Crack whore trainee.

President of the U.S.

Parking ticket writer.

They are always hated, they only write tickets to violators but are constantly spit on, have cans thrown at, and generally threatened every now and then... need i mention this is only on a college campus, lol.

Of course a high school teacher.

Mouse trap refurbisher.

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER.

Just sayin'.

Border Patrol officer

Retail Holiday Help.

But, then again, you know what you're getting into with that one.

Apartment manager? They seem to always be stressed.

probably any job that works on commission...

@mdkiff: That's actually a really good one. The fate of an entire nation, making decisions that will impact billions, and the position is paid less than a CEO running a company that's only a fraction of the country's economy.

Retail customer service associate.

Low level Mafia courier

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): And a lot of school boards aren't even paid.

Really? High School Teacher? I can't see them as being one of the lowest paid, but I guess it depends on what district you work in...a lot of my friends are schoolteachers, and if you "de-annualize" their pay (my area has approx. 2 months off during summer recess), they do pretty well.

At the opposite end, you got pharmacist, high pay, low stress.

Music Minister:

But they also choose the appropriate psalm or hymn for every wedding and funeral -- only some of the most important events in a family's life. And those stressful situations can create some demanding clients.

"Every now and then you'll get a strange request," said Dan Fenn, Music Ministry Director at St. John's Lutheran Church in Northfield, Minn"

---

I had the organist play the Notre Dame fight song & alma mater at my wedding. Because I'm awesome like that.

(Did anyone else notice NBC running the alma mater lyrics as the crawl after last Saturday's game? SWEET!)

I have to think call center folks, especially for utilities/cable/phone. No one calls happy, everyone thinks you are an idiot and management expects you to upsell every call, regardless of the customers issue.

@mdkiff: On a Stress:Pay ratio, I would say, yeah it qualifies. But then, it has perks. Like people microanalyzing your each and every move. And declaring your presidency "over" every time you have a minor set back.

How about Graduate students?! We are often mistaken for homeless people, we make pennies, garner no respect from anyone (except younger grad students), and our hours are "work until you pass out, we will try not to kick you while walking on you".

Ohh, and at the end, your research might be scooped and you can't graduate.

How about corrections officers?

@Dondegroovily: Mine among them, by state law. Everyone hates me and it eats 20 hours of my week in a LIGHT week.

What about High School Guidance Counselor? Their job is pretty meaningless.

It's important to have a job that makes a difference, people. That's why I manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination.

Curator? Hmm, I'm not sure about that one.

As for news reporter, I wholeheartedly agree.

I'd add a lot of retail positions, and food service. Employees in those professions have to put up with a lot of outright abuse from customers, and generally make minimum wage or not-much-over doing it.

@bhr: You beat me to it! Don't forget also the dreaded average call handle time plus all the damn scripts you have to adhere to....

@Dondegroovily: I beg to differ. I have seen a retail pharamcist's life threatened before- all over insurance, which is the patient's responsibility to know, not anyone else's. Also, working in retail drugstores puts one at risked of being robbed (which does happens).

@DannyJD: They are pretty low-paid, but only in comparison to people who make more. If you make less than the average high school teacher, I could see how you might think high school teachers are paid a reasonable amount.

I think my high school teachers were making about $28,000 to $35,000. It's a ton of work and a ton of stress.

Way back when, I worked for an answering service in a major city while trying to afford college tuition. After two years working there, I can truthfully and honestly say that it ruined my adult life. Putting up with rude doctors, attorneys, not-so-above-board construction companies, plus all their clientele (usually p.o.'ed), I have no doubt I would've been a better person had I never stepped foot in the place.

(FWIW, I became a public school teacher -- cakewalk compared to the answering service job).

I used to work Quality Control at a CD manufacturer. Nothing quite as fun as always being told "What now!?" when you walk up to them.

@ryno365: I think any kind of teacher qualifies. I have a few friends that are elementary school teachers that have plenty of stress for not a lot of pay. Same goes for many non-tenured college professors.

Elementary school teacher. What do you do with third graders' homework when even the parents can't complete it? ANY teacher in a low-income area (called Title 1) is in for an incredibly stressful ride. My favorite incident was when I was taking something to my best friend (3rd grade teacher) and I overheard a parent say, "Well, as long as she don't get no F, I'm cool with dat."

And that's the least depressing story.

@GitEmSteveDave_ThatChickRockingKicks: You know how much the average Jizz-mopper makes per hour?

Somehow, I thought "Mother/homemaker" would make that list.

@bhaughey: But pest control pays alright. Certainly compared to social worker or high school teacher.

I hear that entry level positions in cut-throat law firms and wall street companies are brutal. 80+ hours a week with low pay and high expectations. Same goes for medical residents. Of course, these jobs lead to potentially very lucrative jobs, but for the time being they are worked like dogs.

@Dondegroovily: Also low job security.

TV Producer? Really?? Every producer I know that works for a national chain/company does pretty damn well...ME on the other hand..I have to deal with their stress and don't get paid 1/2 of what they do!

@MostlyHarmless: Plus your name will be remembered for a long time afterwards in history, and you can even get the Nobel Peace Prize.

This list is bunk.

No retail anywhere on it?

Retail:
often times lower pay than most things on that list
abusive customers
little job security
random hours
etc

Consumer rights attorneys, or public interest attorneys in general.

Id say AT&T phone customer service rep.. Because everyone knows AT&T sucks and Im sure the reps get hell over the phone.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I went to a tiny women's college, and our fight song went to the tune of Notre Dame. Here it goes:

Beer, beer, beer for old Agnes Scott
You bring the whiskey, I'll bring the scotch
Send a sophomore out for gin
and don't let a sober senior in

We never stumble
We never fall
We sober up on grain alcohol
When we yell we yell! Like! Hell!
For the glory of Agnes Scott.

@The Cynical Librarian: What's a jiz-mopper?

@NETHED: Ding ding ding. You've got backing from an ABD who is mired in math problems.

I would add cashier and waiter/waitress. Way too much stress for what they make. It may not seem like a lot of stress to everyone here but these people are on the front lines of all the stores and have to deal with the general public and all their issues even if it is not the cashier's fault. They often have little training and no authority to make necessary changes. I was a cashier for a while and it wasn't too bad but there are people that will just make you break out there, and nowadays it must be much worse. I definitely wouldn't want to be one these days.

As for a waitress/waiter they again, have to take all of the general public's issues with food, there is also more to it as you are working for tips mostly. If you can't satisfy the customer, no money for you. Some people won't leave a tip no matter how hard they work, and even a small setback will mean no tip for the worker. Not to mention deal with complaint after complaint about food and people's special requests constantly, you didn't bring the water fast enough, no tip for you.

Nobody knows what its like being in one of these positions until you are actually there. No matter what you do some people are never satisfied, and both of these are very thankless positions, so even if you help someone, they will probably still leave in a huff.

@idip: I hold administrative hearings once a week for people who want to dispute their parking tickets. I see the abuse our enforcement officers get, and it is so sad. Nobody deserves to get treated like that.

People are almost always nice to me because they know I'm the one that makes the decision, but I watch them as they sign in and deal with the staff up front. They aren't so nice to people that are "below" them. Also see them come in off the street and yell at everyone around when they have just received a ticket. There is a reason we have bulletproof glass, armed security and a direct line to the police station. It's not pretty.

@pecan 3.14159265: Factor in that you're also going to end up being a disciplinarian these days since kids seem to be such shits who don't get disciplined at home. You can't teach jack if all your students are talking over you.

@thehouserules: entry level jobs at the big law firms still pay in the low to mid $100k area. Same with most Wall Street gigs.