (some with masters), the median salary (with several years' experience) is in the mid-$30s. Could have skipped the debt and been a waiter (rank 185).

Increasingly, this is a labor of love. Newspaper reporters are true believers, First Amendment idealists. Want to help the cause? Read. Subscribe. And advertise - that's what keeps papers alive and covering their communities. Many thanks to those who keep the faith.

Is there good news? Sure. The downward trend is leveling off. The career is still growing, albeit more slowly at 6 percent. We're learning about online, although that's harder to keep journalistic standards, full-time wages/benefits, and verifiable local presence. Society can keep this primary democratic function, but it will take a discerning public to seek it out.

Off the soapbox now.

2. Lumberjack. Median salary: $32,870. Projected growth: 4 percent. Low pay, poor job prospects, and some danger. We need trees for newsprint, even recycled. Lumber companies grow forests; that's preferable to concrete.

3. Military. Salary median: $41,998 (E-7). Growth: Varies. The most stressful job of 2013, and the forces are drawing down.

4. Actor. Salary: $17.44/hour. Growth: 4 percent. Full-time acting is "one of the most difficult career paths." Fierce competition for few roles. Among roughly 160,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild, just 66,500 work in acting full-time.

5. Oil rig worker. Salary: $37,640. Growth: 8 percent. Rig work is risky and isolated. Sustainable energy trends jockey with demand.

6. Dairy farmer. Salary: $60,750. Growth: -8 (that's negative) percent. We still need milk, but smaller farms are forced out by the streamlined version with more animals, more stress (the cows, too), and increased risks from machinery. Organic, anyone?

7. Meter reader. Salary: $36,400. Growth: -10 percent. Isolated, thankless, and slowly replaced by technology.

8. Mail carrier. Salary: $53,090. Growth: -26 percent. We've swapped letters and cards for Facebook posts and text. Easier, but less personal.

9. Roofer. Salary: $34,220. Growth: 18 percent. Construction is improving, but danger and long hours in heat or poor weather rank this career low.

10. Flight attendant. Salary median: $37,740. Growth: Zero. Higher stress than before, low pay, and a shrinking job market with airline consolidation.

A few were surprising, such as certain physicians (45) and surgeons (51), as well as nuclear engineers (81), ranking lower than less skilled jobs such as medical records tech (35). In the healthcare field generally, several skilled, but less educated, mid-range careers (hygienists, P.A.s, med-techs) are ranked higher than M.D.s. Much less debt (school loans/equipment), better hours, less stress, and decent wages. See them all at CareerCast.com.

Sholeh Patrick, J.D. (attorneys ranked 117) is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at [email protected].