AtWork agencies offer alternatives to most dangerous professions
Facing down breaking waves in the middle of the ocean while wrangling crab pots or longlines might sound adventurous, or even fun.
But it’s a job that might just suck you into the drink, never to be seen again. You’ve seen or read “Perfect Storm,” right?
If you are a landlubber and averse to fishing for a living in the Bering Sea or North Atlantic, AtWork staffing agencies can offer you a landlocked job in a quiet office or warehouse doing light administrative or industrial work. It’s good pay, and your life isn’t on the line each day.
That being said, if you have a thirst for adventure and can deftly cheat death on the regular, here are the five most dangerous jobs in the U.S., based on the number of deaths recorded each year by the U.S. government. More truckers lose their lives each year than any other field, but the statistics are based on deaths per 100,000 workers, not sheer numbers.
1. Logging (136 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2016): Felling huge trees in forests or even backyards is a meticulous undertaking with little to no room for error. Generally, it’s a couple of guys with chainsaws (they may even be hoisted into the air) vs. a 125-foot tree that may weigh tons. When you hear “Timber!” run fast, and run in the right direction.
2. Commercial fishing (86 deaths per 100,000): You work on a small ship full of tangling lines and whipping cables awash with crashing waves in terrible elements. Ships can sink. Any questions?
3. Pilots and flight engineers (55 deaths per 100,000): Major airliner crashes make the front page, but small, private planes crash all the time. The risk is even worse in rugged Alaskan backcountry or mountainous terrain. You might want to take a couple of deep breaths if you are flying by puddle jumper to meet that northerly fishing vessel for work.
4. Roofers (48.6 deaths per 100,000): It’s hot. It’s steep. Sometimes harnesses don’t get buckled, and it’s easy to find yourself sliding off a steep pitch to the ground below. Sometimes the best you can expect after a fall is a broken leg. There’s a valid reason people are afraid of heights.
5. Trash/recycling collectors (34.1 per 100,000): These guys are jumping off moving trucks and dodging traffic as they heave your refuse into the back of garbage trucks. And have you ever found the sight of a compactor in action strangely satisfying? Depends on your perspective on what’s being crushed.
If you don’t want to court death or injury even in the pursuit of a fat paycheck, contact AtWorkfor a staffing solution that offers good pay, is landlocked, on the ground and devoid of falling trees.
