These are tough times.
The job market is shrinking and becoming fiercely competitive, and a university education is no longer a guarantee of financial security and work stability.
So many college grads, students, and drop-outs are turning to professions hitherto unthinkable for those of sound mind and a desire to see their genetic material passed on.
Surely you thought undertaker was the scariest profession in the world, but it’s merely child’s play compared to some of these.
Brace yourself, here are the scariest jobs in the world.
Forensic Entomologist
Combining the skills and creepiness of a forensic pathologist, a pest control worker and a mortician, the forensic entomologist deals with the blood-curdling holy trinity of the macabre: death, blood and insects.
Specifically, the forensic entomologist studies the insects that infest human remains to aid legal investigations.
Forensic entomologists use the life cycle of insects found on dead bodies to determine how long a person has been dead.
If you've got a weak stomach, a fear of insects, or an aversion to blood and cadavers, you might want to steer clear of the spine-chilling world of forensic entomology.
For example, the presence of fly eggs may show that someone has been dead for only a few minutes, while the presence of beetles may show that an individual has been dead for over a week.
By determining the time of death, forensic entomologists play an important role in helping other forensic scientists reconstruct the events leading up to a person’s death, thereby helping to solve the case.
If you can’t stomach the sight of blood and dead bodies, and insects creep you out, this is clearly not the career choice for you.
Miner
“The work of miners is essential to the prosperity of the world.”
Herbert Hoover
With mining accidents occurring frequently (recall the incident in Chile and in China), the high probability of dying from a respiratory disease later on in life, and the idea of spending part of your life deep in the bowels of the earth, make mining one scary job indeed.
However, miners do get paid well.
Despite the inherent risks, the promise of a substantial income may tempt individuals to overcome their claustrophobic fears and delve into the depths of the earth.
Specialization, bonuses and overtime can mean anywhere between $150,000 to $200,000 a year, which is perhaps the only reason to set aside your claustrophobia and start digging.
Broadcast Tower Technician & Window Washer
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Steve Jobs
Want to propel your career to new heights?
Think about washing windows on skyscrapers or become a Broadcast Tower Technician.
The tallest building in America is the Willis Tower at 1,451 feet high, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur each measure at 1,482.6 feet high, while the tallest broadcast tower is the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota at a dizzying 2,063 feet high.
And whether you’re washing the windows on one of those babies or performing routine maintenance on the KVLY tower, you will at one point need to go to the very top, something most people would not be able to cope with.
Broadcasting towers and skyscraper windows: where the fear of heights meets the lure of lucrative paychecks. Just remember, it's a long way down if you can't handle the altitude.
Needless to say, if you suffer from vertigo, acrophobia (fear of heights) or astraphobia (fear of thunder and lightning), this is not for you.
On the bright side though, window washers make an average of $25 an hour, which could add up to $200,000 a year and broadcast tower technicians can make an average salary of $68,000 a year.
Curiously enough, BTTs are required to have at least a college associate degree, lest you ignominiously plunge to your death a complete ignoramus.
Bomb Squad Technician
Topping the list of required skills for bomb squad technicians are bravery and nerves of steel, beyond the technical skills.
However, police departments are increasingly employing robots for bomb disposal, limiting human interference in the job.
Bomb squad technicians, where courage is your strongest armor, but the threat of obliteration looms large.
Average salary ranges from $39,000 to $119,000, hardly enough to compensate for the possibility of being obliterated into a thousand pieces.
Field Epidemiologist
Field epidemiologists identify the cause or source of an infectious disease outbreak, contain its spread and organize treatment to infected patients whenever possible, usually at the source of the outbreak with little more than a hazmat suit for protection.
They’re usually employed by organizations like the CDC to go into “Hot Zones” and prevent outbreaks from turning into full-on pandemics.
Field epidemiologists: battling outbreaks where danger lurks in every swab. A commendable mission, but not for the faint-hearted.
Apart from being exposed to disease-causing agents and the risk that entails, they are also in contact with germs, blood, needles and dead bodies on a daily basis, not a very nice workday.
Field epidemiologists can earn up to $100,000 a year, depending on experience.
CTS Decon Technician
Crime scenes can be gruesome, and once the investigators are done with their job, someone has to clean the mess up.
In comes the CTS Decon Technician. CTS Decon stands for crime and trauma scene decontamination, and this task is typically handled by private companies.
