The Most Overrated Jobs in America

It looks like those "Occupy America" protesters have it all wrong. Just about every big city in the United States has a group of apparently randomly organized protesters who are apparently sick and tired of the Powers That Be wielding all the power and influence in the country. These protests started with Occupy Wall Street, but now they're popping up just about everywhere that has a local TV affiliate that can broadcast the Occupants message over the airwaves.

But according to CareerCast.com, the Occupants have it all wrong. Rather than lashing out with virulent rancor at the corporate executives who seemingly are living fat and happy with their bloated incomes, the protesters should actually be embracing senior managers as fellow sufferers in the "recession is the new normal" economy. CareerCast's findings point to the C-suite as the most overrated job in the country, as these poor souls typically are victimized by "high stress, shaky stability and long hours that affect family time." And they're not even remotely "millionaires and billionaires," as some politicians would have you believe; the average salary for corporate execs comes in at a comparatively paltry $161,000.

CareerCast has compiled a list of what it considers the 11 most overrated jobs in the country (why 11 and not the usual 10? Probably because the year is 2011), based on these criteria: stress, physical demands, current and future employment outlook. After corporate executives, the next closest thing to a supply chain position on the list is airplane pilot, but the list specifies commercial pilots, rather than business jet pilots or air cargo pilots.

Here's the list of the Top 11 Most Overrated Jobs (along with average salaries):

1. Corporate/Senior Executive: $161,141
2. Surgeon: $365,258
3. Physician: $192,065
4. Psychiatrist: $160,242
5. Airplane Pilot (Commercial): $106,153
6. Attorney: $113,211
7. Architect: $73,193
8. Stockbroker: $67,470
9. Real Estate Agent: $40,357
10. Photojournalist: $40,209
11. Flight Attendant: $40,184

Somehow, though, despite this list, I'm not sure that if I was a stockbroker that I would venture into the Occupy Wall Street rally and explain that my job was way overrated. Something tells me stockbrokers wouldn't find too many sympathetic listeners... unless, of course, some psychiatrists were working the crowd, looking for some new clients.