Top 10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2016

All jobs have aspects or components that make them stressful—even the ones that don’t seem like very high-stakes occupations. Certain scenarios or times of the year come up and it’s a mad sprint—all hands on deck. Crunch time. Then there are the jobs that just don’t seem to ever let up. Here are the top 10 most stressful jobs of this year—based on deadlines, public scrutiny, required travel, physical risk, physical demands, environmental conditions, hazards, public interaction, and risk of one’s life. Starting to look pretty good to go into Library Science?

1. Enlisted Military Personnel

Making less than $30k per year, and constantly risking one’s life, this is one of the most stressful jobs out there.

2. Firefighter

Your job is starting to look pretty cushy, when you consider that for less than $50k a year, on average, some people have to run into burning buildings on the regular. And you thought that big project was really making you stressed!

3. Airline pilot

With a median income of just over $100k per year, airline pilots are well compensated for the stress of ferrying hundreds upon hundreds of souls around the globe. That responsibility alone is incredibly stressful.

4. Police officer

Making just a bit more than a firefighter, based on median income, police officers are also under a great deal of stress and risk of life.

5. Event coordinator

Event coordinators may not risk their lives or limbs, but they are still the people left holding the bag when anything—major or minor—goes wrong. If the hors d’oeuvres come out five minutes late—or early—or if the band has the wrong cord to connect their amp, or if there is a typo in the invitations… You name it, they gets yelled at. These aren’t life threatening stakes, but the stress is almost always at a high.

6. PR Exec

Public Relations executives are responsible for the reputations and the fame-level of their clients. They don’t just have to manage logistics, they have to manage perception and public opinion. And that takes a lot of nail biting. Especially when their clients do something that requires the putting out of fires (albeit, of course, not literal fires).

7. Senior Corporate Exec

If you’ve made it to the top of your company tree, it’s not all big bonuses and stock options. With every rung up the ladder comes a great deal more pressure. And with pressure comes… you guessed it, stress.

8. Broadcaster

For a surprisingly low annual median salary of less than $30k per year, a broadcaster is required to clearly and calmly read the news from a teleprompter often riddled with typos. She must be poised and in control at all times, as all of this happens live. You think public speaking is hard? Try doing it every day on television.

9. Newspaper reporter

You won’t make a lot of money, and you’ll have to run headlong into potentially dangerous or volatile situations to get a story. And once you get it, you have to race to get it published first. One mistake and you’ll have lost your reputation.

10. Taxi driver

This gig is perhaps the least well-paid of the top 10. Taxi drivers have to deal with rude people, drunk people, and people in a rush. Not to mention other lunatic drivers, rush hour traffic, accidents, and weather. Plus they’re stuck in a car. Imagine trying to find a parking space in NYC every time you had to pee! The 10 Most Stressful Jobs In 2016