The 10 Most Stressful Careers

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Plenty of people probably think of their own job is the most stressful, but a new poll shows that distinction goes to members of the military and firefighters.

The 2012 CareerCast.com Job Stress Report found that enlisted military soldiers have the most stressful job; medical records technicians ranked as the least stressful.

Not surprising, the five most stressful jobs all come with significant on-the-job dangers. The second five might be more surprising.

The list is as follows:

• Soldiers
• Firefighters
• Airline pilots
• Military generals
• Police officers
• Event coordinators
• Public relations executives
• Corporate executives
• Photojournalists
• Taxi drivers

On the opposite end of the spectrum, jobs that come with the least amount of stress, in addition to medical records technicians, include jewelers, hairstylists, dressmakers and tailors and medical laboratory technicians.

If avoiding workplace stress is a primary goal for jobseekers, CareerCast.com publisher Tony Lee said there are plenty of attractive options.

"The most stressful job of 2012 pays about the same as the least stressful job, and the low-stress jobs are all indoors in comfortable environments," Lee said. "The high-stress jobs don't share that benefit."

The annual survey of 200 different professions measures work environment, job competitiveness and risk. The rankings were based on scores in five core criteria, including environment, income, outlook, stress and physical demands.

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience.