With downsizing and other cutbacks, there are few jobs these days that don’t involve stress. But some have over and above their responsibility, deadlines and physical and emotional demands.
So the most stressful job? Commercial airline pilot was tops among salaried positions, according to CareerCast.com, which ranked the most demanding positions.
Firefighter led the field among blue collar jobs.
Careercast rated each job category by physical and emotional environment, income and salary growth potential, job outlook, and physical demands.
The stress score was based on travel, outlook/growth potentials, deadlines, working in the public eye, competitiveness, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards, life at risk, life of another at risk and meeting the public.
Here’s why pilots ended up at the top of the list:
“The pressure is high for commercial airline pilots. They are not only expected to guarantee the safety of passengers, but to also keep their flights on-time, even when flying in inclement weather. A pilot’s irregular working hours and routes lead to continual layovers in various cities and, often, to jet lag.”
For firefighters, it was the obvious: “Firefighters routinely face dangerous and complex fires and often face poisonous gases or other hazardous materials.”
The least stressful white collar jobs were audiologist, dietitian and software engineer.
Among blue collar workers, bookbinders had the least stress, followed by photographic process workers and music instrument repairer.
| Salaried jobs | Position |
|---|---|
| 1 | Commercial airline pilot |
| 2 | Public relations officer |
| 3 | Corporate executive |
| 4 | Photojournalist |
| 5 | Newscaster |
| Blue collar jobs | Position |
| 1 | Firefighter |
| 2 | Taxi driver |
| 3 | Police officer |
| 4 | Highway patrol officer |
| 5 | Lumberjack |
So tell us … Do you think are these are the most stressful jobs?
See CareerCast.com’s full rankings HERE.
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