It would seem logical that these top 20 most stressful jobs in America are also the highest paid ones, but for the most part, they aren’t even close. In fact, some of them barely make minimum wage.
While there are plenty of those that clear $100,000 a year, some of them are well below that, which begs the question why are people doing them? The answer isn’t simple. Some really like their jobs, regardless of the levels of stress involved. They deem that other aspects of the job they enjoy far outweigh the stress factor. Others spent a considerable amount f time, effort and money to get the education needed for their job which turned out not quite how they imagined it and now they feel stuck. Abandoning their degree and starting a new job feels too much and they see the daily grind till retirement (or suicide, whichever comes first) as their only option. Some people simply don’t have any other options.
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While some stress is natural and can even have positive effects, a long-time exposure can be, and often is, quite damaging. High blood pressure, various heart diseases, and depression are just some of the possible outcomes of a high job-related stress.
According to the American Psychologists Association, there are several key factors that contribute to the stress at work:
• A sense of powerlessness
• Job description
• When you’re a square peg and your job is a round hole
• Traumatic events on the job
• Work setting
Anyone of these can be an overwhelming factor and in many cases, there is a combination of two or more of them at work. Coping with them is no easy task and there are countless methods devised for people under a high amount of stress, but in most cases, the only solution is eliminating the sources of stress altogether by changing the job. Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done and people are often forced to continue the 9-to-5 grind in stressful environments.
Comparing high-stress jobs worldwide can be quite interesting since Most Stressful Jobs in India and most stressful jobs in America don’t have much of an overlap. Regardless of whether you chalk up the differences to culture or simply job availability in different countries, it would be interesting to see the real reasons behind it.
When creating our list of top 20 most stressful jobs in America, we looked for the credible sources and we found two. The first one is Career Cast and the other is U.S. News. Curiously enough, both studies omit some occupations that are usually associated with high levels of job-related stress, like teachers and air traffic controllers. We will leave it up to you to decide whether is this just some myth-busting or simply an overlook on their part. Now, let’s see the list of top 20 most stressful jobs in America.
20. Public Relations Executive
Median Income: $107,320
With public relation, everything needs to be done yesterday. As soon as a hint of bad publicity for the company appears, PR people need to get on it and control the damage. This sense of constant urgency takes its toll even on people who usually thrive in such conditions.
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19. Taxi Driver
Median Income: $24,300
Just dealing with patrons is stressful enough part of taxi drivers’ lives. Add the risk of getting mugged and injured or even worse and the job becomes quite demanding on the psyche.
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18. Sales Manager
Median Income: $113,860
At number 18 on the list of top 20 most stressful jobs in America we have Sales managers whose income is usually tied with sales quotas, which must be met. This creates a constant pressure to perform, which can crush a person if not managed adequately.
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17. Mental Health Counselor
Median Income: $41,880
Dealing with mental patients and their families, often from poor households which can’t afford quality health care, is a highly demanding job. Solving other people’s problems on a daily basis is a constant source of stress.
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16. Child and Family Social Worker
Median Income: $43,350
Similar to the above, but with added burden of dealing with children. Family issues are never easy and when kids are involved, the job quickly becomes a highly stressful one. Making a decision to separate a child from its parents are an everyday occurrence for child and family social workers and regardless of how justified the decision is, having to watch a kid torn away from their family is a very stressful sight.
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15. Construction Manager
Median Income: $87,400
Many of the construction jobs are very stressful. The risk of injury is always present and when injured construction workers have no income. Construction manager also has a responsibility of managing crews and keeping an eye on deadlines. Breaking one can cost thousands, if not millions of dollars, and having that weighing on a person’s mind is not an easy thing to deal with every day.
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14. Financial Analyst
Median Income: $80,310
We are continuing our list of top 20 most stressful jobs in America with financial analysts’ whose decisions can make or break a company. Based on their recommendation, the upper management creates long term plans which can either ruin them or make them rich. Picking the right strategy in an ever-changing market and in an economy that is becoming more and more unpredictable is far from a relaxed work environment.
