Survey Results: Most Satisfying Careers

Thinking of a midlife career change and wondering what the most satisfying careers are?

The Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.com survey found people who were both career-focused and highly satisfied with their work. Then they tried to find out why they were so pleased with their work life.

The "satisfying" jobs provided:

* Good intellectual stimulation
* Strong job security
* High level of control and freedom in what to do
* Extensive direct contact with customers/clients

Then they tried to find jobs high in those characteristics. The resulting "best" careers:

* Curriculum and instructional coordinators
* High-school special-education teachers
* Hospital and clinic managers
* Management consultants and analysts
* Medical researchers
* Physical therapists
* Sales, marketing and advertising managers
* Social workers, counselors and related managers

While "medical researcher" isn't a likely second career for anyone whose first career wasn't also medical researcher, some of the other jobs hold promise for career changers. We'd like to suggest the addition of managing an Internet company to the list.

Update: Want career satisfaction and overall happiness in your life? Pick the right occupation"

This post is part of LifeTwo's Midlife Career Change FAQ covering all aspects of changing careers in middle age.