A CTS Decon Technician has to handle and clean up potentially hazardous waste materials or bodily fluids, such as cerebrospinal (brain-spine) fluid, amniotic fluid, blood, semen or vaginal secretions, organs or tissue that contain HIV, H5N1 Influenza, or COVID-19 as well as dangerous chemicals from places such as meth labs.
These unsung heroes deal with hazardous materials and bodily fluids, ranging from cerebrospinal fluid to dangerous chemicals, all in a day's work.
Imagine having your lunch break next to all of that stuff!
An experienced CTS decon technician can make up to $80,000 a year.
Pharmaceutical Trial Subject
Also known as ‘human guinea pigs’, and once the career path of choice for grifters, losers, hustlers and poor students, pharmaceutical trial subjects risk their health and lives in return for quick cash, and sometimes the cash is the biggest draw with some participants reporting earnings of $80,000 as full-time subjects.
To get an idea of the danger involved, consider the case of the eight Londoners that volunteered for a week-long study of TGN1412, an experimental treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and leukaemia. Within minutes of receiving the first dose, six of them began to writhe in pain, vomit, and lose consciousness, according to news reports.
Despite the hazards, some individuals forge lucrative careers as human guinea pigs, enduring injections, blood draws, and life-altering side effects.
They were treated for multiple organ failure, and while they all survived, they were left with permanent damage to their immune systems and internal organs.
One lost fingers and toes.
Another developed signs of cancer possibly triggered by the drug.
Despite this, many people carve out lucrative professions as human guinea pigs, enduring injections, blood draws, dangerous side effects and the risk of permanent injury or even death on a regular basis.
Bush pilot
“To most people, the sky is the limit. To those who love aviation, the sky is home.”
Jerry Crawford
Statistically, flying is still safer than driving, but the figures begin to change once you start flying in a single-engine plane over the jungles of South America.
Bush pilots operate small aircraft in remote areas such as rural Alaska or regions of Africa and South America.
Bush pilots: where the thrill of remote flying meets the chilling odds of survival. It's a career where the skies may be boundless, but the risks are ever-present.
Statistics show that bush pilots have a dismal one in eight chance of dying in a plane crash over a 30-year career.
So if you’re thinking about becoming a pilot, always choose commercial airliners, and if you’re thinking of travelling the skies over the Serengeti, pack an extra parachute and some Xanax.
Cryonics Technician
You’re not likely to find many ads searching for Cryonics Technicians, as very few people actually work in this field.
Cryonics involves attempting to preserve people who are legally dead at very low temperatures, so that they can be revived in the future when medical advancements are able to restore life, and, typically, that means preserving only the head.
Cryonics Technicians: where science flirts with the surreal, and the preservation of heads opens a Pandora's box of ethical questions. It's a career that challenges our very notions of life and death.
Cryonics is controversial among scientists, but no matter what your opinion is of the practice, there’s no denying that any profession which involves removing the heads of people who’ve just died and preserving them at -200 degrees is a little bit scary.
Logging workers
In the world of forestry, logging workers are the unsung heroes.
Tasked with harvesting and transporting raw forest materials, they provide essential resources for everyday products. From furniture to paper, their impact is undeniable.
However, this profession isn’t without its challenges. The dense forest environment, physical demands, and inherent dangers require a unique blend of skill and courage.
Logging laborers: the often-overlooked champions of the woods, where they navigate the intersection of the natural world, peril, and a profound sense of unity.
As for compensation, as of 2021 in the U.S., the median annual wage for these workers hovered around $40,650.
This figure can vary based on role, experience, and region. For instance, ‘log graders and scalers’ might earn more than ‘log equipment operators’.
While salaries reflect demand, technological shifts, and economic conditions, many logging workers also value the bond with nature and the camaraderie in their industry.
Happy job hunting—or maybe not
The American job market, where the only thing scarier than the unemployment rate is the employment itself.
From bug whisperers who make Sherlock Holmes look like a slacker, to head freezers who give a whole new meaning to “cold calling,” these jobs are the epitome of “do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life”—because you’ll be too busy screaming internally.
Just in case you complain about your 9-to-5 desk job, just remember: somewhere out there, a forensic entomologist is having a worse day than you.
And if you’re still looking for a career change, well, there’s always the option of becoming a human guinea pig.
Side effects may include existential dread, but hey, it pays the bills!
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