- The recent climb in coronavirus cases in the US can put many working Americans at risk.
- Some jobs generally have a higher chance at exposing you to health risks than others, such as disease and infections.
- We used Department of Labor data to create an unhealthiness score for each occupation to find which jobs in America posed the greatest health risks to workers.
- Flight attendants, various dental occupations, and elevator installers and repairers were all on the list.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Some jobs intrinsically have more health risks than others.
The US is experiencing a rise in coronavirus cases and deaths. Florida hit a record daily count of nearly 15,300 cases on Sunday, the largest single-day tally out of any state so far. California also mandated restaurants, wineries, and movie theaters (among other places) to stop indoor services after a recent uptick in cases.
The recent surge in cases show just how these health risks can be dangerous in the middle of a pandemic. While some jobs are particularly prone to being impacted during this outbreak, dozens of other occupations face general health risks.
A flight attendant working in close quarters with passengers is more likely to catch an infectious disease than a lawyer working in an office, for example. Factor in the greater exposure to radiation, abnormal sleep patterns, and a less-than-clean work environment, and it’s just not the healthiest job.
To rank the most unhealthy jobs in America, we used data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database, a US Department of Labor database full of detailed information on occupations.
In order to analyze jobs by their impact on workers' health, we gave each job an overall unhealthiness score using O*NET measures of six health risks in each of the 968 occupations in the database: exposure to contaminants; exposure to disease and infection; exposure to hazardous conditions; exposure to radiation; risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, and stings; and time spent sitting, since studies show that frequent inactivity shortens your lifespan. O*NET scores these factors on a scale from 0 to 100, with a higher score indicating an increased health risk.
Read on to find out which jobs have the most potential to damage your health. We also included median annual salaries from May 2019, the most recent data available from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Max Nisen contributed to an earlier version of this post.
47. Metal pourers and casters
What they do, according to O*NET: Operate hand-controlled mechanisms to pour and regulate the flow of molten metal into molds to produce castings or ingots.
Median annual salary: $38,620
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.2
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 100 2. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, and stings: 93 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 82
43 (tie). Morticians, undertakers, and funeral directors
What they do, according to O*NET: Perform various tasks to arrange and direct funeral services.
Median annual salary: $54,150
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.3
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 79 2. Exposure to contaminants: 78 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 67
43 (tie). Mine shuttle car operators
What they do, according to O*NET: Operate cars that transport from the working face of a mine to mine cars or a conveyor.
Median annual salary: $54,210
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.3
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 100 2. Time spent sitting: 82 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 80
43 (tie). Plumbers
What they do, according to O*NET: Assemble, install, or repair heating, water, and drainage pipes and fixtures.
Median annual salary: $55,160
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.3
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 87 2. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, and stings: 79 3. Exposure to disease and infections: 58
43 (tie). Locomotive firers
What they do, according to O*NET: Monitor locomotive instruments and watch for obstacles and train signals.
Median annual salary: $60,260
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.3
Top three health risks: 1 (tie). Time spent sitting: 94 1 (tie). Exposure to contaminants: 94 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 76
42. Forest firefighters
What they do, according to O*NET: Control and suppress fires in forests or vacant public land.
Median annual salary: $50,850
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.5
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 80 2. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 68 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 64
41. Sheriffs and deputy sheriffs
What they do, according to O*NET: Enforce law and order in rural or unincorporated districts or serve legal processes of courts.
Median annual salary: $63,150
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 77 2. Exposure to contaminants: 72 3. Time spent sitting: 58
37 (tie). Animal control workers
What they do, according to O*NET: Handle animals for the purpose of investigations of mistreatment, or control of abandoned, dangerous, or unattended animals.
Median annual salary: $37,590
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.8
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 79 2. Exposure to contaminants: 70 3. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 66
37 (tie). Embalmer
What they do, according to O*NET: Prepare bodies for burial in conformity with legal requirements.
Median annual salary: $47,760
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.8
Top three health risks: 1 (tie). Exposure to disease and infections: 83 1 (tie). Exposure to contaminants: 83 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 75
37 (tie). Elevator installers and repairers
What they do, according to O*NET: Install and repair elevators.
Median annual salary: $84,990
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.8
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 98 2. Exposure to contaminants: 82 3. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 61
37 (tie). Radiologists
What they do, according to O*NET: Examine and diagnose disorders and diseases using X-rays and radioactive materials.
Median annual salary: $206,500
Overall unhealthiness score: 52.8
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to radiation: 87 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 85 3. Time spent sitting: 74
36. Nuclear medicine technologists
What they do, according to O*NET: Prepare radioactive isotopes for use in diagnostic medical procedures.
Median annual salary: $77,950
Overall unhealthiness score: 53.0
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to radiation: 100 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 93 3. Exposure to contaminants: 44
33 (tie). Millwrights
What they do, according to O*NET: Install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to layout plans, blueprints, or other drawings.
Median annual salary: $55,560
Overall unhealthiness score: 53.5
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 88 2. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 78 3. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, and stings: 73
33 (tie). Critical care nurses
What they do, according to O*NET: Provide advanced nursing care for patients in critical or coronary care units.
