If you're asked to name the best careers, your answer, of course, will be subjective, dependent on your values, interests, needs, skills and abilities. But setting aside highly personal preferences and aptitudes, there are qualities that can be common denominators for people happy with their careers.

Of people highly satisfied in their work, what are their careers like? We sought to identify highly satisfied people and find out how they describe their careers. Then, through research, we identified careers that best match those descriptions. The result is our list of best careers

- Curriculum and instructional coordinators

- High-school special-education teachers

- Hospital and clinic managers

- Management consultants and analysts

- Medical researchers

- Physical therapists

- Sales, marketing and advertising managers

- Social workers, counselors and related managers The Poll

Here's how we got our list. CareerJournal worked with Harris Interactive, the polling company, to conduct a survey of U.S. adults about their careers and jobs. We asked people working full-time in positions related to their careers whether they were satisfied, or not. We also asked them to identify qualities that describe their current jobs. Among those who were highly satisfied, four factors topped the list.

• Good intellectual stimulation

• Strong job security

• High level of control and freedom in what to do

• Extensive direct contact with customers/clients

Sixty percent or more of highly satisfied people in jobs related to their careers said that these traits described their job.