Every job comes with a certain amount of stress. even some of the ones on this list. stress is unavoidable—and often seasonal. certain times of the year, or certain crises, can catapult a low-key job into an uncharacteristically high-stress bracket. but, in most positions, that peak will fade and the rest of the year and your career can be spent in relative calm. low-stress jobs that pay well do not come by easily.
the following 10 jobs have been deemed —based on travel, the potential for growth, the intensity of deadlines, public scrutiny, competition, physical demands, environmental factors, hazardous conditions, risk—yours and others’—and public presence/speaking—to be the least stressful options on the market. some of these jobs will have a high-stress time of year, or require some high-stress interactions, but overall they strike a gentler balance than, say, wall street traders or neurosurgeons.
if high-stress and high stakes aren’t for you, consider trying for one of the following careers.
Information security analyst
The growth rate here is about 18% and the median income is almost $89k per year.
Diagnostic medical sonographer
This position has a high growth rate (24%) and decent median income (~$62,5k).
(Tenured) university professor
Granted, you’ll have to go through tons of stress to actually get to this position, but once there, the tension eases up considerably. good money (~$70k/year) as well.
Hair stylist
The money isn’t that high (around $23k/year median), but it’s flexible and relatively low stakes.
Medical records tech
This position comes with good growth (15%) and a good median income (~$36k). you get all the perks of being in the healthcare field, none of the life-or-death situations.
Medical laboratory tech
this certainly comes with higher stress than working in records, but the money is better (almost $50k/year median) and there is still good potential for growth.
Jeweler
This isn’t a fast-growing field (-11%), but it comes with decent money ($36,870 median) and relatively low stress.
Audiologist
This field comes with great growth (29%) and almost $75k per year. we hear that!
Dietician
Here’s another field with good growth and good pay ($56,950k/year median).
Librarian
You wouldn’t expect a librarian to have more stress than most of the previous positions, but believe it or not there are cycles of higher stress that make this career rate a bit higher than even laboratory techs and professors. there’s low growth (2%), but the pay is around $56k annually.