Median annual salary: $73,300
Overall unhealthiness score: 53.5
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 99 2. Exposure to contaminants: 65 3. Exposure to radiation: 61
33 (tie). Municipal fire fighting and prevention supervisors
What they do, according to O*NET: Supervise fire fighters who control and extinguish municipal fires, protect life and property, and conduct rescue efforts.
Median annual salary: $77,800
Overall unhealthiness score: 53.5
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 72 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 71 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 68
31 (tie). Oil, gas, and mining service unit operators
What they do, according to O*NET: Operate equipment to increase oil flow from producing wells or to remove stuck pipe, casing, tools, or other obstructions from drilling wells and other mining operations.
Median annual salary: $46,740
Overall unhealthiness score: 53.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 94 2. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 89 3. Risk of minor burns, cuts, stings, and bites: 77
31 (tie). Chemical plant and system operators
What they do, according to O*NET: Control or operate chemical processes or systems of machines.
Median annual salary: $62,550
Overall unhealthiness score: 53.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 99 2. Exposure to contaminants: 96 3. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 71
30. Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders
What they do, according to O*NET: Operate or tend furnaces to melt and refine metal before casting or to produce specified types of steel.
Median annual salary: $42,250
Overall unhealthiness score: 53.8
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 99 2. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, and stings: 97 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 82
29. Emergency medical technicians and paramedics
What they do, according to O*NET: Assess injuries, administer emergency medical care, and extricate trapped individuals. Transport injured or sick people to medical facilities.
Median annual salary: $35,400
Overall unhealthiness score: 54.0
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 89 2. Exposure to contaminants: 73 3. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, and stings: 53
28. Wellhead pumpers
What they do, according to O*NET: Operate power pumps and auxiliary equipment to produce flow of oil or gas from wells in oil field.
Median annual salary: $55,040
Overall unhealthiness score: 54.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 100 2. Exposure to hazards: 94 3. Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 77
27. Refractory materials repairers (except brickmasons)
What they do, according to O*NET: Build or repair equipment such as furnaces, kilns, cupolas, boilers, converters, ladles, soaking pits, and ovens, using refractory materials.
Median annual salary: $53,990
Overall unhealthiness score: 54.8
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 100 2 (tie). Exposure to hazardous conditions: 85 2 (tie). Risk of minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 85
26. Refuse and recyclable material collectors
What they do, according to O*NET: Collect and dump refuse and recyclable materials into trucks.
Median annual salary: $37,840
Overall unhealthiness score: 55.0
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 97 2. Time spent sitting: 69 3. Exposure to disease and infections: 63
24 (tie). Medical equipment preparers
What they do, according to O*NET: Prepare, sterilize, install, or clean laboratory or healthcare equipment. May perform routine laboratory tasks and operate or inspect equipment.
Median annual salary: $37,440
Overall unhealthiness score: 55.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 94 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 92 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 64
24 (tie). Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers
What they do, according to O*NET: Navigate and pilot the flight of fixed-wing, multi-engine aircraft, usually on scheduled air-carrier routes, for the transport of passengers and cargo.
Median annual salary: $147,220
Overall unhealthiness score: 55.7
Top three health risks: 1. Time spent sitting: 93 2. Exposure to radiation: 73 3. Exposure to contaminants: 68
23. Derrick operators (oil and gas)
What they do, according to O*NET: Rig derrick equipment and operate pumps to circulate mud through a drill hole.
Median annual salary: $46,990
Overall unhealthiness score: 56.0
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 100 2. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 93 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 91
22. Municipal firefighters
What they do, according to O*NET: Control and extinguish municipal fires, protect life and property and conduct rescue efforts.
Median annual salary: $50,850
Overall unhealthiness score: 56.2
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 82 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 77 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 69
21. Veterinary technologists and technicians
What they do, according to O*NET: Perform medical tests in a laboratory environment for use in the treatment and diagnosis of diseases in animals and prepare vaccines and serums for prevention of diseases.
Median annual salary: $35,320
Overall unhealthiness score: 56.3
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 79 2. Exposure to radiation: 74 3. Exposure to contaminants: 71
20. Fire investigators
What they do, according to O*NET: Conduct investigations to determine causes of fires and explosions.
Median annual salary: $61,660
Overall unhealthiness score: 56.5
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 80 2. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 67 3. Exposure to disease and infections: 63
19. Medical and clinical laboratory technologists
What they do, according to O*NET: Perform complex medical laboratory tests for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
Median annual salary: $53,120
Overall unhealthiness score: 56.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 96 2. Exposure to contaminants: 91 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 79
18. Nuclear equipment operation technicians
What they do, according to O*NET: Operate equipment used for the release, control, or use of nuclear energy to assist scientists in laboratory or production activities.
Median annual salary: $82,080
Overall unhealthiness score: 57.2
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to radiation: 92 2. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 81 3. Exposure to contaminants: 74
17. Surgical technologists
What they do, according to O*NET: Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel.
Median annual salary: $48,300
Overall unhealthiness score: 57.3
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 82 2. Exposure to contaminants: 81 3. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 59
16. Stationary engineers and boiler operators
What they do, according to O*NET: Maintain or operate stationary engines, boilers, or other mechanical equipment to provide utilities for buildings or industrial processes.
