Worst jobs in America

- 'Job misery' index: 79.9
- Median pay: $33,100
- 'High meaning' score: 46%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 51%

Construction laborers perform the physical labor at construction sites. Widely considered a dangerous job, it can subject workers to falls from great heights, trench and scaffolding collapses, electric shock, equipment accidents, repetitive motion injuries, and personally inflicted injuries from failure to properly use protective equipment. 

According to a January 2024 report from the trade association the Associated Builders and Contractors, the construction industry needs to attract approximately a half million new workers over 2024 to balance supply and demand.

- 'Job misery' index: 80
- Median pay: $50,100
- 'High meaning' score: 39%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 48%

Railroad conductors are responsible for activities aboard a passenger or commercial train, while yardmasters manage the rail yards. Long hours and little opportunity to sit can lead to a sense of dissatisfaction for some, and consistent burnout. PayScale estimates that only 10% of railroad conductors and yardmasters are still in the industry after 20 years.

- 'Job misery' index: 80.2
- Median pay: $36,500
- 'High meaning' score: 44%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 50%

Computer-controlled machine tool operator is a catch-all term for anyone who uses a robot or other computer-driven device to forge or shape plastic or metal. This can include Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Lathe operators, CNC machinists, CNC mill operators, and brake press operators. Low wages, a high risk of accidents, and continuing repetitive movements can make this job unpleasant for some who do it.

- 'Job misery' index: 80.4
- Median pay: $28,600
- 'High meaning' score: 32%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 61%

Pouring glasses of wine and making martinis may not be for everyone, but most bartenders tend to feel satisfied in their jobs—perhaps in part because of their interactions with customers. With an average hourly rate of just $14.12 as of May 2023, bartenders depend on tips to make a decent living. And luckily, bargoers seem to be generous: According to a July 2023 analysis of 300,000 small and medium-sized businesses by payroll provider Gusto, bartenders earn more in tips than any other service industry job, which is perhaps why they rank better than other similar positions on this list.

- 'Job misery' index: 80.4
- Median pay: $33,200
- 'High meaning' score: 26%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 63%

Automation has played a role in employment statistics for this profession. One interesting note has been in the increasing number of women seeking this kind of employment in an otherwise male-dominated industry. There was a deficit in skilled trade workers a decade ago, which led to efforts to recruit more women.

- 'Job misery' index: 80.4
- Median pay: $24,700
- 'High meaning' score: 42%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 56%

Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks are typically the first line of contact guests usually come in contact with. These clerks receive and transmit messages, make and confirm reservations, assign room keys, present room and service rental statements, and accept payment. As they are guests' immediate point of contact, hotel clerks may be subject to verbal or physical abuse from dissatisfied guests. Clerks also must work long hours while standing.

- 'Job misery' index: 80.4
- Median pay: $30,500
- 'High meaning' score: 32%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 60%

Outdoor power equipment mechanics service small engines for power lawn motors, chain saws, recreational and sporting equipment, and other small gasoline-powered devices. Since these mechanics handle and disassemble power tools, there is a danger of being cut or maimed. In addition, there is a risk of inhaling gasoline fumes, danger from fire, or being burned by melted plastic or hot metal.

- 'Job misery' index: 80.5
- Median pay: $35,500
- 'High meaning' score: 42%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 51%

The workers operate machines that paint ceramics, metal, or plastic products. Growth in these jobs is expected to be sluggish by 2020 compared with most other occupations in the United states. This is partly because the industry is becoming more automated.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.1
- Median pay: $38,000
- 'High meaning' score: 44%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 47%

Home appliance repairers have seen job prospects dwindle as more people turn to the internet for help fixing things around the house. Those working in electronics and appliance stores stand the best chance of staying employed.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.2
- Median pay: $37,600
- 'High meaning' score: 41%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 49%

Foundry mold and coremakers create forms used to make metal castings. This job has terrible odds of employment growth in the United States, as manufacturers move operations out of the country, where they can pay workers less.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.3
- Median pay: $39,500
- 'High meaning' score: 29%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 56%

Film and video editors manipulate moving images and sounds on film, video, or digital media. The job may entail syncing a soundtrack to an image sequence, cutting and combining video and audio feeds, or converting video and audio from one format to another. While this sounds exciting, the work is actually tedious. Usually involving watching the same video sequence repeatedly to get the transitions and other effects correct, it is a job that involves little physical movement, having to take criticism regularly from multiple sources, and receiving little to no acknowledgment for the work performed.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.4
- Median pay: $24,400
- 'High meaning' score: 37%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 57%

