Not Just a Job

Boy, have times changed. The romance of the sea and the adventure of the rugged frontier are now just distant, faded memories.

In fact, according to “The Jobs Rated Almanac,” seaman and cowboy, occupations that were once the backbone of our nation, rank near the bottom of the list in terms of job satisfaction and desirability. (“Book Rates Actuary as No. 1 Job,” May 19.)

On the other hand, jobs such as actuary, computer programmer and statistician rank at or near the top of the list.

Well, I guess if high rank is based on boring, confined, sedentary, risk-free jobs, this ranking is OK. But what ever happened to such traditional occupational virtues as sweat and hard work, adventure, excitement, challenge and risk?

Maybe that is why our standard of living and trade balance have been declining in recent years, as we have a nation of workers who are content to be stagnant, predictable, unimaginative on-the-job zombies. And I bet the actuary and statistician probability tables will bear this out.

KENNETH L. ZIMMERMAN

Cypress