Office Rat-A-Tat: Dangerous Jobs

A couple weeks back I posted on one terribly humiliating job I had back in college and asked you to comment on your worst job ever. Thanks for all the wonderful remarks"¦ I definitely feel humbled now (read: glad I'm not the only loser out there).

Today, I'm looking at jobs again: the country's most dangerous jobs. According to a recent article in Forbes: "For the second straight year, fishing and related activities topped the fatality list, with 142 deaths per 100,000 workers. Slips and overboard falls continue to wreak havoc on some commercial fishing boats off the coasts of Alaska, Massachusetts and other seaboard areas." After fishermen, we have pilots and aircraft engineers, with a rate of 88 per 100,000 employees.

As you might expect, 92% of all work-related deaths happened to men, not women. The article also revealed some good news, rather cheerily (!): homicides at the workplace were down to 516, the lowest total in 12 years (compare that to 585 murders in 1999). Whooohoooo!

Agricultural workers busy in the fields accounted for 158 work-related deaths last year. Hit hardest in that sector were Wyoming, Alaska, North Dakota and Montana, earning them a proud share of the dubious title "The 4 most dangerous states for workers."

For me, the only dangerous encounter I've ever had at my desk here in LA or NYC was when I accidentally spilled the insides of a dying toner cartridge all over the CFO's brand new suit. Wasn't pretty I tell you.
Any danger involved with your job? My new feature—Office Rat-A-Tat—starts now!