Vehicle and equipment cleaners clean vehicles and equipment, as suggested by the job title. Usually subjected to corrosive or potentially toxic chemicals, these workers also have to deal with dust, grease, and other waste by-products, and usual make a low wage.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.4
- Median pay: $33,300
- 'High meaning' score: 49%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 45%

Occupations in the category construction and related workers, all other include solar thermal installers and technicians and weatherization installers and technicians. Like construction laborers, the same dangers apply—including falls, work hazards, and equipment failures—with the addition of such risks as electrocution from ungrounded solar panels.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.5
- Median pay: $34,400
- 'High meaning' score: 39%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 51%

Those who work in the automotive or contracting industries stand to earn above the median wage for this industry. The Midwest, California, and Texas have the most job opportunities for those doing this kind of work, although there generally are few jobs available for workers who specialize in these tasks.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.5
- Median pay: $36,500
- 'High meaning' score: 36%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 52%

Automotive service technicians and mechanics repair cars and light trucks and install new and replacement parts. A low-wage position, mechanics typically work in unclean environments and are subject to grease, gasoline, and potentially toxic materials. Mechanics are also exposed to sharp materials and dangerous machinery, such as heavy motors.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.6
- Median pay: $25,600
- 'High meaning' score: 46%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 50%

It isn't easy being a telemarketer. By most accounts, it's difficult to sell items over the phone. And no one likes being hung up on—especially not for around $24,000 a year. Telemarketers are not only seen as an annoyance to the average American but there is also a lot working against them as of 2024—from job security concerns thanks to AI to new legislation.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.9
- Median pay: $25,400
- 'High meaning' score: 36%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 56%

Stock clerks spend their days unpacking merchandise and stocking it in stores. PayScale notes that while a fair percentage of people report average satisfaction in this position, one downside is that not all workers have health benefits.

- 'Job misery' index: 81.9
- Median pay: $30,700
- 'High meaning' score: 37%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 53%

This occupation title specifically refers to delivery truck drivers and sales workers who operate on a local level, bringing packages, take-out, or other items to customers. Ecommerce is increasing the demand for these local drivers, but much of the profit from deliveries goes to large companies rather than to the drivers themselves.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.3
- Median pay: $25,200
- 'High meaning' score: 33%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 57%

The bank teller has become all but obsolete in an era of online banking and ATMs. Plus, bank branches are expensive to operate. A fair number of people in this profession don't have benefits, which might also help explain the low satisfaction.

The situation for bank tellers doesn't appear to be getting any better. Currently, the average salary is only about $36,400 and job security is also decreasing—the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 15% decline in teller jobs over the next decade.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.3
- Median pay: $26,600
- 'High meaning' score: 35%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 55%

Helpers help production workers by doing jobs that require minimal skills. Low-paying, these jobs typically involve tasks such as cleaning and restocking.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.4
- Median pay: $52,900
- 'High meaning' score: 25%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 50%

Computer modeling has dealt a debilitating blow to the pattern-making industry. Jobs are drastically on the decline. Some pattern makers, however, make twice the median wage. It all depends on, among other things, the location where they work.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.5
- Median pay: $32,800
- 'High meaning' score: 35%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 52%

Those who work this job in the aerospace-manufacturing industry on average make around $49,000, far above the median wage. While employment is expected to decline in the coming years, the decrease is far less compared with other manual labor professions.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.6
- Median pay: $40,300
- 'High meaning' score: 28%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 53%

Data suggests there's something deeply unsatisfying about setting a precious stone in a ring or creating a piece of jewelry only to have to part with it. Plus, the job market is sluggish: The government projects a 7% decline in these positions from 2018 to 2028.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.7
- Median pay: $29,300
- 'High meaning' score: 32%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 55%

On a typical day, these clerks verify records for incoming and outgoing shipments, and prepare items for shipment. The repetitiveness can get old quickly. Some tough it out for a better payoff: Clerks working for the U.S. Postal Service can expect the highest average salary in this sector at close to $60,000 a year.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.7
- Median pay: $24,500
- 'High meaning' score: 35%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 55%

With difficult customers and long days on your feet, working in retail isn't easy. A 2022 McKinsey & Co. study found that the quit rate among retail workers was more than 70% higher than in other industries, a situation worsened by the toll the pandemic took on these essential workers.

For those who do stick around, some say learning other skills can help boost a career. In retail, that might mean someone who works the floor learning how to use the cash register, or taking business classes to pursue opening a shop of one's own.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.7
- Median pay: $28,100
- 'High meaning' score: 40%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 50%

Team assemblers are part of a team responsible for a product or a component of a product. Assemblers in this classification usually learn how to perform all the tasks of the team and rotate through stations. Along with low wages, there is a need to learn multiple tasks—which can be taxing.

