If you like the idea of getting paid well while your blood is pumping, you have plenty of options. You won’t have to worry about getting bored in one of these careers and instead of spending your time off seeking thrills, you can relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Here are five of the most dangerous, highest-paying careers.
1. Underwater Welder
Underwater welders earn as much as $400,000 per year and commonly get months of time off between jobs. There’s no shortage of true danger in this career. The long list of debilitating or deadly hazards includes explosion, electrocution, equipment failure and underwater predators.
2. Oil Driller
Oil drillers make a median salary of $101,000. The work requires long hours of backbreaking work and exposure to environmental hazards. If you choose this career, you’ll be using heavy equipment frequently in locations that may be far from medical care. In offshore positions, you’ll also face risks of falling into the open ocean and drowning.
3. Private Detective
Private detectives can earn as much as $79,000 each year. The work can involve tracking criminals and cheating lovers, and the subjects of your investigations may not always be happy about your snooping. Private investigators frequently visit unsafe areas and take cases that law enforcement officers won’t touch.
4. Power Line Repair Worker
Electrical line workers can make as much as $83,000 per year. In the process of earning a living this way, you’ll get to fix power lines using awesome tools, sometimes at great heights. Some line workers specialize in repairing live high-tension wires while hanging from a helicopter. Since this is usually an on-call position, your next thrill could come at any time, day or night.
5. Construction
Although construction jobs aren’t inherently dangerous, they come with their share of thrills. Construction workers have to put roofs on ten story buildings. This means that you may find yourself high in the air with nothing but a small harness keeping you front slipping to your death. Construction workers also have to work with lots of heavy equipment and machinery. According to Edwin L. Gagnon, a workers compensation attorney, construction workers are in one of the career fields that are more susceptible to getting hurt on the job.
6. Paramilitary
Paramilitary personnel can earn anywhere from $58,000 to $81,000 depending on rank and location. The career involves working in dangerous, often remote locations to protect secret U.S. interests for shadowy government employers. Carrying heavy firepower and getting plenty of time off are two big perks enjoyed by many paramilitary.
The careers listed here will easily satisfy cravings for adventure. The constant hazards of these jobs may be unpleasant sometimes, or even often, but your life will be far from boring. If you have the ability, the fortitude and the need for constant stimulation, you may just succeed on one of these paths and find deep satisfaction in doing work that few people would dare attempt for any amount of pay.
