In this CNN report of America’s most dangerous jobs it seems that computer programmer and other desk jobs don’t carry too much risk of death, even if you’re a hip modern coder practicing “Extreme Programming”. Flying an aircraft is the third most dangerous job with 70 annual deaths per 100,000 workers. This is a sobering statistic when one reflects on the huge number of pilots who fly jets for airlines, a remarkably safe endeavor. Imagine how dangerous the non-airline flying jobs must be to result in such a terrible average. Indeed the spokesman for the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) notes that “Alaskan pilots have a one in eight chance of dying during a 30-year career.”
Those crazy drivers who deliver Domino’s pizza? They hold the 5th most dangerous job in America, dying in accidents at an annual rate of 38 per 100,000.
What about husbands? Where were husbands on the list?
That report only covers jobs not volunteer slave activities 😉
I read that CNN article. Regarding the sales-delivery drivers, like Dominos guys, vending machine stocker guys, etc. do not just die in accidents. They are also frequent targets of assault and robbery. You don’t think about Domino’s guys putting their lives on the line to deliver your pizza, but I guess they do.
I wonder what the statistical agency used as the minimum number of participants for a field to qualify as a “job.” I ran some calculations after the Columbia explosion in February. Astronauts have faced a 7,500 per 100,000 death rate. Others have commented that WWII submarine crews and presidents of the United States face(d) monstrously higher risks of death not reflected in the published statistics for current “mass-market” jobs in America.
“Selected occupations had a minimum of 30 fatalities in 2002 and 45,000 employed.” The source is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it looks like it only covers U.S. workers. To use an antisocial slashdot-ism, RTFA 🙂
Still, that’s an interesting point about presidents and astronauts.
The fatality rate of suicide bombers is no joke either.
Badoomp-ksssh!
But the winner must be any job that requires you to get into a car in the morning and drive to work. And doing the same in reverse at the end of the day.
I would argue a pilot taking a train to the airport is much less likely to die in a work /related/ accident then is a programmer driving to work!
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