Adam Wolframson http://www.joblistsouthafrica.com 2m 568
The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
The purpose of taking a job is to make a living. For this reason, it’s highly ironic when taking a job costs someone his life. That just shouldn’t happen. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, “A job’s a job and someone’s gotta do it.” But when the work involves taking on one of the most dangerous jobs available, we’d suggest that you take a pass on it.
Here’s a list of 5 of “The Most Dangerous Jobs That You Shouldn’t Take Unless You’re Absolutely Broke”:
5. Roofing
For an average salary of little more than $34,000 annually, getting up on the roof for various purposes, whether to repair leaks or put on new roofing material accounts for 34.1 deaths for every 100,000 roofers doing the job. Yikes. That’s a pretty risky ceiling to avoid bumping your head on. Definitely, that should make you think twice about getting up on the roof and doing repairs for yourself. Shell out some dough and call a professional!
4. Collecting Refuse and Recyclable Materials
Sure, they’re doing the environment a favor by picking up possibly hazardous waste and making possible the lessening of trash through recycling, but one’s life is a pretty steep price to pay for compensation of a little over $35,000 per year. With 36.4 deaths for every 100,000, you might expect that they’d be paid better for taking one of the most dangerous jobs there are. But no; the pay they get is pretty trashy.
3. Flight Engineers and Aircraft Pilots
Stockbrokers might consider stock market crashes an occupational hazard, but these workers at #3 have a scarier type of crash to worry about. Since they’re up in the air, they’re always a little bit closer to heaven than everyone else, but maybe that shouldn’t have a double meaning. The painful truth is that there are 56.1 deaths for every hundred thousand flight engineers and pilots. What they have over the roofers and collectors in #s 5 and 4, though, is significantly better pay; commercial flight workers make an average of $92,060 a year, while airline workers do even better getting paid an average of $118,070 annually.
2. Loggers and Other Logging Workers
You’re probably shocked and are thinking to yourself, “That many of them get crushed by falling logs?” Well, that’s partially correct. But it’s not just the prospect of getting squashed by descending wood that logging workers have to worry about. The heavy equipment, frequent bad weather, and occasional high-altitude working environments also contribute to making logging among the most dangerous jobs available. The pay isn’t as great as the danger either; logging workers receive an average of less than $33,000 annually, and they have to beat the odds of 1 in every 1,000 workers in their line of work losing their lives.
1. Fishermen
Yes, fishermen. And if you imagine that it’s probably because they are occasionally eaten by sharks that the job is so deadly, you’re wrong. It’s actually malfunctions with their fishing gear, as well as complications resulting from bad weather, that have made fishing the most treacherous job every year since 1992. In 2012 alone, 42 fishermen lost their lives in the United States. That’s 127.3 deaths for every 100,000 fishermen. And the worst part of their job is that they’re practically paid in worms — worst paid among the workers in our top 5: a fisherman makes an average of less than $26,000 annually.
This article was written by Adam Wolframson. He is an experienced recruitment specialist and recommends this website for careers in South Africa.
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