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The 10 Most Stressful and Depressing Jobs in America
You might think that you hate your job, but hopefully, not to the point where you'd terminate your own life. But it happens: a 33-year-old finance executive at J.P. Morgan jumped to his death in Hong Kong earlier this week after he informed his colleague that he was under too much stress. This isn't the first time this has happened to a J.P. Morgan employee, either — it was the third suicide in weeks.
Which begs the question: which jobs are actually the most depressing? There are a variety of factors that go into how sad a job can potentially make an individual: we factored in a combination of salary, stress level, and average mortality and suicide rates.
So keep calm, and preferably, avoid these jobs on.
Real Estate Agents
Average Salary: $39,140.
Suicide Rate: 1.38 times the average citizen.
Mortality Rate: Occupational fatalities aren’t listed, but being on the high-suicide rate list raises the mortality rate.
Stress Level: 6/10. The success of a real estate agent is not determined, and no set salary can result in tremendously high levels of anxiety.
Taxi Driver
Average Salary: $22,820 a year
Suicide Rate: Not listed as one of the professions with a high suicide rate.
Mortality Rate: In 2008, the mortality rate was 19.3 percent, and the profession repeatedly shows up on lists of the most dangerous jobs in America.
Stress Level: 6/10. Career Cast listed “taxi driver” as the 10th-most stressful profession; with low pay, a high mortality rate, and the constant stress of drunk passengers.
Electrician
Average Salary: $53,030 a year
Suicide Rate: Electricians are 1.31 times more likely than the average citizen to commit suicide.
Mortality Rate: There are approximately 350 deaths a year from electric-related incidents in this field.
Stress Level: 6/10.
Lawyer
Average Salary: An average of $130,880, which is a crazy lot.
Suicide Rate: According to data that New Health Guide compiled from NOMS, lawyers are 1.33 times more likely than non-lawyers to commit suicide.
Mortality Rate: There are no inherent physical risks associated with practicing law, other than the physical complications of stress, which can be incredibly taxing on the body.
Stress Rate: 9/10. No way around it; law is a stressful career path with long hours, and often, crippling amounts of student debt that takes years of work to pay off.
Farm Worker
Average Salary: A startlingly low $19,990 a year, making it one of the lowest paying professions in America.
Suicide Rate: Farm managers are reported to commit suicide 1.32 times more than the average person.
Mortality Rate: Rural farmers are known to have lower mortality rates than urbanites, perhaps due to physical labor keeping them active. But the job is also dangerous due to managing heavy machinery and cattle. In 2012, there were 216 fatalities reported, and Forbes ranked it as one of the “Deadliest Jobs.”
Stress Level: 7/10. Have you seen the drought in California?
Heavy Construction Operators
Median Salary: $29,990 a year
Suicide Rate: Heavy construction operators are 1.47 times more likely than the average person to commit suicide.
Mortality Rate: It’s one of the most dangerous jobs: there were 969 fatalities in 2008.
Stress Rate: 7/10
Stockbroker
Average Salary: In NYC, on average, $180,300 a year.
Suicide Rate: Here’s the catch: Those who work in finance are 1.51 times more likely than other people to commit suicide. Look no further than the recent suicide of a J.P. Morgan employee in Hong Kong.
Mortality Rate: While there aren’t occupational fatalities, high suicide rates mean the mortality rate is high.
Stress Level: 9/10. Incredibly stressful. Finance jobs are known to have long hours and stressful ups and downs.
Enlisted Military Officers
Average Salary: $22,800 a year
Suicide Rate: Military officers didn’t land on NOMS’s list of professions with the highest suicide rate, but many officers do take their own life.
Mortality Rate: There’s no doubt about it — fighting in the military means a chance of death.
Stress Rate: Enlisted military officer was listed as CareerCast’s most stressful job of 2014.
Pilots
Average Salary: $114,200 a year
Suicide Rate: Airline pilots were not listed as one of the professions with high suicide rates.
Mortality Rate: It’s one of the ‘deadliest jobs,’ with a 53.4 fatality rate per 100,000 full time workers.
Stress Level: 9/10. Career Cast ranked an airline pilot as the fourth most stressful job in America. A life constantly in transit can only lead to a feeling of instability.
Physician
Average Salary: A general practitioner (non-specialist) makes a whopping average $191,520 a year.
Suicide Rate: 1.87 times a non-physician, making it the profession with the highest suicide rate.
Mortality Rate: Mortality rates for physicians are not specifically listed.
Stress Level: 10/10 Crippling student debt can lead to stress, plus long and inconvenient hours make it tough to see families. Eighty-seven percent of physicians in a recent study claimed to feel “burned out” every day.
