CNBC reports the "10 Most Stressful Jobs for 2013," and you'll never guess what jobs fall below military personnel, firefighter and commercial airline pilot, but above taxi driver and police officer.
Photojournalist
and
Newspaper Reporter
... numbers 7 and 8, respectively.
The reason given for these inclusions - by Susan Adams at Forbes - are "these times of newsroom austerity and mounting pressure to produce."
... the market for journalists continues to shrink, meaning that many reporters feel they must stay in unhappy, risky positions... when they would prefer to move on.
I can only hope that no coal miners happen to come across this tripe.
.... State unemployment payments max out just over $400 per week. For a family with multiple children, stretching that money to make ends meet will be tough, especially when they were accustomed to making much more. While some miners make it a point to pay off mortgages, car loans and other debts as early as possible, others factor bill paying into their monthly budgets.
As Hamilton put it, the hope is to find "work that pays what we're accustomed to having; you live on what your income is."
Browning's husband, for example, made between $85,000 and $140,000 per year as a mining foreman. The family now has a $750 monthly truck payment, though their home has been fully paid. Previously full checking and savings accounts, Browning said, are dwindling.
"I don't see where he can replace (that salary) unless he went to college," she said, adding that even then, she doesn't see much opportunity for high-paying jobs in Mingo County outside of coal mining. "We would prefer coal mining. That's pretty much all he knows. … He put food on the table for my three kids. That's something people need to know."
Browning said her family is not alone. She sees the strain of coal miners increasingly feeling like their way of life may be disappearing.
"These are proud men that have been able to provide for their families, and when they can't do it, it's almost like a depression," Browning said. "I think as an EMT, you notice things about people — people that never had a drinking problem, things like that. That's increasing."
Simmons said the worst part about layoffs is how suddenly they can hit. Her husband is working now, but he faced eight months of a layoff a few years ago. He was called before work to be told not to come in that morning.
"Here we are with two kids, a fairly new home and cars. It's scary, and it's a chance you have to take," she said.
The notion of the man of the household single-handedly bringing home wages to feed an entire family is why many of the men risk the dangers of coal mining.
"Most of our friends are coal mining families," Hamilton said. "These coal miners risk their lives every day, and they don't do it to be a hero or win an award or anything like that. They do it to provide a good life for their family..."
Posted by: Tom Glennon | Thursday, 03 January 2013 at 07:26 PM