Why Do People Work Dangerous Jobs?

It can be tough to work many jobs, but some are more dangerous than others. In many ways, the danger is part of the job – for instance, the conflict resolution training that police officers receive, or many frontline roles in the armed forces can be expected to face some turmoil as part of their role.

Then we have the jobs where direct conflict is not necessarily part of the job, but the intensity and technical requirements of the work can put them in dangerous situations. At the lower end, we might consider tree surgeons who climb hundred-foot-tall trees to cut branches for safety so powerlines aren’t affected. No one walks into a dangerous job thinking that they will need a workers’ compensation attorney, but it’s something that’s a ‘nice to have’ for a business and usually, dangerous jobs do come with dangerous consequences. An attorney being available is going to help anyone who works a dangerous job to feel protected.

But why do people work dangerous jobs, and how do they plan their time so they make the most of them?

If you’ve been offered a potentially viable job opportunity but aren’t sure if taking it is a wise idea due to the risks involved, consider the following:

Dangerous Jobs Are Often Well-Paid

Jobs that are difficult and dangerous to perform are often paid very well. Those who work on oil tankers in the middle of the ocean have to put up with the most extreme weather conditions, the need for continual safety checks, and sometimes even scuba diving to make repairs to the infrastructure they rely on. They work hard, long hours around the clock, and often have to work with an utter focus on every task they take.

For this – they are incredibly well paid. For this reason, it’s not uncommon for some to work monthly rotations or long contracts and then enjoy time off for the rest of the year. As such, this danger allows them to enjoy their personal lives more, and negotiate a good pay scale simply because not everyone wishes to do this work.

An Employer Is Still Responsible For Providing Every Protection

Your employer will still be responsible for making certain you’re safe, the ‘danger’ is not something you have no provisions against or cannot plan for. Safety equipment, proper safety test and checks of your protocols and tasks for the day, it all counts.

Those who work dangerous jobs may have to sign contracts suggesting they understand the risks involved and will be insured to a suitable standard. However, this doesn’t mean that you have no leg to stand on if safety provisions are ignored or if negligence takes place. You need only speak with an oilfield injury lawyer to see how counsel can help you gain the compensation you deserve should an issue take place – and this keeps employers on their toes, conforming to the right standard and making sure every provision is accounted for.

Working Schedules Can Vary

Dangerous jobs often demand a different lifestyle than many other nine-to-five schedules. For some, this is ideal. For example, working on a fishing crew in a place like Alaska can be tough, and expect long schedules like twelve-hour days, especially working in the dark during the winter.

However, it’s also true to say that, as explained before, you may gain plenty of time in the off-season. For some this is desirable, as long months without breaks from their family can be paid for with long months away, allowing them to be more present during the day. 

For some, working at night is more preferable, for others, the chance to travel and solely focus on work and meagre lodgings provides a kind of simplified freedom that can help them live healthily and provide for those they love.

Hard, Specified Work Is Often Satisfying

Dangerous jobs, like structural iron and steel working, underground mining machine operating, flight engineering and even roofing, are often dangerous because they require fraught physical surroundings in order to apply work that really matters.

As such, there’s a great deal of technical capability involved in these workplaces, which means the work you do is important, effective, necessary, and often quite practical. This technical approach can be very satisfying, and many workers of this nature report a sense of real satisfaction after the shift ends. Working in teams collaborating on a project, solving problems in trying conditions, doesn’t speak to everyone but to those it does speak to, a sense of mutual cooperation and willing forward focus comes to mind. This should explain most clearly why people keep returning to this craft.

This is also because:

Technical Trades Have Plenty Of Room For Advancement

As you can imagine, not everyone is interested in a career surrounded by such conditions, as such, experience in this field, including leading teams, committing to safety checks and managing logistics, is highly coveted.

There’s a great deal of advancement possible here, then, from moving onto team leads to moving into administration or even recruitment for such tasks. For many, what begins as a simple and alternative lifestyle becomes a well-paid career where the risks become a costed part of the job they do, and with each project undertaken more knowledge and safety understanding comes to light.

On top of this, the chance to travel around the world to a range of unique environments, such as frozen areas laying pipeline, oil rigs or fields as discussed above, working on large construction projects; it all becomes a lifestyle that you consider to be more than worth the exposure to unstable conditions.

In conclusion, we hope you can better understand the range of virtues and benefits associated with working in tough conditions. While it may not seem interesting, comfortable or even enjoyable for many on the surface, lies a range of professionals who begin in certain fields and become truly appreciative of the lifestyle and extra compensation it can afford.

In addition to this, adhering to best practices and becoming responsible for your team in kind, just as they’re responsible for you, can be a healthy means of ensuring safety. Dangerous jobs don’t have to be reckless, as that danger can be managed and after a while becomes integrated into your practice.

With this advice, we hope your consideration of a dangerous job isn’t necessarily dismissed solely because of the risks involved. You may be able to make a clearer decision with that information in mind.