- 'Job misery' index: 82.9
- Median pay: $35,400
- 'High meaning' score: 27%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 55%

Printing workers are at the last stage of the publishing process: they arrange pages, operate printing and binding equipment, and do other tasks required to produce printed books and other materials. This work can be tedious and unsatisfying, and job opportunities are in decline as more publishing takes place online. Plus, PayScale estimates that more than two-fifths of workers in this industry don't receive benefits.

- 'Job misery' index: 83.5
- Median pay: $40,600
- 'High meaning' score: 26%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 52%

Purchasing agents and buyers, farm products buy agricultural products either for resale or as components in manufactured products. The jobs require negotiating with farmers, who may not be best positioned to absorb low market prices. As such, there is little appreciation by the farmers for buyers.

- 'Job misery' index: 83.8
- Median pay: $19,200
- 'High meaning' score: 33%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 56%

A host or hostess welcomes customers and seats them at tables. The average hourly wage is $9.23 per hour, though people rarely make it a lifelong career. A whopping 82% of hosts and hostesses last less than five years.

- 'Job misery' index: 84.1
- Median pay: $19,800
- 'High meaning' score: 33%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 55%

This position ranks low, but employment is expected to grow. Heartland states such as South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have some of the highest concentrations of these workers, according to government data. In addition, the West Coast has some of the highest wages for workers in restaurants and coffee shops.

- 'Job misery' index: 84.1
- Median pay: $27,000
- 'High meaning' score: 37%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 49%

These laborers move materials with their hands. While there's typically on-the-job training, there's no formal education required. The employment rate for this industry is estimated to rise 4% between 2018 and 2028, which the government estimates is as fast as the average for other occupations.

- 'Job misery' index: 84.3
- Median pay: $40,800
- 'High meaning' score: 29%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 48%

Working as a motorboat mechanic doesn't seem to offer much in the way of satisfaction. But the employment market has improved a notch recently, as boat sales have been healthy in recent years.

- 'Job misery' index: 84.3
- Median pay: $29,100
- 'High meaning' score: 29%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 53%

Moving materials around a warehouse or a factory might pay decently at more than $17 an hour, but it doesn't provide much job satisfaction; ranking on the index at a total score of 84.8. The top-paying industry for this occupation is electric power generation, transmission, and distribution at $ 62,720.

- 'Job misery' index: 84.3
- Median pay: $20,500
- 'High meaning' score: 30%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 56%

While waiters and waitresses don't make much salary, they typically make up for it in tips. Still, it's an industry with high turnover. Only 5% of waiters and waitresses have spent 20 years or more on the job. Government data shows that tips are usually higher in major cities, such as Boston and San Francisco.

Some parts of the U.S. are moving away from the subminimum wage wait staff, bartenders, and other workers who rely on tips receive. In October 2023, Chicago became the largest city in the U.S. to pass an ordinance that will require tipped workers to make the full minimum wage—though there is some debate on whether this will help or hurt tipped workers' earnings. In 2024, five states have ballots to determine if they too will eliminate the practice of paying tipped workers subminimum wage: Michigan, Arizona, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

- 'Job misery' index: 84.3
- Median pay: $22,800
- 'High meaning' score: 33%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 53%

It seems helping people with their bags doesn't offer much happiness, especially when the average wage is $10 an hour. Most porters and bellhops count on tips to supplement their incomes. The position is also physically demanding, especially for those working long hours.

- 'Job misery' index: 84.5
- Median pay: $24,300
- 'High meaning' score: 42%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 46%

This position has terrible growth prospects as the field of digital photography continues to expand. Those who can't bear to leave the industry entirely are likely to find more promising prospects by instead becoming photographers.

- 'Job misery' index: 84.6
- Median pay: $38,300
- 'High meaning' score: 25%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 51%

Widespread computer use in desktop publishing for tasks such as page layout has stunted job growth prospects for prepress technicians and workers. Industry workers might have better luck becoming engravers or designers.

- 'Job misery' index: 85.2
- Median pay: $22,500
- 'High meaning' score: 33%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 51%

More than half of the restaurant cooks surveyed reported satisfaction working in the kitchen, although it seems cooks struggle as much as bartenders to find meaning in their work. In January 2024, esteemed chef Gordon Ramsay made an appearance on the YouTube series "Last Meal" and said U.S. culinary schools "sandbag" students with debt before sending them into a low-wage industry. When you look at the numbers, it's hard to argue with that—as The Conversation notes, an academic year at the Culinary Institute of America in New York will cost just over $52,000 and the median salary for a chef or head cook is $56,520, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

- 'Job misery' index: 85.3
- Median pay: $22,900
- 'High meaning' score: 34%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 50%

There has been a shrinking need for human packers and packagers as companies like Amazon increasingly automate tasks. Most hand packagers also move on to find other employment once they accumulate more than a decade of experience.

