Do the most banal tasks keep you awake at night? Do high-pressure situations make your brain shut down? Does stress actually make you physically sick? If the answer is yes, then these jobs — compiled in a list by Business Insider [1] — are positively not for you.
Do you crack under pressure? Crumble when you're stressed?
If so, you'd be better off pursuing a career in science or education than you would in healthcare or law enforcement.
Using data from the BLS [2] and O*NET OnLine [3], career information expert Laurence Shatkin, PhD [4], helped Business Insider rank the 767 occupations identified by the US Department of Labor by "stress tolerance."
The "stress tolerance" for each job is a rating on a scale from zero to 100, where a lower rating signals less stress. It measures how frequently workers must accept criticism and deal effectively with high stress on the job.
Here are 27 jobs that earned a stress tolerance rating of 93 or higher. If you're the type of person who thrives under pressure or can stay cool, calm, and collected in high-stress situations, these jobs may be perfect for you. If you're the crack-or-crumble type, you may want to avoid them:
- Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers
Stress tolerance: 98.5
Average annual salary (2014): $39,410
- Nurse anesthetists
Stress tolerance: 98.2
Average annual salary (2014): $158,900
- Telephone operators
Stress tolerance: 98.2
Average annual salary (2014): $39,350
- Dancers
Stress tolerance: 97.0
Average annual salary (2014): N/A
- Obstetricians and gynecologists
Stress tolerance: 96.5
Average annual salary (2014): $214,750
- Surgeons
Stress tolerance: 96.2
Average annual salary (2014): $240,440
- Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers
Stress tolerance: 95.2
Average annual salary (2014): $131,760
- Healthcare social workers
Stress tolerance: 95.0
Average annual salary (2014): $53,590
- Phlebotomists
Stress tolerance: 95.0
Average annual salary (2014): $31,890
- Broadcast news analysts
Stress tolerance: 94.7
Average annual salary (2014): $84,380
- Education administrators, preschool and childcare center/program
Stress tolerance: 94.2
Average annual salary (2014): $52,190
- Mental health counselors
Stress tolerance: 94.2
Average annual salary (2014): $43,990
- First-line supervisors of police and detectives
Stress tolerance: 94.0
Average annual salary (2014): $84,260
- Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders
Stress tolerance: 94.0
Average annual salary (2014): $29,410
- General internist
Stress tolerance: 94.0
Average annual salary (2014): $190,530
- Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
Stress tolerance: 94.0
Average annual salary (2014): $53,360
- Chief executives
Stress tolerance: 93.8
Average annual salary (2014): $180,700
- Costume attendants
Stress tolerance: 93.5
Average annual salary (2014): $50,270
- Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
Stress tolerance: 93.5
Average annual salary (2014): $43,420
- Oral and maxillofacial surgeons
Stress tolerance: 93.5
Average annual salary (2014): $219,600
- Child, family, and school social workers
Stress tolerance: 93.3
Average annual salary (2014): $46,180
- Correspondence clerks
Stress tolerance: 93.3
Average annual salary (2014): $36,240
- Funeral service managers
Stress tolerance: 93.3
Average annual salary (2014): $81,080
- Nurse midwives
Stress tolerance: 93.3
Average annual salary (2014): $97,700
- Psychiatric aides
Stress tolerance: 93.3
Average annual salary (2014): $28,430
- Respiratory therapists
Stress tolerance: 93.3
Average annual salary (2014): $58,490
- Umpires, referees, and other sports officials
Stress tolerance: 93.3
Average annual salary (2014): $33,400
Check out more great stories from Business Insider:
- 24 High-Paying Jobs For People Who Don't Like Stress [5]
- This Nighttime Routine Will Help You Be More Productive in the Morning [6]
- 21 Things Hiring Managers Wish You Knew [7]
- Body Language Mistakes Successful People Never Make [8]