BEST AND WORSE JOBS The five best and worst jobs ranked in various categories, according to ''Jobs Rated Almanac.'' This Almanac lists a total of 250 jobs. Best working environ.: - No. 1 - Statistician - No. 2 - Mathematician - No. 3 - Computer systems analyst - No. 4 - Hospital administrator - No. 5 - Historian Worst working environ.: - No. 246 - Taxi driver - No. 247 - NFL football player - No. 248 - Race car driver - No. 249 - Firefighter - No. 250 - President of the U.S. Best income: - No. 1 - NBA basketball player ($1,495,986) - No. 2 - Major league bball player ($1,401,354) - No. 3 - NFL football player ($801,970) - No. 4 - Race car driver ($476,586) - No. 5 - Surgeon ($257,219) Worst income: - No. 246 - Maid ($15,210) - No. 247 - Waiter/waitress ($15,171) - No. 248 - Cashier ($14,278) - No. 249 - Child care worker ($14,250) - No. 250 - Dishwasher ($11,110) Least stress: - No. 1 - Med. records technician - No. 2 - Janitor - No. 3 - Forklift operator - No. 4 - Music instrument repairer - No. 5 - Florist Most stress: - No. 246 - Taxi driver - No. 247 - Race car driver - No. 248 - Sr. corporate executive - No. 249 - Firefighter - No. 250 - President of the U.S. SOURCE: ''Jobs Rated Almanac,'' by Les Krantz (St. Martin's Griffin). WHERE DOES YOUR JOB RANK? The list of worst and best jobs, according to ''Jobs Rated Almanac.'' 1. Website manager 2. Actuary 3. Computer Systems Analyst 4. Software engineer 5. Mathematician 6. Computer programmer 7. Accountant 8. Industrial engineer 9. Hospital administrator 10. Web developer 11. Paralegal assistant 12. Parole officer 13. Meteorologist 14. Technical writer 15. Medical secretary 16. Medical technologist 17. Financial planner 18. Medical laboratory technician 19. Astronomer 20. Historian [ List of 250 jobs ] SOURCE: ''The Jobs Rated Almanac.''

NEW YORK - Professional baseball player, president of the United States and cowboy - great jobs, right? Wrong.

Try Website manager, computer systems analyst and software engineer. Low stress, short work weeks and room for growth make them among the best jobs, according to ''Jobs Rated Almanac,'' a book out this week that ranks the best and worst 250 jobs in the country.

''I think what surprises most people are those jobs they always thought were so glamorous are at the bottom. The work-a-day world for some of those jobs is the pits,'' said author Les Krantz.

Using statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, the census, professional organizations and telephone surveys, Krantz identified the 250 most common jobs and ranked them according to six variables: income, stress, physical demands, potential growth, job security and work environment.

As a result, being president was ranked No. 229. That's because there is no room for job growth, lots of stress and a stagnant salary, the book notes. Professional baseball players (No. 202) and cowboys (No. 246) require great physical demands and have little job stability.

''Some of the things your parents told you you should always grow up to be didn't rank so well,'' Krantz said.

Nine of the top 10 jobs were in computer or math-related fields, with Website managers at the top of the heap. The worst-ranked were manual labor jobs in traditionally troubled fields, such as fishermen (No. 248.), lumberjacks (No. 149) and roustabouts in oil fields (No 250).

Don't diss roustabouts, counters John D. Bell, the owner of a one-man oil well operation in Lamesa, Texas.

''I don't see it as a terrible type thing,'' said Bell. ''It beats working at McDonald's and usually pays better than those jobs.''

Not according to the book, which ranked cooks at No. 172, dishwashers at No. 213 and waiters and waitresses at No. 136.

''Says who?'' scoffs Bell.

As Website manager of careers.wsj.com, a service of The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, Tony Lee believes his job is No. 1 because of the growth in the Internet industry.

''Companies are scrambling to open new (Internet) departments ... to boost revenues and increase e-commerce,'' he said. ''There's an unbelievable amount of autonomy.''

Laura Berman Fortgang, author of the career advice book ''Take Yourself to the Top,'' doubts many people who read the book will decide to switch careers.

''The book is really about everything you wanted to know about your neighbor's job and didn't have the courage to ask,'' agrees Krantz, who includes job descriptions.

For example, an entry about teaching (No. 162), includes details about its detractions: ''Much work in this profession, such as preparing lessons, grading papers and attending meetings, is done after the school day has ended. Teachers spend long periods of time on their feet. Working with rambunctious children can be fatiguing and stressful.''

Krantz also lists the jobs with the best perks, extras and amenities. At the top of that list - geologists (No.60), who get subsidized housing during field work, private offices, paid trips to exotic locations and secretaries and researchers to help with the nuts-and-bolts of the job.

''Yes, there are great benefits. I think it's safe to say that most people don't become geologists because they think they are going to make a lot of money or get a lot of extras,'' said Gary Ehret, a geologist for Texaco. ''People do this because they like the outdoors ... and they have mindset toward it already.''

But career counselors and headhunters say there is no measurement for the best or worst jobs.

''What does it matter what the top 100, 150 or 1,000 jobs are?'' said Nick Carcodilos, who runs Ask the Headhunter, a job-search Website. ''If you don't have a fire in your belly about your job, then you're not going to be successful at it.''