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13. Clinical Social Worker
Median Income: $52,380
Clinical social workers deal mostly with elderly and sick. Years of training are needed in order to become one and empathy is the main prerequisite.
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12. Marriage and Family Therapist
Median Income: $48,600
Often, marriage and family therapist, that’s next on our list of top 20 most stressful jobs in America, are the last straw from many families before they undertake the most drastic step of divorce. Creating an atmosphere of trust so that couples and families can express their issues and then helping them solve it is a huge responsibility and requires a special kind of person.
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11. Cardiovascular Technologist
Median Income: $54,880
Diagnosing people with blood clots and tumors doesn’t make for a very cheerful occupation, but at the end of the day, cardiovascular technologists save lives daily. At least that provides comfort in otherwise a gloomy profession, which regularly ranks among the top 20 most stressful jobs in America.
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10. Senior Corporate Executive
Median Income: $117,990
When the fate of the entire company and hundreds, if not thousands of it employees depends on your decisions, stress levels can reach epic levels pretty fast. Every decision you make has an impact on so many workers that simply thinking about it gives an ordinary person a headache. It’s no wonder that psychopaths make good CEOs.
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9. IT Manager
Median Income: $131,600
In this day and age, entire companies depend on their IT departments to function. A single mistake can cause a glitch which can halt everyday operations and end up in costing a company millions in lost revenues and damages. It is a responsibility of IT managers to prevent that from happening and ensure smooth working of their departments.
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8. Physician
Median Income: $187,199
After years of college and training, a physician, that ranks 8th on our list of top 20 most stressful jobs in America is fully capable of resolving almost any medical issue they encounter. Although the pay is quite good and saving people’s lives is often a reward in itself, long hours, highly demanding job, and tragedy they see every day combine to create often unmanageable levels of stress.
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7. Anesthesiologist
Median Income: $187,199
We are continuing our list of top 20 most stressful jobs in America with anesthesiologists that are responsible for bringing people in and out of anesthesia during operations and other medical procedures. Even a tiny mistake can mean that their patients never wake up.
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6. Patrol Officer / Police Officer
Median Income: $58,320
If a job involves a possibility of people shooting at you, the high levels of stress is a given. And that is just the tip of the iceberg with policemen’s job.
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5. Paramedic
Median Income: $31,980
Almost every profession in a medical field is a high-stress one, but paramedics that rank 5th on the top 20 most stressful jobs in America list stand out. Making a split second decision that can save or kill a person are a daily occurrence and not everyone is ready or able to cope with that, especially for a salary these guys get.
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4. Firefighter
Median Income: $48,030
Another profession where risking your life goes without saying. Entering burning buildings as a way of making a living isn’t for everyone. High levels of dedication and a sense of calling are almost a necessity when it comes to being a firefighter.
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4. Bartender
Median Income: $19,530
Dealing with people is stressful enough, but dealing with drunk people night in night out is pretty much a definition of hell on Earth. Especially for those bartenders that work in smaller bars that don’t have a bouncer and are responsible for maintaining order as well as serving drinks.
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3. Lawyer
Median Income: $115,820
Despite all the jokes about lawyers, their job is a highly demanding one. Dealing with people at their worst can take its toll on a human psyche, even without the added responsibility of representing them in court. Add the long hours, massive paperwork that has to be flawless and demanding bosses and judges, and you get the picture what a lawyer’s typical day looks like. Now, let’s see the number one on our list of top 20 most stressful jobs in America.
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2. Surgeon
Median Income: $187,199
When a human life depends on you not making a millimeter mistake, you better have a good mechanism for coping with stress. Surgeons apparently do since without it, they would hardly take responsibility for numerous patients on a daily basis.
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1. Enlisted Military Personnel
Median Income: $27,936
It is hard to remain unstressed when people shoot at you and you have to shoot back. Add the risks of friendly fire, various injuries, often deployment to foreign countries and always present risk of capture, and it is easy to see why being a soldier is considered one of the top 20 most stressful jobs in America.
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