CareerCastIf your life outside of work is stressful enough, you may want to consider a career that offers good job security, a positive hiring outlook, a decent salary, and few physical demands, deadlines, and dangers, suggests CareerCast, an online resource for job seekers.
To help, CareerCast recently compiled a ranking of the least stressful jobs in America for 2015. We're not saying these jobs are completely stress-free, but according to CareerCast's methodology, they tend to offer healthier stress levels and higher satisfaction rates than others.
CareerCast analyzed 11 different factors that can reasonably be expected to evoke stress, such as physical demands, travel, and competitiveness, for 200 different occupations. Each factor was assigned a range of points, and a lower total score means the job is less stressful than average.
Here's the full list:
1. Hair Stylist
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 5.47
Median Annual Salary: $22,770
Projected Growth by 2022: 13%
Hair stylists typically work either with walk-in customers or build their own regular clientele. The most successful doing the latter can open their own businesses and thrive.
2. Audiologist
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 6.30
Median Annual Salary: $69,720
Projected Growth by 2022: 34%
Audiologists work with clients to identify and remedy problems with hearing. They usually are in control of their schedules and work in a quiet environment, such as a medical office, school, or nursing home.
3. University Professor (Tenured)
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 6.94
Median Annual Salary (BLS, all postsecondary teachers): $68,970
Projected Growth by 2022 (BLS, all postsecondary teachers): 19%
Gaining tenure requires long hours of research and thousands of written words. For those who achieve it, being a tenured university professor is the pinnacle of academia and allows for flexible schedules and a controllable workload.
4. Medical Records Technician
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 7.55
Median Annual Salary: $34,160
Projected Growth by 2022: 22%
This is a fast-growing field, as more Americans gain access to healthcare. Medical records technicians often work in a quiet environment.
5. Jeweler
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 8.10
Median Annual Salary: $35,350
Projected Growth by 2022: -10%
The bulk of jewelers' work is done individually, though interaction with buyers is an element of the job.
6. Medical Laboratory Technician
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 8.98
Median Annual Salary: $47,820
Projected Growth by 2022: 22%
Working in diagnostic centers at doctors' offices or in hospitals, medical laboratory technicians analyze various samples at their own pace.
7. Seamstress/Tailor
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 9.56
Median Annual Salary: $25,590
Projected Growth by 2022: 1%
A tailor's work environment can vary significantly. Some work in wholesale environments, others in independently owned stores.
8. Dietitian
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 10.23
Median Annual Salary: $55,240
Projected Growth by 2022: 21%
Growing emphasis on proper nutrition should contribute to growth in the hiring of dietitians, and the increased demand translates into a pleasant work environment. The BLS reports dietitians can work anywhere from hospitals to schools and in nursing homes depending on specific demand.
9. Librarian
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 10.58
Median Annual Salary: $55,370
Projected Growth by 2022: 7%
Technology is altering the landscape of a librarian's work, but the end result increases the value of what librarians provide to their clients. Most books and reading materials will all be archived centrally thanks to cloud computing, making resources more accessible than ever before.
10. Forklift Operator
Jobs Rated Stress Score: 11.43
Median Annual Salary: $31,150
Projected Growth by 2022: 1%
The relative seclusion in which forklift operators work helps this career rank among the least stressful of 2015.