The 10 Most Stressful Jobs of 2012

Whether you are a soldier, a marine, an airman or a sailor all of your jobs no matter your rate/mos or whatever you call your job in your respective branch is stressful. Yeah some people have to travel for their jobs but they are gone what 5 to 6 days max and are home immediately. We all deploy for close to a year and are lucky to have contact with our families. I'm not saying we have the most stressful job out there but we are definitely under appreciated for what we do and under paid. Yes it is a choice, but we made the choice and sacrifice so others could be at home with their families and friends. I don't know how many of you have ever encountered a fire while being on deployment but I will just say that if you are overseas and on land and something catches on fire you can run away...but when you are on a ship...that is your home, and if it catches on fire you only have one option. Put it out before it kills anyone or sinks the ship. But like I said...any job in the military no matter what branch is stressful.

There are so many factors that can make a job stressful for anyone. My Uncle who worked for the USPS took a nap everyday on his route and then worked overtime on Saturdays to supplement his pay check. He was not the only Postman I am aware who did this. So why some postman 'Go Postal' is a quandry except that the gov't can't discrimanate against disabled people including former addicts & mentally challenged. To them their job may be beyond their ability to cope. I've known Military Wives who have had to move mult. X's in one year. They are single parents and live with the knowledge that their loved one could come home in a box if on active wartime duty. Nurses are overworked and have huge responsibility. Teachers (Nahhh) you are out of touch with the private sector. Your hours,tenure, pay, free summers, and the ranking of American students says it all. Don't get me started.
I think anytime a person has responsibility for the lives and wellbeing of others, poor managers that harass them, pressure to work overtime or increase production in potentially unsafe environments, or work for employers that are tyrants and don't get compensated are all at risk. Coping skills are not taught in colleges. Depending on whether you like your career even if it's stressful, you should research your weaknesses, study what is causing the stress and find advise on how to cope with whatever is causing. Work smarter not harder.

I'm currently a enlisted soldier in the army 11B (airborne) aka a paratrooper. It's by far the most stressful job I can think of
Due to the constant amount of nonsense I deal with on a daily basis. By 730 in the morning I've already ran 7 miles, walked up a mountain or even jumped out if a airplane with as much as 140 pounds of equipment strapped to me. Not to mention that whenever I do something wrong it's blown up out of portion by my chain of command and results with me doing hours of intense physical activity as punishment. In my job I have to go to work to call in sick, if I get injured on the job I'm looked down upon and called weak by my leadership. If someone I work with gets a DUI everyone has to come on the weekend and work. Ever heard of a layout? It's when I have to lay out all of my equipment dress right dress (nice and neat) for someone to walk by and look at it for 2 seconds to make sure I have everything, regardless of how responsible I am. If your calling bring a army wife a "job"? It's far from it. Yes I realize that you spend large amounts of time away from your loved ones worring about their safety. But all I've seen them do is cheat on their husbands, pop out children and get fat. That doesn't sound very difficult to me. Now I realize that not all military wives are like that and and I have seen some good ones out there. But that's the majority of them. It's also amazing how similar military is to the jail system. Better yet, we just had some soldiers that were sent to the nearby city jail due to disipline problems. The longest stay was 30 days and every person I talked to said it was better than being at work! Can you imagine that! Jail being better than your job!

Now I don't want you to get the wrong impression. Despite everything I just said, I love my job. I can't imagine anything else that would even come close to generating the intense amount of pride it gives me. I eagerly voluntered to not only join, but to be infantry and jump out of airplanes. I'm the one who goes out and looks for the bad guys. In my job my goal is to get the combat infantry badge. It signifies that I've not only been to combat, but taken and returned fire as well. To be blunt its my job to kill the enemy if necessary. Search caves for taliban, and hope I make it home to see my family again. I face fully automatic machine guns and IEDs every day. I've been on numerous police ride alongs and seen firsthand what firefighters and paramedics deal with on a daily basis. I'm not saying their jobs aren't stressful, because they most deffenetly are. But I've yet to see any other job that tops that of an enlisted soldier.

who are they to say my job is not stressful what job is not stressful at times????

To put this career in the the category of least stressful, I would have to ask where???? Because I want to work there. There are many stressors that are dealt with every day in this profession, more so in the public sector than in the private sector. Maybe that's where the poll was done on these people.

They do not differentiate between compensation and stress. A general might have a stressful job but an unemployeed exsoldier, single mother does not get compensated her stress. And as for an executive making almost 200,000/yr, give me a break, money can fix a lot of stress.

What about Air Traffic Controllers????

...Secret Service agent.

Why about Armored Truck Guard, going out working waiting to get robbed is pretty stressful.

I'm a Firefighter in an extremely busy inner-city, and I don't find my job stressful at all, I find it pleasantly thrilling. This entire subject of stress is in the eye of the beholder. Some people enjoy that kind of stress . . . Please note that if you look at the top ten most stressful jobs, none of those are jobs you normally hear people complaining about doing. That's because the people that do those jobs, love those jobs. It's all a matter of perception. Subsequently, this study is pretty much moot.

