Software, systems techies 'have least stressful jobs going'

Systems analysts and software engineers have some of the least stressful jobs around, research has claimed.

While actuaries and dieticians were rated to have the least and second least stressful jobs available respectively, computer systems analyst is ranked number three on the list, according to the research by a recruitment company.

The least stressful jobs

1. Actuary

2. Dietician

3. Computer systems analyst

4. Statistician

5. Astronomer

6. Mathematician

7. Historian

8. Software engineer

Statistician, astronomer and mathematician were also ranked among the least stressful jobs, with software engineer entering the list at eight.

The US-focused research rated the most stressful job to be that of a surgeon, followed by commercial airline pilot and photo-journalist.

The research by CareerCast.com said that one common bond between all three of the most stressful jobs is "demanding schedules, which often change at the last minute and may require extended periods away from home or long shifts while on the job" - something that many IT professionals may also recognise as features of their jobs, however.

The company said the criteria used to establish the most and least stressful jobs included 21 different job demands which can be expected to invoke stress, including the need to meet deadlines.

Separate research by Connect Support Services also paints a downbeat picture for tech workers, finding that the greatest career aspiration for one in three of the IT workers it surveyed is to 'keep my job'.

For 13 per cent, their greatest ambition is to work as an IT director while only one per cent aspired to be the 'next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates'.