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The Most Dangerous Jobs In America

Discussion in 'Jobs I Have Had' started by Ken Anderson, Jul 17, 2022.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ten most dangerous professions in the United States are:
    1. Loggers
    2. Fishermen
    3. Aircraft pilots and flight engineers
    4. Roofers
    5. Garbage collectors
    6. Truck drivers
    7. Farmers and ranchers
    8. Iron and steel workers
    9. Construction supervisors
    10. Landscapers and grounds keepers
     
    #1
  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Interesting.

    I used to drive a Coca-Cola truck in-town (Alexandria VA) filling machines, but I think #6 probably refers to long-haul truckers.

    My most dangerous job was managing a gas station during the Odd/Even Rationing days and telling people who were on "E" after sitting in line for an hour that their tag ended in the wrong number.
     
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  3. Trevalius Guyus

    Trevalius Guyus Veteran Member
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    I get the trades for my profession. Monthly fatality reports are included. Yeah, I work in one of the most deadly professions. Every month, five to ten tree workers are killed, an equal number are injured. Those stats include only reported cases, obviously. I'm sure there are more. At seventy, I'm giving serious thought to making my semi-retirement full. The mentioned stats, as above, usually are more heavily made up of the newbies and the oldies. I'm certainly not the former......
     
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  4. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    It took a second but yup, #8 can be dangerous especially if that person happens to tick one of the construction workers off.

    My dad kinda sorta accidentally on purpose dropped a hammer from a 2 story building. It’s a good thing the Super was wearing his hard hat but since he quit that very day he obviously got the message.

    In all actuality, #8 could be coupled up with 2nd Lieutenants in a combat area.
    Along that same vein, I wonder why the Bureau of Stats didn’t include the military? It’s voluntary, it’s an occupation and it’s a hazardous job.
     
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  5. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    That's a good point. They did include law enforcement. It was number 25.
     
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  6. Jeff Elohim

    Jeff Elohim Very Well-Known Member
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    Were drug pushers/dealers and/or drug users on the list ?
    If so, I would think those would be far more dangerous , topping the list.
     
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  7. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Naw. Using drugs isn’t an occupation although drugs do occupy much of a druggies time.

    So far as the dealers go, the way things work now is that they get caught and released within a few hours with just a slap on the wrist.
    Wrist slapping might hurt a little but it isn’t fatal.
     
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  8. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    Alaska has a lot of the top three and also has some of the highest death rates on-the-job deaths and injuries.
     
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  9. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    Wow I am surprised by the list. No police or firemen. It can be dangerous just going to the store now days.
     
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  10. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    As @Ken Anderson mentioned, law enforcement is #25 on the list which brings me to another question of why is garbage collection considered so dangerous?
    I found a couple of links that tried to explain the dangers of emptying trash cans but from my angle, I can’t see it. Perhaps in some areas the collectors still ride on the back of the truck and toss cans at each stop which does expose the men to some dangers but here, beyond driving the truck, everything is automated.
    The links cited that the guys have to work in extreme temperatures but again, around here the cabs of the trucks are temp controlled.

    Maybe they’re talking more of the dumpster collection guys. I don’t know.
    They do lift huge dumpsters over the cab which might get caught on electrical wires, tree branches and such but one would imagine that the dumpsters would be clear of those hazards before the dump site is established.
    Of course, there was the time when we saw a dumpster truck which was stuck under an underpass because the driver left the forks overhead instead of bringing them to the rest position but I’m sure that’s a rarity.

    Okay, it’s a stinky job and the fumes from hazardous waste and rotten garbage might be somewhat life threatening but when compared to working on and snaking someone’s sewer line, which one is more unpleasant is in the nose of the beholder.

    I think they should re-analyze the list and switch law enforcement with garbage collection. I mean, I’ve heard of people who shoot at cops and people who shoot the bull and even shoot the (*&(+ but not yet have I heard of anyone shooting at a garbage truck except in the movies.
     
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  11. Hedi Mitchell

    Hedi Mitchell Supreme Member
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    Probably because easily ran over by other cars. Hubby worked for city on highway years ago, that is death trap for sure.
     
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  12. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    Yeah, that part I do recognize especially if there are still guys who actually get off the truck to empty the cans but it is as I wrote, in our city, that isn’t the case. Two guys are in the cab. One guy drives and the other manages the levers that grab the can and empties it into the truck.

    So far as the guys and gals working for the county and city on the roadways versus the amount of drunk drivers and people on cell phones, I can see the danger in having those types of jobs.
     
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  13. John West

    John West Very Well-Known Member
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    Government stats should be considered as being somewhat akin to political messaging. It is always good to wonder where they get their data from, who handles it along the way and what kind of statistical sieves the data is run through.
     
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  14. Bobby Cole

    Bobby Cole Supreme Member
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    I’m pretty sure that the stats are the culmination of nationwide analytics. It’s a given that southern Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico do not have many lumberjacks hanging around (no pun intended) as opposed to the Pacific Northwest.
    The plains area of the U.S. doesn’t really have commercial fishermen the way Alaska does and some large cities still do have trash collectors who ride the back of the trucks.
    National averages and statistics have a way of not telling the whole story in any particular area but I guess it makes for good conversation.

    That said, when looking at the most dangerous places to live, our area is no where to be found even though if a nuclear strike were to happen the Redstone Arsenal would be one of the first to get nuked right after Washington, D.C. and maybe NYC and Chicago.
    I wrote “maybe” because any enemy can readily see that there are some facets in NYC and Chicago who are already bent on destroying those cities.
     
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  15. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Like "gun violence."
     
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