2011 Best Worst Paying Jobs

As 2011 looks better, we evaluate the best and the worst paying jobs in America. The economy is starting to pick up but the housing market could see another bottom early next year.

Here are the best jobs for 2011:

1. Software engineer
2. Mathematician
3. Actuary
4. Statistician
5. Computer systems analyst
6. Meteorologist
7. Biologist
8. Historian
9. Audiologist
10. Dental hygienist

Software engineer landed the top spot on the strength of strong scores for job outlook (5th overall out of 200 jobs rated), work environment (5th), physical demands (12th), stress (15th), and income (23rd). The mid-level income for software engineers was a none-too-shabby $87,000, but that was second to mathematicians among the top 10 overall jobs (the mid-level income for mathematicians was $94,000).

Now for the worst paying jobs in 2011:

1. Roustabout
2. Ironworker
3. Lumberjack
4. Roofer
5. Taxi driver
6. Emergency medical technician
7. Welder
8. Painter
9. Meter reader
10. Construction worker

The Best Jobs list is not simply a ranking of the most lucrative jobs. You need to head to medical school for that. Doctors of all specialties consistently scored mid-level salaries in the six figures. But a high-stress work environment tended to pull down their overall scores. For example, surgeons had a mid-level income of more than $365,000 and a strong hiring outlook, but poor scores for work environment and stress pushed their overall rank on the list to 101.

The list of the best jobs for 2011 was pretty consistent with CareerCast’s best rated jobs for 2010. Eight of last year’s Top 10 repeated again this year, with only paralegal and accountant falling off the list, though barely.