Some of the Safest Jobs in the United States

By Susan Melony

When you look at various careers, the issue of safety is likely not on your mind. When it is, you’re probably considering jobs that are associated with risk, such as roofing, electrical work or almost any other career in the construction industry. Have you ever considered which jobs might be the safest?

This article will cover some of the safest jobs in the United States and what the duties are of each role so you can understand why it’s seemingly risk-free. That being said, all jobs have risks associated with them. 

It can be wise to brush up on the role of economic damages in accident claim compensation so if you ever are injured on the job, you understand what damages you’ll be seeking and why.

Paralegal

If you’re unfamiliar with legal careers, you may have never heard of paralegals before. They are vital to the legal process as they handle many parts of a case and help make them run smoother. 

While not lawyers themselves, they assist lawyers by drafting case documents, performing research, speaking to witnesses and more all under the supervision of a licensed attorney. Paralegals find jobs in every location that would need a lawyer, such as a major corporation, and need to be flexible and knowledgeable. 

Each case will have different needs and will require different amounts of work. Their tasks will likely be assigned by a lawyer and will directly assist a lawyer in their case. It’s very likely that the efforts of a paralegal have led many cases to victory. 

Most of the work they perform, though, takes place in an office setting so they aren’t exposed to many workplace risks. The biggest risks would be unstable furniture which should not be present in the first place and slips and falls which can be avoided most of the time by paying attention to your surroundings.

Nutritionist

The complexity of law means the job of a paralegal is unenviable for most people. Another such career is that of the nutritionist. The most dangerous part of this job is clients who have severe allergies but the knowledge of a nutritionist will be able to help such clients avoid the offending foods most of the time. 

The difficulties in this career are well understood by any who have food sensitivity, allergies or disabilities that make eating difficult: dealing with people and their eating habits. 

It’s easy for a nutritionist to assess the health of their clients and their diet but it may prove challenging to convince the client to follow through on diets and meal plans. The danger here is not as much physical as it is mental for the professional as they witness stubborn clients listen to their taste buds more than their bodies.

Nutritionists work with clients to identify current eating habits, the holes in those diets that may be causing vitamin deficiencies and educate and create nutrition plans to help their clients improve their health. 

They may also sell health supplements, write about nutrition or be otherwise involved in educating the public on how their diet affects their health and ways to improve it.

Librarian

The job of a librarian is deceptively simple. For most people, it seems as though all they do is check out books, collect returns and place them back on the shelves. While these are some of the duties they perform, it is far from all of them. 

The dream career of many bookworms is also responsible for learning about and acquiring more books for the community, both old and new, assisting patrons with research and book location, organizing all library resources for quick location and easy use, keeping up with the needs of the library, hosting community events and much more.

There are a few risks involved with these tasks, but they’re relatively minor. The dreaded slip and fall accident appears again, of course, but falling books are another concern. Unsteady shelves or other furniture items, misplaced toys or decorations and faulty elevators are some of the other concerns, but are all avoidable or unlikely.

Web Developer

The biggest risks faced by those in web development are faulty code, slow or unreliable internet, and technological malfunctions. 

Web developers are responsible for creating and maintaining every website you’ve ever used, including the site you're on right now. There are three general career paths a developer will take with each having its own unique responsibilities and struggles: back-end, front-end, and full stack.

Back-end developers create the foundation of a website, the code. While this may sound simple on paper as it looks like they only have one responsibility, coding is a massive challenge. One small change in one section could completely destroy another and so on. Once the website is up and running, a back-end developer will maintain the code and ensure it remains functioning and up-to-date with modern safety protocols and functionality. 

Front-end developers create the parts of the website that users will see and knowingly interact with on a daily basis. Everything from the layout to the text to even the colors of the site are all the responsibility of the front-end developer. 

If one person can perform both back-edn and front-end development on their own, then they are a full-stack developer and have the tricky task of balancing a lot of responsibilities about a website on their own.

Accountant

Math can be pretty complicated, especially when it’s important. Finances are math that is important, as improperly balanced finances result in debt and unpaid bills, and this doesn't even consider taxes. This is why the role accountants play is vital and often overlooked. 

Without an accountant, many businesses would fail at the first sign of hardship. The biggest safety concern an accountant will face is unreported earnings or expenditures and overly complicated bookwork. And the ever-looming threat of slip and fall accidents.

Each of these jobs does have health risks, but they are mostly related to mental health and are minor, meaning they can be remedied quickly with little to no extra expense. 

While your career choice should be based on what work makes you feel happy and fulfilled, there’s no harm in considering the safety of your chosen career and understanding how to mitigate the risks you may face on the job.