Most often, the factor we most consider when looking for a job or business, is the pay. We just want to know how lucrative the job/business is, what the returns are. However, there are much more important factors to consider. One of the most important of all is the mortality rate of the job or business in question. It’s true that with any lucrative business there is some degree of risk and fatality, but for these jobs, setting out to work every new day is completely life threatening.
Here are the deadliest jobs in the world:
15. Truck and commercial vehicle driving
The risks for truck drivers are known to almost everyone, especially those who use the roads frequently. These drivers always transport large amounts of goods over long distances across the country. Most trips are made at night. There is a rumor that most truck drivers are evil – they have the ability to disappear in case of an accident. This is due to the very low survival rate in truck accidents, which are usually fatal. The accident rate is much higher in bad road conditions or in unfavorable weather conditions. This can affect the driver’s vision as the heavy trucks are prone to fatal falls when jumping into potholes. The case of drivers transporting combustible goods such as petrol or diesel is even worse,
14. Farming, ranching and other agricultural management jobs
13. Construction work
This includes roofing work, carpentry work, high-rise work, metal structures, building bridges, erecting telecom poles, etc. It is never always safe or easy with these jobs. Roofers in particular are always exposed to extremely high and unhealthy temperatures. Even amidst extreme care and safety measures, catastrophic accidents still happen. Sometimes workers thousands of feet off the ground slip off ladders, fall off roofs, or sustain serious injuries from their normally harmful tools and implements – hammers, saws, chisels, nails, etc.
12. Capture and domestication of wild animals
When we visit the zoo and wildlife sanctuaries we enjoy seeing wild animals that we know we would never have seen in real life if those around us had not caught and tamed them. Capturing and training predators such as lions, elephants, crocodiles, snakes, or killer whales can be a daunting task considering all of these animals share sharp teeth and a taste for blood. It is true that these professionals have already developed and demonstrated skills and tactics that allow them to safely capture and train these wild animals, but the fact remains that a wild animal is a cannibal! They are still at very high risk of being injured if not consumed by these animals. In fact, many years ago at a zoo in Nigeria, a lion ate the person who was taking care of it. On another occasion at another zoo, also in Nigeria, a lion escaped the zoo without anyone knowing where it was.
11. Bodyguards and armored car drivers
Depending on what part of the world we are talking about and who or what is actually being guarded, these jobs can get pretty hairy. The risks associated with this job range from robbers and other criminals to fatal accidents from speeding. Those guarding banks and carrying cash from place to place are usually at risk of being shot during robberies. The same goes for guarding high ranking men as they are always the target of others so the criminals have access to whatever they want and that is guarded.
10. Hygiene works – street cleaning, garbage disposal and recycling
The potential exposure to all types of hazardous materials increases the hazard level of plumbing work. These are the people who deal directly with the worst in society. Therefore, they are at daily risk of contracting deadly communicable diseases. They can also be linked to other forms of respiratory diseases, particularly those involved in recycling and exposure to toxic chemicals. The sweepers run the risk of being knocked down by vehicles in the course of their service. This risk is only mitigated to some extent if they work in the early hours of the morning when roads are less busy. Despite this, in most industrialized countries, the roads are always busy, even at midnight.
9th Line Men and Electricity Workers
Working with high voltage equipment every dayBasically, installing and repairing electrical equipment is bad enough, but working with electricity high above the ground is even worse and deadlier because of the potential risk of electrocution as well as the risk of fatal falls. I personally witnessed an incident where an electrical power repair shop was silently electrocuted while working on a faulty transformer without anyone noticing until after a while it should have come down but stayed there, stone dead! The extreme case is even when a lineman does this while hanging from a helicopter! Anyone who works on telecommunications lines is also exposed to a comparatively high level of risk. records have shown
8. Expressway Hawking
This is widespread in African countries, especially in the very busy commercial cities of Nigeria. Thousands of young people involved in this day to day business are at risk of being struck down by speeding vehicles or even vehicles that have lost their breaks. The reason why many people prefer it to brick and mortar sales is because of the high conversion rate. However, the associated risk cannot be foreseen. You can mostly see them where the roads are not so smooth and also around checkpoints. The street vendors are subject to several mishaps as they spend much of the day selling these streets. I personally know a young girl involved in this type of trade who was killed by a trailer.