Median annual salary: $62,150
Overall unhealthiness score: 57.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 99 2. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 89 3. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 84
15. Surgical assistants
What they do, according to O*NET: Help surgeons during surgery by performing duties like tissue retraction, insertion of tubes and intravenous lines, or closure of surgical wounds.
Median annual salary: $49,850
Overall unhealthiness score: 57.8
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 87 2. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 70 3. Exposure to contaminants: 69
14. Veterinarians
What they do, according to O*NET: Diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals.
Median annual salary: $95,460
Overall unhealthiness score: 58.2
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 89 2 (tie). Exposure to contaminants: 70 2 (tie). Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 70
13. Histotechnologists and histologic technicians
What they do, according to O*NET: Prepare histologic slides from tissue sections for microscopic examination and diagnosis by pathologists.
Median annual salary: $53,120
Overall unhealthiness score: 59.0
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to hazardous conditions: 88 2. Exposure to contaminants: 76 3. Exposure to disease and infections: 75
12. Immigration and customs inspectors
What they do, according to O*NET: Investigate and inspect people, common carriers, goods, and merchandise, arriving in or departing from the US or between states to detect violations of immigration and customs laws and regulations.
Median annual salary: $83,170
Overall unhealthiness score: 59.3
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 78 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 63 3. Exposure to radiation: 62
11. Podiatrists
What they do, according to O*NET: Diagnose and treat diseases and deformities of the human foot.
Median annual salary: $126,240
Overall unhealthiness score: 60.2
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 87 2. Exposure to radiation: 69 3. Exposure to contaminants: 67
10. Anesthesiologist assistants
What they do, according to O*NET: Help anesthesiologists administer anesthesia for surgical and non-surgical procedures. They monitor patient status and provide patient care during surgical treatment.
Median annual salary: $112,260
Overall unhealthiness score: 61.3
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 97 2. Exposure to radiation : 72 3. Exposure to contaminants: 71
9. Anesthesiologists
What they do, according to O*NET: Administer anesthetics prior to, during, or after surgery or other medical procedures.
Median annual salary: Over $208,000*
Overall unhealthiness score: 61.8
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 90 2. Exposure to contaminants: 81 3. Exposure to radiation: 72
* Exact median annual salary is unavailable for this occupation.
8. Flight attendants
What they do, according to O*NET: Provide personal services to ensure the safety, security, and comfort of airline passengers during flight. They greet passengers, verify tickets, explain use of safety equipment, and serve food or beverages.
Median annual salary: $56,640
Overall unhealthiness score: 62.3
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 88 2. Exposure to disease and infections: 77 3. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 69
7. Prosthodontists
What they do, according to O*NET: Construct oral prostheses to replace missing teeth and other oral structures to correct natural and acquired deformation of mouth and jaws, to restore and maintain oral function, such as chewing and speaking, and to improve appearance.
Median annual salary: Over $208,000*
Overall unhealthiness score: 63.0
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 88 2. Exposure to contaminants: 74 3. Time spent sitting: 66
* Exact median annual salary is unavailable for this occupation.
6. Nurse anesthetists
What they do, according to O*NET: Administer anesthesia, monitor patient's vital signs, and oversee patient recovery from anesthesia.
Median annual salary: $174,790
Overall unhealthiness score: 63.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 96 2. Exposure to contaminants: 87 3. Exposure to radiation: 77
5. Dental assistants
What they do, according to O*NET: Help dentists, set up equipment, prepare patients for treatment, and keep records.
Median annual salary: $40,080
Overall unhealthiness score: 65.5
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 96 2. Exposure to radiations: 85 3. Exposure to contaminants: 78
4. Dental laboratory technicians
What they do, according to O*NET: Construct and repair full or partial dentures or dental appliances.
Median annual salary: $41,340
Overall unhealthiness score: 65.7
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to contaminants: 99 2. Time spent sitting: 85 3. Exposure to disease and infections: 72
3. Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers
What they do, according to O*NET: Feed, water, and examine pets and other nonfarm animals for signs of illness, disease, or injury in laboratories and animal hospitals and clinics.
Median annual salary: $28,590
Overall unhealthiness score: 66.5
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 87 2. Exposure to contaminants: 82 3. Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings: 77
2. General dentists
What they do, according to O*NET: Examine, diagnose, and treat diseases, injuries, and malformations of teeth and gums. They may treat diseases of nerve, pulp, and other dental tissues affecting oral hygiene and retention of teeth and fit dental appliances or provide preventive care.
Median annual salary: $155,600
Overall unhealthiness score: 69.5
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 95 2. Exposure to radiation: 85 3. Time spent sitting: 82
1. Dental hygienists
What they do, according to O*NET: Clean teeth and examine oral areas, head, and neck for signs of oral disease. They may educate patients on oral hygiene, take and develop x-rays, or apply fluoride or sealants.
Median annual salary: $76,220
Overall unhealthiness score: 72.8
Top three health risks: 1. Exposure to disease and infections: 100 2. Exposure to radiation: 91 3. Time spent sitting: 85