- 'Job misery' index: 87.1
- Median pay: $20,600
- 'High meaning' score: 36%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 45%

A short-order cook is considered an undesirable job by many. That's due in part to the gig's long nights, lackluster growth prospects, and mediocre pay. Mix in little opportunity for advancement and it's no wonder being a short-order cook ranks as one of the worst jobs in the United States.

- 'Job misery' index: 87.5
- Median pay: $18,400
- 'High meaning' score: 33%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 47%

The monotony of standing all shift can certainly take a toll on workers. But cashiers actually face far worse problems on the job: Compared with other workers, they're often victims of robbery and homicide.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, working as a cashier at a grocery store or pharmacy became frontline work, but that didn't mean more pay—a 2020 report on the topic published in the journal "Toxicology and Industrial Health" found that the average hourly wage for a cashier was $11.17 an hour, below the American livable wage of $16.54 per hour. A review from Stacker found that it was one of the 10 lowest-paying jobs in America.

- 'Job misery' index: 87.8
- Median pay: $19,000
- 'High meaning' score: 33%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 46%

While the median wage is low for this industry, those who work in food preparation for rail transportation stand to make more than twice what workers in other areas of this category make. California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Ohio have the highest employment levels for food preparation and serving workers in the country. As of April 2024, a new law in California raised the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 per hour, making them the highest-paid fast-food workers nationwide.

- 'Job misery' index: 88.6
- Median pay: $17,800
- 'High meaning' score: 28%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 48%

There are plenty of reasons not to want to work in the fast food industry, least of all the way you smell at the end of a shift—like the food you have been cooking. Most fast-food places also don't give their employees, including cooks, time off for the holidays, nor do they receive benefits.

- 'Job misery' index: 88.8
- Median pay: $36,000
- 'High meaning' score: 26%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 41%

This position ranks low for meaning, satisfaction, and growth prospects. There's also not much opportunity to find U.S. jobs in this sector. Even in populous states like California and Texas, employment figures are at or below 3,000 workers..

- 'Job misery' index: 89.6
- Median pay: $26,500
- 'High meaning' score: 26%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 43%

Job numbers for counter and rental clerks are expected to rise in the next decade. Still, most people working these jobs move on to other positions after a decade in the field. In some case that may be because of fatigue from dealing so often with angry, demanding customers.

- 'Job misery' index: 89.9
- Median pay: $34,000
- 'High meaning' score: 32%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 35%

Job prospects for this manufacturing job are expected to decline in coming years as more companies outsource manufacturing jobs overseas. Robots also have replaced the human touch in many positions in this sector.

- 'Job misery' index: 90.2
- Median pay: $18,700
- 'High meaning' score: 35%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 39%

Working in laundry and dry cleaning comes with its own set of hazards. Studies suggest a strong correlation between exposure to dry cleaning chemicals and cancer. The data, backed up by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, doesn't bode well for those working in the jobs. A chemical called perc is still widely used despite an EPA warning about it.

- 'Job misery' index: 90.6
- Median pay: $19,400
- 'High meaning' score: 33%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 39%

Dining room workers are essential to the hospitality industry. These folks clean tables, remove dirty dishes, and serve water, coffee, or other items. Workers who find these jobs in the grant making and giving services sector stand to make more than the median; one annual salary estimate is nearly $38,000.

- 'Job misery' index: 91.4
- Median pay: $18,300
- 'High meaning' score: 29%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 40%

Dishwashers are essential to any smooth-running restaurant. Yet these workers also are among the most underappreciated and underpaid employees in a food establishment. They work long hours, don't receive tips, and work with little to no recognition.

- 'Job misery' index: 97.2
- Median pay: $19,700
- 'High meaning' score: 5%
- 'High satisfaction' score: 41%

Although parking lot attendants are still in demand and will be for the foreseeable future, this position ranks highest on the list of the worst jobs. The job can take a toll on the bodies of workers who are stuck outside in terrible weather. Parking attendants also must deal with a lot of boredom, and a scant sense of meaning. In response to the Payscale study's findings on meaningful jobs, one former parking attendant wrote an essay about his experience in the industry, saying that it "helped [him] become a better person" and "made it easy for [him] to find meaning elsewhere."

Additional writing by Frederick Reese and Cu Fleshman.