7. Search and Rescue Team
The services of search and rescue team are usually deployed in cases where building collapse, fire outbreak, shipwreck, earthquake, landslide, flood, plane crash and so many other natural and man-made disasters. Whatever and wherever, on land, in the air or at sea, search and rescue operations are never safe. This is one of the deadliest jobs as these professional rescuers face the same danger as the people they are trying to rescue. You have to go to the most dangerous places and get badly wounded, captured or killed several times. Those who work the high seas are at risk of being attacked or choked by dangerous aquatic animals and being frozen in chilly temperatures.
6. The armed forces (police, army, others)
Armed forces jobs top the list of most dangerous jobs, the life risks associated with the job have declined sharply now that so many laws have been enacted to ensure their safety and the level of patriotism among uniformed workers has dropped drastically . Even so, collaborating with any of the security or armed forces agencies is life threatening. On several occasions, they must risk their lives to save others. In case of robberies or other crimes, they are always the target of gunshots and murders by the criminals. Worse still, in situations of war or other forms of chaos, they are always on the front lines to maintain law and order, and there is no turning back even if they get the chance
5. Fire Department
A high level of risk is associated with the work of a firefighter. Fighting blazes in forests and rescuing people from burning buildings requires extreme physical and mental strength. In some cases, extinguishing the fire can result in an explosion and the firefighters themselves are caught in the fire. They are also prone to respiratory illnesses that can result from inhaling smoke.
4. Airplane Pilots and Flight Engineers
It’s true that air travel is considered the safest mode of transportation, but that works more for passengers who aren’t in the air on a daily basis. For those who make it their job, their lives are put at risk every day. The main reason this job ranks among the most dangerous jobs is because of the high mortality rate and very little chance of rescue or survival in case of accidents. Among other very dangerous jobs, pilots have the highest wages and this is what convinces people to take the risk!
3. Mining
It is a known fact that mining is a job that brings with it so many deadly health challenges. It is such a dangerous job that miners wear emergency ventilators at all times to allow enough time to escape from a disaster. In addition to burglaries and explosions, miners face hazards they cannot see, from carbon monoxide to methane gas, and many chronic and fatal health conditions are related to their toxic working conditions. Miners face many daily health hazards when working with dust, heavy metals and machinery, hazardous gases, fumes and loud noises. I won’t be able to go into the details of the dangers associated with mining, but the truth is that it pays off. But I think life should be looked at before wealth. Mining used to be superior to deep-sea fishing in terms of the hazards involved, but with the improved safety measures now being put in place, the fatality rate has reduced.
2. Deep sea fishing
This work carries a very high risk of fatal accidents. It is reported that over 24,000 fishermen die every year worldwide! The lives of the fishermen are always endangered to a great extent as they are exposed to all kinds of evil and carnivorous sea creatures including monsters. Apart from that, they face other life threatening attacks like long nights on the high seas, freezing temperatures, storms, thunderstorms etc. In fact, this is the only profession where one could face a danger that has no cure – being swallowed whole ! It used to be the deadliest job, but recent discoveries have shown that logging is currently taking the lead.
1. Logging
Among all jobs, logging is considered to have the highest death toll. Despite safety standards and high-visibility clothing (which is not fully available in some situations), falling trees and dangerous equipment make felling the world’s deadliest profession. Woodworkers face life-threatening accidents every day. On many occasions, large trees fall in the wrong direction and kill the worker directly, the wrong branch may snap, causing the worker to suffer the deadliest fall, or the sawing machine may turn out to be a human instead of a log. Times without a number, lumberjacks have lost their limbs to sharp saws. In addition, they work for a very long time in dense forests. The job is generally the most tedious and devious job ever.