If you think your job comes with occupational hazards like nerve wracking deadlines, angry customers or a grumpy boss, you should reconsider your idea of danger. These individuals face higher risk factors on a daily basis than most of us will never have to face in a life time.
Smoke Jumpers
These aren’t your average firefighters, these are the individuals who set aside any fear they might have and brave the sometimes deadly task of parachuting directly into areas being scored by remote wildfires. They reach fires via helicopter and their goal is to contain and extinguish growing threats before they pose a larger danger to more populated areas. The technique has been perfected over 70 years and smoke jumpers are trained to assess, analyze, and meticulously organize their plan of action before risking their lives for the safety of others.
Storm Chaser
Storm Chasers spend their lives defying survival instinct to chase down natural disasters as they occur. Some do this for the adrenaline rush and other do it to observe and collect data in the thick of severe weather conditions. Obviously anytime you’re chasing down tornadoes, hurricanes and the like there are some pretty serious danger concerns. Often times storm chasers face conditions that include iced over roads, powerful gusts of wind, greatly diminished visibility, flying debris, and unpredictable lightning strikes. This job takes some serious grit.
Mountain Guide
We’re not talking about the guy who led your nature walk at summer camp. We’re talking about the men and women who regularly lead expeditions through some of the most dangerous mountains known to mankind. Mountains like Everest, K2, and Denali. On Everest alone there have been close to 300 deaths in the past century, yet despite the inherent danger, these individuals lead their charges through some of the most intense terrain and wildly unpredictable weather that humans have ever traversed.
Crocodile Physiologist
Apparently there are people who willingly enter crocodile invested waters and attempt to round up the deadly creatures in the name of science. They study their physiology and development before releasing them back into the wild. This is pretty risky business considering the fact that crocodiles are basically left over dinosaur killing machines that are estimated to be responsible for hundred, if not thousands of human deaths a year. Still crocodile physiologist remains a profession that people are willing to do for enough money.
Deminer
Even after a war is over, it is inevitable that there are some dangerous components left around. One of the most common of these dangers is hidden landmines scattered about desolate warzones. Since it’s the year 2016, we’ve constructed machines that are capable of deactivating mines, however their success rate is significantly lower than that of an actual person trained in demining. Human beings are nearly 24% more efficient at deactivating mines, but one wrong move and the price to pay is massive.
Deep Sea Fisherman
You might think being a fisherman would be a pretty simple way of life, however, those of you who have seen Discovery’s Deadliest Catch, know the dangers that come with deep sea fishing. Being out on the open sea for extended periods of time can result in confrontations with tumultuous storms capable of throwing crew members overboard, which very likely results in the individual’s death. The dangers of deep sea fishing are well known and well documents, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that the mortality rate for these fisherman is 26 times the national average of other jobs.
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