People are always saying “do what you love and love what you do”, but very few people on this list probably follow that. There’s regular jobs like fixing bridges or crunching numbers, and then there’s work like climbing up 2000 foot high towers or flying a plane through a hurricane for ‘research’. Either way, if there’s a job, there’s almost always someone willing to do it. Sometimes it’s out of necessity, but there’s also a bunch of people who just like pissing their pants on a regular basis.
Here are some of the scariest jobs in the world!
1. Alaskan Crab Fisherman
It may sound comical, but this job makes up almost a third of all occupational deaths in Alaska, The reasons for this are the harsh, unforgiving weather, the icy cold water and the terrible conditions, which can lead to hypothermia. Also, there’s always the danger of drowning.
2. Piloting through hurricane
NASA really wants to understand how hurricanes work. Apart from flying drones through them, they also have dedicated pilots who literally have to fly through a hurricane. Damn.
3. Bomb Squad
There’s not much to explain about this line of work. You wear all these futuristic suits and go dispose of bombs… and probably shit your pants at the same time.
4. Miner
Working deep underground, the danger isn’t just major claustrophobia. There’s exposure to dust and gases that can cause horrible lung and general health problems. Apart from that, there’s also the danger of getting stuck underground if there’s a cave-in.
5. Communication Tower Climber
This job is said to have the most deaths per capita. It’s just common sense really, you climb up to heights greater than 2000 feet, there’s bound to be some problems.
6. Skydiving Instructor
It’s not scary if you’re a thrill seeker and love your heights, but the job still involves jumping out of a plane again and again and again. Getting life insurance is probably pretty hard.
7. Prison Officers
Dealing with murderers, rapists and generally bad people on a daily basis comes with it’s own set of problems. There’s always the danger of one of them getting free, and there’s also the toll it takes psychologically.
8. Morgue Keeper
I get that people working around dead bodies have to be desensitised to an extent, but that still doesn’t stop a morgue from the being the cold, dark and pretty freaking scary place it is. The vibes are horrible, but I guess somebody’s gotta do it!
9. Forensic Entomologist
These guys look for clues in murder victims by investigating what lives inside cadavers — maggots, flies, and other strange things. It helps in dating and other criminal aspects I don’t understand.
10. Arachnologist
This won’t be scary for everybody, but spending your life working with spiders that are mostly bigger than the standard bathroom variety doesn’t sound like fun.
11. Field epidemiologist
These are the people you see wearing scary hazmat suits and tending to people when an epidemic like SARS or Swine Flu breaks out. They literally have to come face to face with Ebola, just saying.
12. Animal Handler
It’s all fun and games until you get your head stuck in the jaws of a crocodile. It’s always a little dangerous dealing with unpredictable animals, and there’s chances of things gettint bitten, stung and generally being a bloody mess.
13. War Correspondent
Throw everything you know about news reporting out the window if you’re going into this line of work. Keeping a straight face and a steady mind in the midst of a ravaged, ongoing and terrifying warzone is one of the scariest and most commendable jobs there is.