Carlsbad, CA (January 12, 2017) – If you thrive on stress, working as a Firefighter, Police Officer, Newspaper Reporter, or Broadcaster might be a good fit for you. But if you want a less pressure-filled work atmosphere, you should consider professions such as Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Information Security Analyst, or University Professor, according to CareerCast’s 2017 Job Stress report.
CareerCast analyzed 11 factors in identifying the most and least stressful jobs, including deadlines, hazards, public scrutiny, physical demands, competition, and career growth potential.
On-the-job stress can be caused by a variety of reasons. Taxi Drivers not only drive in traffic and bad weather, but they face increased competition from online transportation companies, including Uber and Lyft.
For professions like Firefighter, Military and Police Officer, stress results from putting their lives at risk and being responsible for the lives of others. In the cases of Newspaper Reporter and Broadcaster, working under tight deadlines, and the fear of lawsuits or layoffs may cause stress. (Broadcasters have a negative job outlook of -9% and the outlook for Newspaper Reporters is -8%.)
“Even though they may be stressful, these professions are crucial to American’s safety and democracy,” says Kyle Kensing, Online Content Editor, CareerCast. “Firefighters, Military and Police Officers protect us, and Newspaper Reporters and Broadcasters have a big impact in showing us the truth amidst the trend of “’fake news’”.
If you don’t flourish in a physically demanding, hazardous or unpredictable environment, CareerCast’s least stressful job -- Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, (annual median income of $63,630 and growth outlook of 24%) might be good fit for you. Although it requires advanced training, Audiologist is another low-stress profession (annual median income of $74,890 and growth outlook of 29%). If you have an aptitude for math, find intrigue in the secrets of data, and have the determination to work through problems until you come up with a good solution, consider the profession of Operations Research Analyst ($78,630 salary and 30% growth outlook).
CareerCast’s Most Stressful Jobs of 2017
Profession Stress Score Median Salary Growth Outlook | ||||||||||||||||||||
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CareerCast’s Least Stressful Jobs of 2017
Profession Stress Score Median Salary Growth Outlook
Diagnostic Medical Sonographer 4.00 $63,630 24% |
Compliance Officer 5.73 $65,640 3% |
Hair Stylist 6.71 $23,710 10% |
Audiologist 7.31 $74,890 29% |
University Professor (tenured) 8.17 $72,470 13% |
Medical Records Technician 8.57 $37,110 15% |
Jeweler 8.95 $37,060 -11% |
Operations Research Analyst 9.02 $78,630 30% |
Pharmacy Technician 9.10 $30,410 9% |
Medical Laboratory Technician 10.31 $50,550 16% |
To read the full report, visit CareerCast's The Most Stressful Jobs of 2017
To rank the most and least stressful careers from the 200 professions on the Jobs Rated report, CareerCast evaluated 11 stress factors: travel required; growth potential; deadlines; working in the public eye; competition in the field; physical demands; environmental conditions; hazards encountered on a regular basis; own life at risk; life of others at risk; and meeting or interacting with the public at large. The methodology can be found here.
Median Annual Salary and Projected Hiring Growth by 2024 are via the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
About CareerCast.com
CareerCast, created by Adicio, is a job search portal that offers extensive local, niche and national job listings from across North America; job-hunting, career-management and HR-focused editorial content; and videos and blogs; and provides recruiters with the ability to post jobs directly to more than 800 niche career sites. CareerCast.com also compiles the Jobs Rated Report (www.jobsrated.com), where 200 jobs across North America are ranked based on detailed analysis of specific careers factors.