# What job are you most likely to die doing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 6, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591 "2021-12-06T22:30:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/1 "2021-12-06T22:30:53Z")
I nominate President of the United States. Out of 45 Presidents so far ( remember Grover Cleveland was both 22nd and 24th), 4 were assassinated in office. This means it has fatality rate of 8.9%. I decided to exclude the 4 others who died of other causes while in office since their death was not related to their profession. Likewise. I discount Supreme Court Justices or other federal judges who are appointed for life and typically die in Office rather than retiring or resigning ( obviously some exceptions), since their death is not related to their job. Is there any job with a higher fatality rate than this? If you want to include all deaths on the job, that’s fine, but be sure to qualify it. In this case, the U.S. president would rise to 17.8%. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/2 "2021-12-06T22:42:53Z")
Statisticians would probably say the sample is too small to be meaningful, also you would have to compare death rates in professions over the last 250 years. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/3 "2021-12-06T22:48:36Z")
Logging. ---
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/4 "2021-12-06T22:50:46Z")
Any stats on logging deaths? I agree that seems to be a dangerous job. Another way to look at it would be number of deaths per worked year. In this case, for President it is still 4 deaths but now out of approximately 240 years of someone doing that job. So 236 of those years no one died doing that job. If 10 loggers per year died, but there are 1000 loggers employed each year and have been for 300 years, then U…S. President still scores more lethal. I am not opposed to defining the job very specifically. What about U. S. Astronauts. I think there have been 17 deaths IIIRC ( 7 each for Challenger and Columbia and 3 for Apollo 1). But I dont know how many total astronauts there have been. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/5 "2021-12-06T22:56:12Z")
I’d say you are most likely to die when retired. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/6 "2021-12-06T22:59:01Z")
> [@turtlescanfly](#): > > Any stats on logging deaths? Several sources I find with a moment’s googling all agree that logging is the profession with the highest fatality rate in the U.S.; this site says that, in 2020, logging workers suffered 97.6 deaths per 100,000 workers. > **[Top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs of 2020 | NCW](https://www.ncwriskmanagement.com/blog/2021/01/top-10-most-dangerous-jobs-of-2020)** > > Top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs of 2020 These are the most dangerous occupations in the U.S., as measured by fatal work injury rate. The first question... ---
**Author:** ![turtlescanfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@turtlescanfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtlescanfly)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/7 "2021-12-06T23:05:09Z")
So basically, some years being President is literally the most dangerous job in the world (100% fatality rate) but most others it is the safest ( 0%)? How would you calculate deaths per 100,000 workers for a job with 1 unique position? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/8 "2021-12-06T23:05:43Z")
> [@turtlescanfly](#): > > Any stats on logging deaths? > **[Top 25 most dangerous jobs in the United States](https://www.ishn.com/articles/112748-top-25-most-dangerous-jobs-in-the-united-states)** > > Roofers, power lineman, construction jobs are among the most dangerous jobs in the United States based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and studied by AdvisorSmith. Fatal injury rate: 111 per 100,000 workers Total deaths (2018): 56 The next most dangerous job is pilot. Then oil rig workers. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/9 "2021-12-06T23:09:32Z")
> [@turtlescanfly](#): > > How would you calculate deaths per 100,000 workers for a job with 1 unique position? As @Mk_VII noted, the sample size is way, _way_ too small (1 or 2 people per year, depending on the year, and a total sample size, over 232 years, of less than 50) to be able to make that calculation in a meaningful way. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/10 "2021-12-06T23:15:02Z")
> [@turtlescanfly](#): > > I decided to exclude the 4 others [Presidents] who died of other causes while in office since their death was not related to their profession. Some of those deaths might have been related to the profession; or, more precisely, where the profession required you to live. (Basically, there was a problem with contaminated drinking water in the White House) > **[Killer in the White House | The Saturday Evening Post](https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2019/04/killer-in-the-white-house/)** > > For over twenty years a silent killer stalked the White House. Was this killer responsible for the death of three presidents? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/11 "2021-12-06T23:18:24Z")
Kamikaze pilot. What? ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/12 "2021-12-06T23:31:19Z")
There’s something very unusual that I noticed in that list. For most of these professions, the “most common fatal accidents” are listed as occupational hazards that seem appropriate: “falls, slips, trips, contact with equipment”, and the like. However, for the jobs “Small Engine Mechanics” and “Supervisors of Mechanics”, the most common fatal accident is described as: “violence and other injuries by persons or animals”. The only other occupation where this is listed is “Police Officers.” Are small engine mechanics and supervisors of mechanics truly more at risk of deliberate violence than these other occupations? Is that number coming from proprietors of shops (who fall under those job categories technically, but are also running a business) being killed during robberies? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/13 "2021-12-07T00:32:41Z")
Adding Lead to gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/14 "2021-12-07T00:53:16Z")
In the medical field, surgery is regarded as a relatively dangerous specialty, largely due to exposure to bodily fluids while wielding sharp instruments. Pathologists incur that risk as well, plus the added hazard of exposure to surgeons. Any job that requires wearing a red Starfleet uniform must be regarded as posing an especially high risk of death. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/15 "2021-12-07T00:56:43Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Any job that requires wearing a red Starfleet uniform must be regarded as posing an especially high risk of death. Unless they are confronting Stormtroopers. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/16 "2021-12-07T01:00:20Z")
Similarly, if slightly less intentionally, if you ended up crewing a Nazi submarine, you had a 75% chance of dying in the service. It kind of depends on what you define as a job. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/17 "2021-12-07T01:12:36Z")
Yeah, you can define jobs down to find some really dangerous sub-specialties. For example, airline pilots are much less likely to die on the job than commuter pilots, who in turn are less likely to die on the job than a bush pilot. There are some very dangerous jobs out there that aren’t going to be listed because there aren’t enough people doing it. Stunt pilot for movies, for example. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/18 "2021-12-07T01:50:17Z")
What about soldier? Sure the death rate is low any given year, but during times of war the numbers are huge. Look at the 8th Air Force in WWII. They lost more personnel alone than the Marines did (I’m pretty sure that’s correct,) I’m thinking that even averaged out over the years soldier had got to be up there. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/19 "2021-12-07T01:55:08Z")
How about North Korean political cartoonist? ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2021, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591/20 "2021-12-07T02:05:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Several sources I find with a moment’s googling all agree that logging is the profession with the highest fatality rate in the U.S.; this site says that, in 2020, logging workers suffered 97.6 deaths per 100,000 workers. I was thinking deep sea fishermen (e.g. “Deadliest Catch”) had a lot of risk. > There are approximately 115,000 commercial fish harvesters in the country. They operate a variety of equipment and vessels. In the years from 2000 through 2015, there was an average of 42 deaths a year, a total of 725 fishermen, which works out to about 117 deaths per 100,000 workers. The average among all U.S. workers is just four per 100,000. [https://maritimelegalhelp.com/deep-sea-fishing-boat-accidents/](https://maritimelegalhelp.com/deep-sea-fishing-boat-accidents/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-job-are-you-most-likely-to-die-doing/955591.md?page=2)