A couple of years have passed since the tsunami of recession swept the global economy. Much has been recovered and many things are still in fast recovery process. We've entered in 2012 with a hope for complete betterment of the US economy and more career opportunities. When it comes to selecting best jobs, there seems to be no one criterion to decide the top jobs. For every individual, the definition of best jobs may vary significantly. Some of us want fat salaries irrespective of some major job satisfaction. Various others amongst us look for job security, peace at work and more job satisfaction. To come up with a list of top jobs 2012, we need some fixed standards, right? Only then, it is possible to judge various professions as best or worst. Be it a corporate tycoon or an average employer, there are some basic factors that everyone wants in a profession. It's a human nature to look forward to a job that offers stability, challenges, growth opportunities, high salaries and a chance to contribute to community. Some parameters that each one of us will look while we're on a job search are as follows.

• Job Satisfaction: I couldn't think where to put this factor in this list, so I'm discussing this first. Job satisfaction is a relative term and it depends on personal choices. But almost each of us will love to work in a profession that makes us feel happy and productive. If you are enjoying what you do, it is certainly a best job, at least for you.
• Salary range: It matters a lot and often the most! Who won't wish to earn fat salaries? A high paying job is mostly preferred by everyone.
• Career Outlook: You don't want to be stuck in the same position for years, right? Either you want to keep learning new things and improve your profile or at least, you'll expect pay rise after some time. Growth is what every professional expects from a profession.
• Stress: You've got to swallow the truth pill before I say anything about this parameter. NO profession is stress free. Given these days workload, a teacher is equally stressed as a pilot. But then certainly, there is some ease in several jobs when it comes to stress. Being a writer for example, someone may find it extremely simple, free of any stress. Many of my friends are relatively less stressed (even though, they may have deadlines) but some who're in sales and marketing have to be always on their toes and mind you, it's damn stressful. Stress is composed of both factors: Physical and psychological. When I say stress, it only means, some ease in working and not negligible stress. Hope you get it!
• Work Environment: While you are working in an air conditioned office, someone may have to work in a coal mine for hours. Definitely, we all wish to have a comfortable work environment. Peaceful work environment reduces stress, mind you.

The intent of giving this list is to highlight the fact that these are some jobs which will be in high demand in the future. And certainly, they're best when rated on above discussed factors. I have included wages of all these professions so that you can get an idea about earning potential of these professions. The data for salaries have been selected from the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) website and various salary sources. The salary ranges are per year data. The world's worst or best jobs depend much on our individual preferences and the way we form our opinions about our jobs. Unless we're not working on an island, aloof from the world, with minimum possible resources to survive, we shouldn't be complaining because every job has its own merits and demerits. At a certain stage, every job can appear to be monotonous and routine work. It depends on us how we excel in a profession, increase our benchmark of excellence and find new avenues of innovation in it. Without that attitude towards work, job satisfaction in any work is rarely possible. Maybe you're under tremendous stress, sitting in your cabin to take a decision that would write the destiny of your company in the coming years. But then you have an air conditioner and a top class office in the world. What about an underground welder, deep in water, fixing some metal rods and joining them? What has he to complain? Many things, right? But then a job, be it of a CEO or of a sweeper has its own share of highs and lows. We win some, we lose some. Many readers must have been surprised to find the jobs they do, not in the list. Understand that this list was created after considering various factors and so it may not include many professions. Be it maths, statistics, medical sciences, computers, IT or humanities, scope of great career opportunities exist everywhere. All we got to do is to make sincere efforts to achieve the required qualifications and prove our skills.