A while back I wrote a column about the worst jobs in science — the person who studies bad odors, for example.That got a pretty good response from people, probably because most of us like to know we're better off than someone else is. To expand on that theme of the working world, I have found the most dangerous jobs. You may be surprised at how many people you know work in one of the Top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: 1. Timber cutters 2. Fishers 3. Pilots and navigators 4. Structural metal workers 5. Driver-sales workers 6. Roofers 7.Electrical power installers 8. Farm occupations 9. Construction laborers 10. Truck driversJust looking back on our newspaper coverage the past few years, farm accidents, electrical accidents and car accidents have all been in our paper for causing deaths or severe accidents. Some of these jobs compensate well in order to draw workers. Many timber fellers earn upwards of $60,000 working a nine- or 10-month year, for example.It might be difficult to compensate some workers enough, based on the risk. One person working on the study said, "Alaskan pilots have a one-in-eight chance of dying during a 30-year career. That's huge."One Top 10 surprise was the fifth-place finisher — driver-sales workers, which include pizza deliverers, vending machine fillers, and the like. Traffic accidents contributed heavily to their high fatality rate of 38 per 100,000, but they also suffered from crime; nearly a quarter of their deaths came from robberies and assaults. That wouldn't be as likely in Rock County, but being on the road is a danger in itself.It’s fair to say that all of us who collect paychecks have good and bad days, but let's remember how bad a day could really be. Someone asked me Tuesday how long my working day would last. Considering morning and evening meetings, and writing about them, it would be about 12 hours. ... But I only worked seven hours the day before.Besides working behind a jewelry counter, recording books on tape, and creating works of art at Dairy Queen, my work has mostly been in writing. The biggest danger I've faced is bitter subscribers and paper cuts.I hate to sound like some country music tribute song, but cheers to all the hard workers in America who operate in more dangerous conditions than many of us do. Now, I better go check on my printer and hope I don't stub a toe on the way.
