Hazards exist in every workplace, although some jobs appear to be more dangerous than others. Looking into the list of the most dangerous jobs throws up some tasks and roles that you probably have no heard of before. Some are interesting, some are challenging. Question is, would you do any of them?
The ductwork, extraction and fabrication firm Airmatic has looked into some of the most dangerous jobs that appear within the global economy. Many of these will be unfamiliar to Digital Journal readers of.
Earning a living could cost you your life…What are these dangerous jobs and how much to they typically renumerate?
Crab fisherman
Crab fishermen navigate dangerous waters around Alaska in order to find shellfish, which are fished as a food source. but it does not stop there. The most common causes of deaths in the workplace for this role is drowning from rough seas, hypothermia, or being thrown overboard after getting caught in the steel cages used to catch the crabs.
According to the Alaska Fishing Employment Centre, deckhands in the king crab fishing industry can make between $20,000 and $50,000 across three months during the king crab season.
Electrical lineman
Electrical linemen install and repair high-voltage power lines and telecommunications cables at great heights. There is a relatively high rate of fatalities due to electrocution from the wires that can carry up to 500,000 volts and falling from heights. According to statistics, 42 people die on the job each year per 100,000.
The average pay in the UK for a lineman is £34,817 a year.
Sherpa
Despite only around 800 people attempting to summit Mount Everest each year, the death rate stands at 14.1 percent, according to the World Economic Forum. Most deaths come from altitude sickness, exposure, falls or natural disasters such as avalanches.
Sherpas are mountain experts can make up to $6,000 per job, which is just below the average annual salary in Nepal. This comes with its own associated risks, since the death rate for a Sherpa (based on 2004 to 2014 numbers) is 4,053 per 100,000.
Smokejumper
Firefighters used to have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, before new equipment and safety procedures brought the death rate down to 2.5 per 100,000 people.
With smokejumpers, people parachute down into remote places that cannot be reached by roads and use specialist tools to stop the fires spreading. Whilst the death rate is relatively low, the injury rate is still 700 per 100,000. The salary is unknown.
Underwater welders
Underwater welders work on ships, pipelines and submarines to name a few, which means they have to dive fairly deep at times with their equipment in order to reach the parts that need welding. The biggest threat to the lives of underwater welders actually comes from electric shock, which is why they use thoroughly tested waterproof equipment for all jobs. Another big risk is explosions from gas pockets created from the formation of oxygen and hydrogen – which can be lethal.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that for every 100,000 workers in the U.S., around 3.5 of them die on the job each year. Because of the high risk of the job, they are rewarded financially with the average UK salary being around £70,000.
Helicopter cowboy
This role involves herding cattle by using a small low-flying helicopter. According to a BBC article, roughly 10 helicopter musterers die in crashes each year which shows exactly how dangerous one wrong move could be.
There are no average figures of salary out there due to the limited number of these jobs.
Snake milker
The job title refers to the person whose job it is to remove the venom from the fangs of snakes. The venom is used to make anti-venom which is given post-bite where it can be deadly if not administered immediately.
The typical pay rates are up to £30,000 a year in the U.K.
White Helmets
White Helmets are members of the all-volunteer Syria Civil Defence organization. These are the people who go back into the destruction bombs have caused, in order to find survivors in the rubble.
There have been 252 White Helmets killed since 2013, which gives them a death rate of 8,400 per 100,000. The typical pay is $250 a month.
Pearl divers
The best and most expensive pearls are found in the depths of the sea which can only be accessed by a pearl diver free-diving to the bottom of the ocean armed with a basket and a nose plug. The dangers of this include drowning, predators such as sharks, and the bends which comes from inadequate decompression following exposure to increased pressure (or ascending too quickly on a deep dive).
The salaries of pearl divers in the U.S. range from $51 – $73,000.
Bomb squad technician
the main role of a bomb squad technician is identifying improvised explosive devices and deactivating them. They may also be called to civilian areas to disarm explosives left through crime or even old war bombs which have been uncovered after years.
The salary of a bomb disposal technician in the U.K. can range anywhere from £16 to £45,000 for the more experienced diffusers.
