Who has the most dangerous job?

I pen this thread to counter the notion that LEOs have such a dangerous job. I hear it all the time: "They have families to go home to at the end of their shift". Cops get leeway because their job is so dangerous, but is it true? As it turns out the logging industry is the most dangerous job per capita.

BLS pdf
It turns out that my job is the fourth most dangerous according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It goes Logging industry, Fishing industry, Flight industry, then Roofers. LEOs aren't even in the top five. Let me see if I can break some statistics down. 91.3 Loggers die in thier profession out of 100,000. 40.5 Roofers die per 100,1000.
Looks like LEOs comprise of 780,000 citizens.

BLS. Gov
76 died in the line of duty in 2013. That is 0.01% of them. Loggers are 9 times more likely do die during their day at the job. Us roofers are 4 times more likely to die on the job than LEOs.

Before anyone brings up their threats from a violent public and all that, here are the facts. 49 of the deaths were the result of accidents on the job. Vehicular accidents making up 23 of them.

Forty-nine law enforcement officers were killed accidentally while performing their duties in 2013. The majority (23 officers) were killed in automobile accidents. The number of accidental line-of-duty deaths increased by one from the 2012 total (48 officers).

Driving for an occupation is dangerous, look at the stats. They have the 7th most dangerous job. Cops drive aggressively. Maybe we should make it a priority to teach them do be safer on the job and have fewer accidents. I know what it's like to be on high roofs and be scared you aren't going home that day. We don't get through our day looking for praise and asking people to excuse our follies. We do it without recognition except by our families. All in all, a cops job isn't so dangerous. I can go into pretty much any backyard with an aggressive dog and not kill it. It is called have been born with balls.
I hear from military members of my family that cops pin on their courage and strap on their balls. I didn't believe it, until I saw how dangerous their job is.

If we aren't talking statistically, bomb defusing or removing mines is up there.
Scaffolding work or skyscraper building/window cleaning too.

a reply to: harvestdog

Protecting brave heroes is a good thing. Support fire, EMT. People that put their health on the line to protect you.

Tolerating power drunk cowards and thug mercenaries. You'll be sorry you did that. Very sorry. They will be the ones repo'ing your home, taking your kids, confiscating your assets, putting a bullet in the back of your head.

You won't see a parade held for a logger that dies in the woods.
Or for a fisherman that freezes to death in the Bering Sea.
But they do have them for cops that are shot in the back of their heads by their own partners. What is heroic about that?

a reply to: harvestdog

My job is surely the most dangerous and lucrative, that is, being a highly paid internet shill.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

We are talking statistically speaking, in relation to to number of employees in given industry dying on the job. I used to do high rise window cleaning. It was not as scary as what I do now. Being 30-40 feet in the air, on pitched roofs, with no safety harness is a far cry from when I did 300-400 foots window cleaning. When you look down it can make you dizzy. Have protective gears helps greatly to calm the nerves.

a reply to: butcherguy

It's heroic, because they are all in serious jeopardy of not coming home after their shift. Obviously. by the way, I used to live on an Island named Adak in the Bering Sea. Those guys risk their lives anytime they go out. I was there when it was 74 degrees. 1 degree from the record high. It is never pleasant there.

a reply to: InverseLookingGlass

I like fire fighters because I can relate to them. They walk around on high roofs, breaking holes in them and it's wet from their hoses. A lot of them fall and hurt themselves. That takes courage to do what they do. Saving people, while at the same time putting your life in jeopardy. Heroes.

a reply to: TechniXcality

Be careful out there. I've seen your posts and you didn't seem shillish to me. If you are trolling this thread, good on you. I wish I got paid for this.

a reply to: harvestdog

Nah I'm just kidding around, I have been accused because of my beliefs on strong national defense but I also have many more liberal beliefs as I am not not, nor is anyone else ever a cookie cutter imprint. But I get what your saying indeed there are many other far dangerous jobs without any prestige but just as beneficial if not more to our great society. Good thread star and flag

originally posted by: harvestdog
a reply to: butcherguy

It's heroic, because they are all in serious jeopardy of not coming home after their shift. Obviously. by the way, I used to live on an Island named Adak in the Bering Sea. Those guys risk their lives anytime they go out. I was there when it was 74 degrees. 1 degree from the record high. It is never pleasant there.

I might not have been clear. I think a fisherman going out to work against worse odds has more balls than a cop.
I don't understand what warrants a parade of government vehicles for a cop that was killed in a traffic accident. Nothing heroic about getting run over by a car while you are writing a guy a ticket for having a busted tail light.

a reply to: harvestdog

Then statistically speaking POTUS is the most dangerous job.

3 of the 44 have been shot dead...

That far exceeds 9 in 100,000.




Edit: if I'm right there is only 4 still in existence.
Tough job man.

The sole factor is not how dangerous the job is or not. I believe it's more of that constantly being on the edge thing, where any situation can go sideways at any given moment compounded by the things they see day in and day out that act as multiplying factors, that all first responders, LE or not, constantly live with.

a reply to: butcherguy

My sarcasm must not have shown through. I agree with you, and the point of this thread is others of us have it more dangerous. Loggers and fisherman don't get their due as you was saying. But they don't ask for it. This is just trying to clear up some preconceived notions.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Really? I can't slip up on my job because I now what happens if I do. I can't live my life on edge. If you are constantly on edge from your job, maybe you ought to rethink your profession. People can still make a difference as a first responder by being a dispatcher or something. It is not good for your well-being to always be on edge. We should not promote that. There are plenty of true alpha males who don't live on edge no matter their job or life circumstances.

Who has the most dangerous job?

Those guys on the crab boats.

a reply to: harvestdog

That would be the Captain of the Gerald R Ford Supercarrier - the US militarys most advanced tactical weapon.

Dangerous inasfar as although the Captain is in relatively little danger, what he has at his fingertips makes him, quite literally, the most powerful individual currently alive.

At his disposal is weaponry that can change human history in a matter of hours and imo, thats a very dangerous job.

I imagine that astronaut is up there too then. Not as high as president, but its close.

In other news, strapped to a missle aimed at radiation belts, space junk, and hoping metric / American conversions & old Russian engines are in good order....scary stuff.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

There you go, you did find a more dangerous job. I'd venture to guess there might be other ones that the Bureau of Labor Statistics didn't count. I guess being the leader of the free world has its dangers.
There are 5 left, but two might being going out of style soon.

a reply to: harvestdog

I think the most dangerous job is the complaint department.