http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/108148/stressful-jobs-that-pay-badly?mod=career-salary_negotiation

Interesting list.

11/17/2009 1:28:32 AM

Dressing like elmo with a penis?

11/17/2009 1:29:39 AM

2 and 4 would be ideal jobs for me

11/17/2009 1:31:46 AM

I can attest to #4.

11/17/2009 1:33:47 AM

lawyer, doctor

11/17/2009 1:39:17 AM

Why isn't teaching on that list? $25000 for putting up with kids?

11/17/2009 1:42:21 AM

bullshit article. I guarantee that almost any minimum wage job is 4-5x more stressful than those for half the pay.

11/17/2009 1:54:23 AM

Not many minimum wage jobs require you to investigate/cover the story of a 5yr old girl who was sold into prostitution by her own mother and then murdered.

Trust me, it isn't fun. For every rad day on the job (read: enjoying media access to sporting events, etc...) there is one like I mentioned above.

11/17/2009 1:59:24 AM

shitty paying retail jobs can be pretty stressful. i'd say they're up there in the stress/dollar rankings if you have high irate customer interaction

11/17/2009 2:03:59 AM

People always forget about crack whore.

11/17/2009 2:05:27 AM

crack whores aren't stressed out

11/17/2009 2:06:13 AM

That is a completely different type/level of stress.

If dealing with an upset shopper about something is your idea of a high stress situation, I want your life.

11/17/2009 2:06:43 AM

Working in retail is nothing comparedmto being a teacher.

11/17/2009 2:08:41 AM

make ~13k a year and deal with pissed off customers all day or make like 3.5-4 times that and cover some fucked up news stories every now and then...

^I'd actually enjoy teaching.

11/17/2009 2:09:16 AM

Yes, you're right. Clearly you know what you're talking about. Pardon me.

11/17/2009 2:10:09 AM

i'd be a lot less stressed with the 40k job than the 13k minimum wage job. they say money doesn't buy happiness but i'm always a lot happier when i have 3 or 4 digits worth of dollars to freely spend vs. 3 or 4 digits worth of pennies.

11/17/2009 2:13:21 AM

Quote :

"If dealing with hundreds of upset shoppers about something for 8-11 hours a day with no weekends while being broke as shit is your idea of a high stress situation, I want your life."

there, I fixed that for you

11/17/2009 2:21:08 AM

Quote :

"Why isn't teaching on that list? $25000 for putting up with kids?"

It is number 15 on the list.

11/17/2009 2:46:17 AM

FWIW the average pay for teachers in CMS is like 40K and you only work like 9 months of the year. If teaching is really for you it's not that bad. 40K ain't shit, but if you really enjoy teaching...

OTOH, if you're a high school football coach in CMS that shit could get pretty stressful. I was talking with one the other night and during the season the only time he got to see his daughter was late at night and on sundays, but on sundays he only got to see his daughter because he'd watch game film at home. he's basically working 2 full time jobs and they don't pay much more if you're a football coach in CMS.

11/17/2009 2:52:22 AM

^Yeah, but if coaching is really for you, it's not that bad.

11/17/2009 4:45:13 AM

my job is on that list! my life is awesomeeeee

11/17/2009 7:28:21 AM

A lot of you are confusing "stressful job" with "stressful life"

looking at you, BigEgo.


Also, I will say that "pay badly" implies low pay while almost all of these careers are at or above the US median income. Perhaps they should have stated is high stress to pay ratio.

11/17/2009 7:34:19 AM

Quote :

"make ~13k a year and deal with pissed off customers all day or make like 3.5-4 times that and cover some fucked up news stories every now and then..."

Or how about work everyday with fucked up stories like that for only a little more than ~13K a year working with domestic violence and sexual assault victims for a non-profit agency...

I agree with Ronny 100% - if that's your idea of a high pressure situation, "I want your life"

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 8:16 AM. Reason : .]

11/17/2009 8:16:09 AM

amen.

of course dealing with mean old people all day would be the LAST thing I would EVER do

11/17/2009 8:18:05 AM

Yeah I think working at an assisted living place would be pretty stressful, too... Not just because the old people are going to be miserable but imagine having to go to work everyday hoping someone didn't die

11/17/2009 8:19:31 AM

I worked job #4: television reporter (and producer). I can attest that it's not really worth the stress. I got paid in seeing myself on TV. My first producing job out of college, I made $10 an hour with no benefits. Thank god I had a side job as a waitress, so I didn't stress about money.

