The Most Highly Recommended Job In America Pays Less Than $35,000

That's the question salary data provider PayScale posed for the first time to over 10,000 workers in its annual Best Jobs For You survey. The survey also asks about job satisfaction, flexibility, and whether respondents felt their careers had meaning.

Of the roughly 200 jobs examined, optician is the only profession that garners a 100% recommendation rate. Comparatively, the next top-recommended jobs have a 94% rate.

Surprisingly, pay does not seem to be the top factor in a job's high recommendation rate. Opticians make a median salary of $34,100 a year, and the highest earners in the profession make less than $55,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the other hand, sales VPs, which doesn't make the top 10, earn $148,100 per year - but only 82% say they would recommend the job to a friend.

So what's so great about being an optician? According to PayScale's lead economist Katie Bardaro, 75% of opticians report being fairly or extremely satisfied with their jobs (compared to an average of about 70%), and it was listed on the U.S. News & World Report 100 Best Jobs list for 2014. Perks of the job include below average stress and above average upward mobility and flexibility.

From the PayScale survey, here are the most highly recommended jobs in America:

Optician
Recommended: 100%
Median salary: $34,100
Projected job growth: 23.4%

Engineering project manager
Recommended: 94%
Median salary: $87,600
Projected job growth: 6.7%

Physical therapy assistant
Recommended: 94%
Median salary: $50,700
Projected job growth: 41%

Physician assistant
Recommended: 94%
Median salary: $89,300
Projected job growth: 38.4%

Practice manager
Recommended: 93%
Median salary: $55,100
Projected job growth: 23.2%

President and CEO (small company)
Recommended: 92%
Median salary: $177,600
Projected job growth: 5.3%

VP of human resources
Recommended: 92%
Median salary: $140,100
Projected job growth: 13.2%

Physical therapists
Recommended: 91%
Median salary: $71,300
Projected job growth: 36%

Structural engineer
Recommended: 90%
Median salary: $65,400
Projected job growth: 19.7%

Dental office manager
Recommended: 90%
Median salary: $44,200
Projected job growth: 12.2%

Construction manager
Recommended: 90%
Median salary: $75,300
Projected job growth: 16.1%

Software product manager
Recommended: 90%
Median salary: $93,000
Projected job growth: 15.3%

On the flip side, the least recommended jobs in America include cashiers, bank tellers, and truck drivers, which have recommendation rates of under 30%.