Most Stressful Jobs in America

We take up jobs to pay the bills and to make money, but how many of us are really happy with the work we have to do. We all complain about our working hours and our salary, and the truth is that we will never be satisfied, because the grass always seems greener on the other side.

But there are some jobs that are certainly more stressful than others. There are many reasons for this right from dealing with angry customers, to unhealthy night shifts, to irregular traveling requirements, right to the pressure of saving people's lives.

Some professions require far more commitment than others, and these are the professions that cause the most amount of stress in the world. But this is a necessary experience, because our world will not have progressed so far without some people overcoming difficulties.

This seems like a rosy and peachy job from the outside, but the reality is far from that. Dealing with the perpetual, and sometimes maddening needs and inquiries of clients can be quite infuriating.

Moreover, buying a house is a big deal for clients due to the vast amount of money involved, and if something goes wrong with the house due to some legal issue or other reasons, the first person who gets blamed is the real estate agent.

The need to meet targets and convince people to buy a house, the high level of competition and the erratic working hours also make this, one of America's most stressful jobs.

When we travel on our highways and roads, there are certain people out there who are constantly keeping a vigil to ensure that no one needs help. The job stress levels are high because the working hours go late into the night, extreme weather conditions are irrelevant, and they also have to deal with serious accident cases from time to time. All in all, this makes it a very traumatic job, and the pay is not that great either.

This is another job that seems very glamorous from the outside due to the high pay and the ability to travel to foreign lands. But at the end of the day, the lives of the people in the plane are in the hands of the pilot, not to mention the millions of dollars of the airplane itself.

One small mistake can cause a lot of serious and fatal damage, and this makes it one of the most stressful jobs around. Years of training and commitment are also required before one can become a professional pilot and take on various pilot jobs.

The job of a police officer is to keep citizens safe, and to nab criminals and anti-social elements. In most cases, police officer jobs are extremely dangerous and these officers put their lives at risk each and every day.

There are many dangerous characters out there who would not think twice before harming a police officer, and this makes it a very dangerous job. It is another of those jobs that no one notices when you do well, but as soon as you make a mistake, you come to people's attention.

When we speak about the most stressful jobs in the US, we cannot ignore the job of a surgeon and other related medical jobs. Surgeons save lives and they are the undoubted heroes, but a small mistake or moment of hesitation from them during an operation can kill someone too.

Their hands need to be steady as a rock, and there is absolutely no room for any kind of mistake. The level of stress is very high during a surgery, but if the surgeon shows any sign of this, he will lose his job permanently.

Any job that involves saving the lives of people, is bound to be extremely stressful. This is another thankless job that requires working at odd hours, as a fire can break out at any time. Weather conditions play no part again, and if the firefighter makes a simple mistake, he will be the reason for the loss of many lives. This is a mistake that he cannot afford to make, and this only increases the stress factor of firefighter jobs.

At the other end of the spectrum you have sales and corporate executives, who are steeped with work and targets that need to be met. This increases their job stress exponentially, and causes them to work late into the night, for a major portion of their lives.

In fact, the idea of work related stress in the world was set into place by the corporate sector and executive jobs, and many view this sector as the epitome of all that is wrong with the capitalist and consumerist world.

Another of America's most stressful jobs is that of an air traffic controller. There are hundreds of thousands of planes that land in airports all over the country, and one small mishap or miscalculation can lead to the loss of several lives.

Someone has to coordinate the taking off and landing of several planes simultaneously, and this is what makes this job and other airline jobs so stressful. The individual needs a fine attention to detail, and the ability to react instantly and use all the technical knowledge that he has.

A therapist is someone who listens to the problems of patients and helps them overcome mental trauma. In many cases, the trauma suffered by the patient is so intense and disturbing, that the therapist himself gets affected by it.

This increases the stress quotient of the job, because a person who is mentally disturbed can become violent and harmful if his situation is not handled delicately. This is not a very commercial and mainstream job, but it is certainly one of the most stressful jobs around.

If ever there was a job that stressed an individual out the most, this has to be it. Bomb squad officers have to react instantly to a bomb threat, irrespective of the time of day or weather. And then they have to locate the potential bomb and then diffuse it. All this without the knowledge of how soon the bomb is going to go off, or they could get blown up at any moment. This job looks good in movies and adds drama, but it is one of the most difficult job around.

When you pursue certain career opportunities you should be aware of the problems that it could potentially create. This does not mean that you turn your back on these jobs, because after all these are necessary jobs.