If you think your job is tough – it probably is!

Is your work stressing you out?

If you’re a coal miner – yes! It’s one of the 10 most stressful jobs out there. First there are the long hours in the dark without access to really fresh air. Then there’s the physically hard work in cramped conditions. Oh yeah, there’s also the ever-present danger of being trapped or killed or developing a job related disease. Here are the other 9 most stressful jobs:

• Emergency Personnel often work long hours with little or interrupted sleep. They deal with people in crisis and with their own grief when things don’t go well.

• Corporate executives’ big salaries come at a price. Long hours, cutthroat competition, constant pressure and public scrutiny are all super-stressful.

• Newspaper reporters work long hours for little pay. Their schedules are apt to change with little or no notice and the pressure of deadlines, ridicule and layoffs make their job a lot less glamorous than most people think.

• Medical professionals deal with a lot of worry and often spend much of their workday on their feet and exposed to really unpleasant stuff.

• Police officers put their lives on the line even for a routine traffic stop. They must follow strict protocol, practice restraint and are subject to split-second judgments.

• Pilots and air traffic controllers work under intense pressure in less than ideal conditions, with no room for error and our lives in their hands.

• Teachers get no down time while students are present and take more work home with them than most other professionals. They are constantly being judged and probably have to deal with some lack of respect.

• Parents don’t show up on many lists - but it’s probably the most important and stressful job they’ll ever have.

• Deployed military personnel are in a category of their own. They are the only ones who do NOT have the freedom to take a break or walk away from a job they don’t like. Their families must sacrifice too – and then there’s the challenge of readjusting and finding another job when they’re done.