Jobs that fall into the bottom 20 out of all 200 surveyed professions tend to suffer from a combination of fatal flaws – low salaries, difficult working conditions, serious risk of injury or death, and poor employment prospects over the coming years. While not all of these jobs rely solely on brute force (among others, Emergency Medical Technician, Firefighter and Welder all require highly-specialized training), a majority of them have a poor or very poor hiring outlook.
Notable exceptions include EMT and Firefighter, which project robust job growth of 19% and 11% through 2016, respectively. However, in the case of these two professions, they rank so low due to their levels of danger, stress and difficulty. And given the vital service each one provides to the community, they both are grossly underpaid relative to their actual value.
Moving further down the list, while not always the case, jobs in the bottom 10 tend to be low-paid, dangerous and unpleasant. Mail Carrier has a relatively good median income of $50,041, but in inclement weather the work environment can be harsh. Roustabout, on the other hand, suffers in virtually every category we measure: Primarily an entry-level job involving the maintenance of oil rigs, the job has intense physical demands, high stress (due to the possibility of injury or death in the case of an accident) and an unpleasant working environment. Combine these qualities with very poor employment prospects and a median income of just $31,000, and Roustabout lands at the bottom as the worst surveyed job of 2010.
Instructs performers and develops and interprets routines for stage and other presentations.
- Overall Score: 732.00
- Income: $39,272.00
- Work Environment:
1106.250 - Stress:
53.100 - Physical Demands:
11.85 - Hiring Outlook:
2.22
Operates machinery in manufacturing plants for fabrication of industrial parts.
- Overall Score: 733.00
- Income: $36,150.00
- Work Environment:
756.800 - Stress:
46.117 - Physical Demands:
17.46 - Hiring Outlook:
-3.50
Performs any number of tasks involved in the operation of ships, boats, barges, or dredges.
- Overall Score: 736.00
- Income: $34,148.00
- Work Environment:
1660.560 - Stress:
51.282 - Physical Demands:
30.77 - Hiring Outlook:
15.48
Covers newsworthy events for newspapers, magazines, and television news programs.
- Overall Score: 738.00
- Income: $35,285.00
- Work Environment:
1106.250 - Stress:
65.269 - Physical Demands:
9.85 - Hiring Outlook:
3.35
Loads and unloads cargo from vessels, routes cargo to proper locations.
- Overall Score: 749.00
- Income: $38,182.00
- Work Environment:
1084.590 - Stress:
51.217 - Physical Demands:
28.03 - Hiring Outlook:
8.82
Attends to situations which demand immediate medical attention, such as automobile accidents, heart attacks, and gunshot wounds.
- Overall Score: 751.00
- Income: $29,158.00
- Work Environment:
1610.700 - Stress:
67.113 - Physical Demands:
21.26 - Hiring Outlook:
18.58
Constructs, installs, and maintains sheet metal products for home, commercial, and industrial use.
- Overall Score: 759.00
- Income: $40,208.00
- Work Environment:
1266.140 - Stress:
44.752 - Physical Demands:
30.73 - Hiring Outlook:
6.58
Protects individuals and saves lives and property from the ravages of fire.
- Overall Score: 768.00
- Income: $44,227.00
- Work Environment:
3314.030 - Stress:
110.936 - Physical Demands:
43.23 - Hiring Outlook:
13.77
Photographs newsworthy events for publication in newspapers and magazines.
- Overall Score: 781.00
- Income: $28,275.00
- Work Environment:
1327.500 - Stress:
73.013 - Physical Demands:
15.85 - Hiring Outlook:
11.25
Prepares meat for sale to distributors, supermarket customers, and other consumers.
- Overall Score: 792.00
- Income: $28,150.00
- Work Environment:
987.800 - Stress:
41.533 - Physical Demands:
19.98 - Hiring Outlook:
1.50
Delivers and collects mail along prearranged rural and urban routes.
- Overall Score: 792.00
- Income: $50,041.00
- Work Environment:
1461.240 - Stress:
48.708 - Physical Demands:
26.86 - Hiring Outlook:
0.91
Monitors public utility meters, and records volume of consumption by customers.
- Overall Score: 798.00
- Income: $33,170.00
- Work Environment:
1127.360 - Stress:
37.940 - Physical Demands:
25.67 - Hiring Outlook:
-10.30
Assists construction trade workers by performing a wide variety of tasks requiring physical labor.
- Overall Score: 801.00
- Income: $29,200.00
- Work Environment:
1555.850 - Stress:
47.306 - Physical Demands:
36.41 - Hiring Outlook:
10.50
Operates a taxi cab over the streets and roads of a municipality, picking up and dropping off passengers by request.
- Overall Score: 807.00
- Income: $22,113.00
- Work Environment:
2317.210 - Stress:
100.491 - Physical Demands:
14.46 - Hiring Outlook:
12.13
Collects refuse on a designated municipal route, and transports trash to disposal plants or landfill areas.
- Overall Score: 810.00
- Income: $31,183.00
- Work Environment:
1368.320 - Stress:
42.760 - Physical Demands:
36.55 - Hiring Outlook:
6.83
Joins or repairs metal surfaces through the application of heat.
- Overall Score: 813.00
- Income: $34,122.00
- Work Environment:
1180.140 - Stress:
47.660 - Physical Demands:
29.08 - Hiring Outlook:
3.72
Directs and takes part in activities involved in the raising of cattle for milk production.
- Overall Score: 839.00
- Income: $32,114.00
- Work Environment:
1474.480 - Stress:
64.509 - Physical Demands:
30.53 - Hiring Outlook:
8.14
Raises the steel framework of buildings, bridges, and other structures.
- Overall Score: 852.00
- Income: $32,123.00
- Work Environment:
1593.720 - Stress:
50.911 - Physical Demands:
36.85 - Hiring Outlook:
5.73
Fells, cuts, and transports timber to be processed into lumber, paper, and other wood products.
- Overall Score: 921.00
- Income: $32,114.00
- Work Environment:
1817.530 - Stress:
67.603 - Physical Demands:
38.87 - Hiring Outlook:
-2.36
Performs routine physical labor and maintenance on oil rigs and pipelines, both on and off shore.
- Overall Score: 928.00
- Income: $31,133.00
- Work Environment:
1731.450 - Stress:
65.548 - Physical Demands:
36.89 - Hiring Outlook:
-6.17
See the complete ranking of all 200 jobs: More Jobs Rated Job Rankings
| More 2010 Jobs Rated Rankings | |||
| The 10 Best Jobs | The 10 Worst Jobs | The Top 200 Jobs | Jobs Rated Methodology |
| The Top 10 Scary, Creepy, and Just Plain Disturbing Jobs of 2010 | |||