... because the original research was completed by the APA and every psych major I knew was nuckin' futz to begin with ... they majored in psychology because it was cheaper than paying a psychiatrist ....

oh the entitlements, everyone should have all services for free, and oh not to mention how brave they are over a phone, they forget their talking to a human, try that stress....

Okay - maybe war correspondant but photo journalist????
Really? Who is shooting at you? No lives at stake.
EMT, ER Doc, Prison Guard, or even a politician are higher stress.

You people got no skin in the game - you are just freakin' observers with a camera.

Sorry... No way!

These two lists (least and most stressful) are just absurd and not worthy of comment!

Every job is stressful to a point and thats why its called a job and not funtime. There are alot of tough jobs not mentioned. People make good claims for their own line of work. This is a list thats all. Did anyone get a pay raise,promotion,domotion etc for making or nor making the list. I do however take exception to the attacks on firefighters. Are we always carrying dead babies out of buildings. Of course not. Are we always crawling down 500 degree hallways searching for the fire. No. Look at any firefighter magazine that pays tribute to LODD's that month and you'll notice something. Most who die are in their mid 30's to mid 50's and most are from cardiac arrest. The stress on this job is alot more on the physical side then mental even though split second decision making happens alot. We are paid to be ready(and in good physical shape which we do off duty BTW) and prepared to be out the door in under a minute and we are who people call for everything. Fires of all kinds,EMS,MVA's,Gas leaks,elevator rescues,Hazmat,High angle,trench,confined space and alot more crap I missing. If guys are dropping at those ages from "watching TV getting fat" etc just imagine how many would drop if firefighters were fighting fires the entire shift. If you think firefighters should be busier the first call everyday should be at your house or someone you love since most don't seem to have a problem wishing that on others.

being an army house wife is not a job, nor will it ever. besides you should be blessed being married to a man in uniform, not comparing it to a job. SO HERE IS AN IDEA FOR YOU QUIT WHINNING BABY!

not to offent you IT guy, but having some jerk screaming in your ear about an e-mail is actually something soldiers deal with too. To that add not getting shot at, blown up, downsized, and fit time in for your regular bodily functions, among other amazingly awesome nonsense. By your calculations, then this list is rather correct -while stressful, your job isn't in the 10 most stressful of the year. SORRY.
Also, at this rate, we should've added literally like every job possible. You people don't freaking get it right?
we are truly a generation of whiny punks, myself included.

Being a military wife is NOT a job, I repeat NOT a job. I've been married to someone in the Military for the last 5 years and I would never say being married to my husband is a JOB. Stressful? Yes. Job? No.

remember this list is about "the MOST stressful jobs" not just stressful jobs, I agree every job can be stressful but this list hit it right most stressful job is also the lowest paid on the list and one of the lowest paid period.doesnt seem right but we still do it regardless!

Although I will give you partial credit because I fall under Military (Not a soldier. We hate this, only the Army has Soldiers), going hands on with Improviesd Explosive Device is (arguably) the MOST stressful job anywhere. I welcome anyone one to try to argue that point, I doubt you would be able to convince me.

BTW- The Hurt Locker was not accurate. It's MORE intense than that.

THIS IS NOT A JOB. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A JOB.
YOU DO NOT EARN A PAYCHECK.
YOU HOLD A DEPENDENTS ID CARD.

YOU DO NOT WORK IN THE ARMY.
THERE IS NO MOS.

IF YOU CONSIDER BEING A "WIFE" A JOB YOU NEED TO THINK TWICE ABOUT YOUR MARRIAGE.

As usual ambulance staff such as EMTs and Paramedics forgotten yet again. Because stress is never encountered when we are not able to save a life, and theres nothing physical about lifting people with on top of our 50kg stretcher, and quite often, esp at the emt level pay is less than every job on this list.

Oh well, we are sure used to it by now.

Everyone seems upset that certain careers seen to have been overlooked. Truthfully, almost every job can be stressfull. This is just one list- it would be impossible to include every job possible. No need to take it so personally.

PR is very stressful!

So right about nurses. Major stress, but major rewards!

The Soldiers should be on the most stressful list but one should mention their families as well. Being without your spouse for 12-15 months straight, wondering that whole time when the knock is coming to the door, and knowing that when they come home, they will be much different people and unable to relate everything they have gone through. On top of all this, the kids are stressed about the above and that their parent can't make their birthday, the holidays, school and sports events and everything else important to them. Stress!

As a retired air traffic controller, I'm reading this article with a grin.

I don't suppose family caregiver is really considered a job.

One of the "most" stressful jobs is always over looked by most people. The saddest thing is the professionals in this particular industry get looked down on and get no respect but wih out these professionals our country would stop, so stop and think sometime how stressful is it being a over the truck driver keeping AMERICA's goods and industry going. Stop and thank a truck driver, if you got it a truck brought it and with out our service men and women, our emergency responders and truck drivers our country would STOP.