A couple of industries have the best low-stress jobs.

There are some jobs out there that have a reputation for being low-stress or having a low level of stress for the pay involved.  They vary in level of pay, experience and education required, so there’s something here to fit everyone’s skill level. Here are 10 suggestions for low or relatively low-stress jobs:

1) Video store clerk

2) Massage therapist

3) Medical records tech

4) Arts and crafts director (senior centers)

5) Website manager

6) Web developer

7) Computer systems analyst

8) Financial planner

9) Computer programmer

10) Actuary

Some of these, such as a video store cerk, require little or no skills or education which means that while they are very low-stress, they also pay very little. Others, such as the computer systems analyst, carry a bit more stress but pay far better. The real difference between them is the amount of education or training required to get the job in the first place.

 

The Best Low-Stress Jobs

If you’ll notice, more than half of the jobs listed above are computer or math-related. That’s no coincidence. There are several companies and individuals who regularly rank as the best jobs on the market. They take into consideration things like stress-level, pay, hours worked and time off. In most of these lists computer and math-related jobs fill or nearly fill the entire top 10 slots.

 

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As a former computer professional myself, I can tell you that the field is generally very low stress and in fact my stress-level was extremely low until I was promoted into management. I actually resisted the promotion but apparently I was the only person at the university with the proper skill set. I was told that I would accept the promotion or my raise, which had already been in the works at the time, would be cancelled. Ouch! There went the low stress.

 

Factors to Consider

When it comes to low-stress jobs though, there are many factors that you have to take into account that fluctuate from situation to situation. Is the boss a jerk? Is a co-worker a jerk? Are there strict deadlines to meet? Do you have to deal with angry customers? What are the consequences of screwing up? Will a mistake cost you your job, or cost the company money, or cost someone their life? These are all factors to consider when looking for a job or when choosing to leave your current job.

 

Some of these factors are consistent and predictable, some come and go. So while your job may have been ideal at first, it’s possible that one or more of these factors changed after you arrived to increase the stress-level. It’s up to you to decide when it’s too much and it’s not worth it to stay where you are.

 

Weighing Your Options

Of course, finding a new job carries its own stress so that’s another factor you’ll need to consider when weighing your options. If you don’t need much money then you can probably quit your job and go to work almost right away as a video store clerk. However, if you need to make more money and still want low stress maybe you can stick it out in your current job long enough to get the education or training needed to become a website designer or computer systems analyst.

Of course, if none of this works out for you, you could always become a writer!