I applied for jobs in Wilmington and Asheville and was offered 18k as a producer with 2 years' industry experience. I turned those jobs down and accepted a job in Orlando for $26k. But I didn't have the free time to take a second job, so honestly, I would have been better off staying in Raleigh.

In the end, I sold out and made a minor career change. It was worth it to not stress about money.

11/17/2009 8:47:17 AM

the atypical hours of television are what got me out of it (no weekends)

11/17/2009 8:50:59 AM

^ Where did you work?

I was at PBS initially, so I got a little spoiled. The hours aren't as bad and it's a little more low-key. When I switched to a for-profit shop, I realized I made a mistake by leaving. Then I tried to get a job with the PBS station in Orlando and had such a bad experience during the interview (atrocious sexual harassment, followed by a job offer) that I decided to finally throw in the towel on the whole tv career.

I'm still a writer and I love what I do, so I haven't looked back.

11/17/2009 8:55:04 AM

Quote :

"^Yeah, but if coaching is really for you, it's not that bad."

Pretty sure he's talking about being a coach and teacher. At most schools the coaches are also teachers, who get paid some ridiculously low wage to coach a sport also.

Most people who do it year after year enjoy it, but you can love what you do and still be stressed out.

11/17/2009 9:39:34 AM

why the fuck are paramedic and firefighter not on that list?

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 9:43 AM. Reason : sometimes having to risk your own life to save others is pretty fucking stressful]

11/17/2009 9:43:05 AM

Quote :

"I can attest to #4."

Ditto. Long hours, 24-hour availability, often-difficult subject matter and very low pay.

11/17/2009 11:50:47 AM

teaching.


i'm about to flip my lid today.

11/17/2009 12:45:43 PM

more like Jobs of People That Bitch A Lot

11/17/2009 12:53:23 PM

Production Planner/Scheduler..well atleast my company does not pay well!!

11/17/2009 1:03:27 PM

Military isn't number 1 on that list???

11/17/2009 1:06:21 PM

i am a supervisor of a group home for teenagers with autism.

i have everyone beat, and i don't make shit.

11/17/2009 1:36:14 PM

Everyone thinks they will be the PERFECT event coordinator because they helped their sister in law plan a five thousand dollar wedding. I'm saving this link to send around.

11/17/2009 1:43:08 PM

Facility manager/supervisor for a failing establishment with worthless employees for 28k ain't up there either
rawr rawr rawr

11/17/2009 1:49:30 PM

Quote :

"Why isn't teaching on that list? $25000 for putting up with kids?"

Why would you go into teaching if you don't like dealing with kids? I guess I could complain that I have to "put up with computers" all day.

Quote :

"FWIW the average pay for teachers in CMS is like 40K and you only work like 9 months of the year"

Exactly. I know one teacher who spent two months in Hawaii this summer. Others who split their time between the beach, the lake, and just generally having a good time all summer long. I promise that if I start quitting my job for three months out of the year I won't complain about the pay.

Quote :

"1. Social Worker Median pay: $43,200"

Quote :

"You're getting paid $12 an hour and kids are screaming at you, telling you that you are just in it for the money and you're just like, really?"

lol...Sounds like this chick is getting fux0red!

Quote :

"8. Commercial Photographer Median pay: $43,600 % who say their job is stressful: 100% "

How many people did they ask? One?

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 1:52 PM. Reason : l]

11/17/2009 1:50:49 PM

Quote :

"Military isn't number 1 on that list???"

"military" is too broad of a term. i'm sure you could justify putting a certain military position pretty high up in the stress rankings, but there are also a ton of people who are in the military who have desk jobs like millions of other americans and probably don't have too much to worry about, and i'd wager a lot of military positions are probably not that bad when there isn't a major conflict going on somewhere.

11/17/2009 1:55:16 PM

Quote :

"AndyMac: Pretty sure he's talking about being a coach and teacher. At most schools the coaches are also teachers, who get paid some ridiculously low wage to coach a sport also."

I'm aware.

Quote :

"AndyMac: Most people who do it year after year enjoy it, but you can love what you do and still be stressed out."

Tell that to him. That's what I was trying to do.

11/17/2009 6:47:39 PM

Quote :

"I guarantee that almost any minimum wage job is 4-5x more stressful than those for half the pay."

