Bring up the word stress in a conversation and you’d better clear your schedule for the next hour. A whopping 40 percent of American workers say their jobs are very or extremely stressful, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Of course, some jobs are more stressful than others. Job-search portal CareerCast has once again crunched the statistics and come up with its list of the most stressful jobs in America. "Not all jobs are created equal when it comes to stress levels," said Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast.com and JobsRated.com. "Probably the one thing that’s overriding is the amount of control you have. People who have the least amount of control have the most amount of stress — they’re reacting to whatever is happening around them."
Many of the most stressful jobs involved peril and significant hazard, whether it’s coming into contact with hazardous materials or having other people’s lives in your hands. In all, CareerCast used 11 criteria to come up with its list: travel, income outlook/growth potential, deadlines, working in the public eye, competitiveness, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards encountered, own life at risk, life of another at risk, and meeting the public. Think your job is on the list? Read ahead about the most stressful jobs of 2012.
Source: To calculate average income, CareerCast.com used a variety of sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, trade associations and pay surveys.
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Getty Images1. Enlisted Military SoliderAverage annual income: $35,580
It should come as no surprise that soldiers have the most stressful job. These are the men and women out on the front lines of war every day.
“They’re walking on roads with (improvised explosive devices) buried all around them,” Lee said, not to mention the hostile conditions of locals who don’t always want foreign soldiers on their soil. “In a war zone, it doesn’t get much more stressful than that,” he said.
Plus, unlike most of the other professions on the list, these men and women don’t get to go home every night to their families. Their shifts never end. “When you’re a soldier, you’re always on, even when you’re off,” Lee said.
Thomas Del Brase | Getty Images2. Firefighter
Firefighters don’t just have the occasional dangerous work situation, just about every call they get is dangerous. Firefighters run toward buildings that are filled with fire, smoke, and hazardous materials that the rest of us would run away from. For the people trapped inside burning structures, it’s probably the most dangerous day of their lives. For firefighters, it’s just another day on the job. “They’re the first one into a burning building and the last one out carrying the baby,” Lee said. “It’s life or death every day. It takes a very special person to be a firefighter.”
Dale Wilson | Photographer's Choice | Getty Images3. Airline PilotAverage annual income: $103,210
While many a little boy and girl may dream of being a pilot, it’s more than just the feeling of soaring through the air. Pilots work long hours and have to navigate in any weather condition. Their risks include everything from mechanical failure to terrorism, and it’s not just their safety at risk — it’s the safety of every passenger and crew member on board. “The bottom line is that they are ultimately responsible for all the passengers,” Lee said. “It puts a high level of stress on them.”
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Getty Images4. Military GeneralAverage annual income: $196,300
Military generals are the highest paid of all 10 most stressful jobs — more so than even senior corporate executives. While you might think that since they’re off the front lines they would move off the list of the most stressful jobs, but not so fast — they have a lot of stress because, like corporate executives, people’s lives are in their hands. Only we’re not talking layoffs. Generals choose to put people on the front lines of war, some of whom may be injured or killed. “When they decide to move a group of people, they’re putting their lives in danger,” Lee said. “They’re making life and death decisions. That’s pretty stressful.”
Getty Images5. Police OfficerAverage annual income: $53,540
You don’t need to have watched many episodes of a crime show to know that being a police officer is stressful. There’s a reason why "Law and Order" has been on the air for 20 years and there are 571 varieties of "CSI." There’s a lot of drama. Law enforcement officers are constantly dealing with situations out of their control — they arrive at harrowing scenes every day where they need to figure out what’s going on, and they’re up against criminals who are often armed and ready to shoot. Police officers have to save the good guys, while fending off the bad guys — and not get shot or injured in the process. They also have to make split-second decisions that involve life or death — one accidental shooting of an innocent man and their careers are on the line and on the front page of every local newspaper. "It couldn’t be much more stressful," Lee said. "That’s why they have shorter careers and bigger pensions."
Click here to read the full list of Most Stressful Jobs.
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