47 jobs that will always be bad for your health, and how much they pay
Andy Kiersz, Rachel Gillett, and Madison Hoff
Flight attendants are frequently exposed to disease and contaminants. Oscar Siagian / Getty Images
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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
Phovoir/Shutterstock
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
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
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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
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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
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
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
Vahid Salemi/AP
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
Chiaki Tsukumo/AP
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
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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
Brian Snyder/Reuters
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
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
Rebecca Cook/Reuters
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
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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
Phil Noble/Reuters
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
_______________________________
Andrew Burton/Getty Images
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
kali9/Getty Images
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
China Photos/Getty Images
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
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
Jeff W. Jarrett/Shutterstock
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
nimis69/Getty Images
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
PeopleImages/Getty Images
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
Goran Bogicevic/Shutterstock
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
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
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
REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
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
Olukayode Jaiyeola/NurPhoto/Getty Images
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
Rafi Letzter/Business Insider
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
Damian Dovarganes/AP
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
Apple’s Eyes Studio/Shutterstock
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
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
nimon/Shutterstock
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
David Gray/Reuters
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
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Motortion Films/Shutterstock
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
Rafi Letzter/Business Insider
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
nicolas_/Getty Images
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
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
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Heidi Jones/Getty Images
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
Getty Images/Carsten Koall
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
MindStorm/Shutterstock
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.
Robert Alexander/Getty Images
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
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.
andresr/Getty Images
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
Sean Gallup/Getty Images
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
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
Rafi Letzter/Business Insider
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
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
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
Kevin Rivoli/AP
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
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