I don't think most of those jobs would really be very stressful. However, I can't even think of a minimum wage job that would be stressful at all

Quote :

""military" is too broad of a term. i'm sure you could justify putting a certain military position pretty high up in the stress rankings, but there are also a ton of people who are in the military who have desk jobs like millions of other americans and probably don't have too much to worry about, and i'd wager a lot of military positions are probably not that bad when there isn't a major conflict going on somewhere."

There's plenty of other stress in the military besides combat stress.

There is, from what I've seen, a lot of pressure to perform, and you're constantly being evaluated, ranked against your peers, etc. You're surrounded by a bunch of demanding people.

Training can be stressful, too. There's the physical stress involved (I've stayed a week in the field where the temperatures never got above the low 20s, I've gone a week without eating and been subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques", I've hiked 20 miles at a 3mph pace with over 100 lbs of gear, I've been tear gassed, etc.)

Then there's the mental stress. Flight school, for example, was pretty stressful. You could potentially come to work on Monday with everything going well, and be washed out of flight school by about Wednesday. 65-70 hour work weeks were pretty routine. In the fleet, training exercises are generally more complicated than actual combat, and you don't want to screw up and gain yourself a reputation.

Then there's the ways you can get yourself killed in training. For me, it's aircraft emergencies, bad weather, aggressive flying (which is more of a thrill ride than a stressor to me, but still), near midair collisions, landing on aircraft carriers with a new pilot, etc.

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 7:00 PM. Reason : mostly, to me, it's just long hours, time away from home, and demanding peers/bosses.]

11/17/2009 6:50:43 PM

hmm nursing didnt make the list either.....

11/17/2009 6:58:36 PM

my wife is a teacher (elem) and it can be pretty stressful dealing with idiot parents and their idiot kids. Go early and stay late, only to come home to work on homework/plans/etc until bedtime. 50% of parent-teacher conferences are no-shows.

and that's just what I see as a husband. it IS nice having her off for the summer though

The thing with the minimum wage jobs is that you can get fired or walk away from one without a single concern. The fall is negligible and you can bounce your way into another one easy as kiss your hand. Falling from one of the jobs listed in the article could potentially kill your career.

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 7:03 PM. Reason : ]

11/17/2009 7:00:57 PM

it's funny that parole officer is on there; i've talked to two former parole officers this week and they both told me how much they liked it and how they'd still be doing it if the pay were a bit better

11/17/2009 7:07:21 PM

Quote :

"I can't even think of a minimum wage job that would be stressful at all"

hahahahahahh what

11/17/2009 7:21:06 PM

residency

11/17/2009 7:31:41 PM

Quote :

"There's plenty of other stress in the military besides combat stress. There is, from what I've seen, a lot of pressure to perform, and you're constantly being evaluated, ranked against your peers, etc. You're surrounded by a bunch of demanding people. Training can be stressful, too. There's the physical stress involved (I've stayed a week in the field where the temperatures never got above the low 20s, I've gone a week without eating and been subjected to "enhanced interrogation techniques", I've hiked 20 miles at a 3mph pace with over 100 lbs of gear, I've been tear gassed, etc.) Then there's the mental stress. Flight school, for example, was pretty stressful. You could potentially come to work on Monday with everything going well, and be washed out of flight school by about Wednesday. 65-70 hour work weeks were pretty routine. In the fleet, training exercises are generally more complicated than actual combat, and you don't want to screw up and gain yourself a reputation. Then there's the ways you can get yourself killed in training. For me, it's aircraft emergencies, bad weather, aggressive flying (which is more of a thrill ride than a stressor to me, but still), near midair collisions, landing on aircraft carriers with a new pilot, etc."

notice how i said this:

Quote :

"i'm sure you could justify putting a certain military position pretty high up in the stress rankings"

your job and others like it fall into that category, but there are a lot within the military that are not as stressful. you kind of have to get into specifics with the job rather than just saying "the military" because it encompasses so many positions. that's all i'm saying.

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 7:39 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on November 17, 2009 at 7:39 PM. Reason : .]

11/17/2009 7:35:42 PM

what about going to war...? I figured that'd be a pretty stressful job

11/17/2009 8:20:33 PM

Quote :

"Why isn't teaching on that list? $25000 for putting up with kids?"

Average teacher is around 45 to 50 grand. Its well playing with an average of 170 days off a year.

Teaching is a plum gig.

11/17/2009 8:22:11 PM