Meeting/convention planner placed 39th on Money magazine's list of the 50 best jobs in America (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/top50). In a survey conducted along with Salary.com, Money ranked the best professions based on job growth rate, stress levels, flexibility in hours and working environment, creativity, and how easy it is to enter and advance in the field. Stress is the most challenging aspect of the job, according to the Money experts, scoring a D. Flexibility earned a C, while creativity and opportunity for advancement scored Bs.

The growth rate for the profession over the next 10 years is a hearty 22 percent as the number of jobs is expected to rise from 42,954 in 2004 to 52,495 in 2014. The average pay for meeting planners is $56,072 with the top 25 percent earning $64,882.

What's the best job in America? With an annual growth rate of 46 percent and an average salary of $80,427, it's software engineer.