U.S. News released a “Best Job” rankings from a variety of different industries and architecture came in seventh – in the “engineering” category. Out of eight. Following cartographer. And not even listed on the general 100 “Best Jobs” list. 

The rankings are produced by looking at a variety of different criteria: median salary, employment rate, 10-year growth volume (number of new jobs created), 10-year growth percentage (percentage growth rate of new jobs), future job prospects (number of openings vs. number of job seekers), stress level, and work-life balance. 

Of course, a number of these, like stress level, are subjective. More broadly speaking, the value of rankings like this are questionable. As even the ranking itself notes, “Choosing an occupation is personal, and of course, there is no ideal way to determine the best job overall.”

Read why architecture came out as number seven here.