Worst jobs in America

- Job Misery Index: 78.9
-- Median pay: $38,370
-- Projected job growth through 2034: 0.4%
-- 'High meaning' score: 49%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 53%Security guards work in retail, industrial, and other environments to protect property from vandalism or theft. The job has a reputation for low wages, nighttime hours, and a requirement to sit or stand for long periods of time. Security guards may also not receive adequate training, and they could find themselves in dangerous situations.

- Job Misery Index: 78.9
-- Median pay: $47,320
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -5.%
-- 'High meaning' score: 39%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 64%Retail is a famously challenging and stressful industry, particularly for first-line supervisors. McKinsey found that supervisors often deal with a lack of staff and must juggle additional responsibilities such as e-commerce returns. A bigger problem is a lack of good mentorship that can enhance a supervisor's management skills.

- Job Misery Index: 79.
-- Median pay: $46,860
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -0.9%
-- 'High meaning' score: 41%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 59%Machine repair technicians typically must travel to broken machines to fix them, so it's important to like being on the road. Technicians also have to work under pressure to get computers, ATMs, and machines back online as quickly as possible.

- Job Misery Index: 80.1
-- Median pay: $62,940
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -9.5%
-- 'High meaning' score: 27%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 59%Brokerage clerks do the administrative work around purchases and sales of stocks and other kinds of investments. The role requires a lot of attention to detail and the ability to do some financial calculations. Demand for brokerage clerks is decreasing, as research shows that AI may be able to perform many of this job's functions.

- Job Misery Index: 80.8
-- Median pay: $38,150
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -6.6%
-- 'High meaning' score: 44%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 65%Working with mail isn't just for postal service employees—many companies also have mail clerks to manage incoming and outgoing mail. The job can be repetitive and requires attention to detail. Additionally, mail clerks may have to lift heavy packages.

- Job Misery Index: 81.1
-- Median pay: $48,940
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -4.7%
-- 'High meaning' score: 27%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 64%Working with molten metal and newly solidified steel is a hot, tough job, although computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools and robots do much of the dirty work these days. Still, metal casters and pourers typically wear safety glasses, ear protection, and boots when on the job.

Job growth has been on the decline due to more offshore manufacturing, but if companies bring manufacturing operations back to the U.S., this job will shift from a manual role to one responsible for advanced machinery operation.

- Job Misery Index: 81.4
-- Median pay: $42,830
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -5.5%
-- 'High meaning' score: 44%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 61%AI chatbots and automation have already infiltrated customer service jobs, leaving the tougher questions—and perhaps more frustrated customers—for customer service reps to handle. The work environment can vary, with some customer service representatives able to work from home, while others work in large, noisy rooms with their colleagues.

- Job Misery Index: 82.
-- Median pay: $67,670
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -10.2%
-- 'High meaning' score: 25%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 50%

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

- Job Misery Index: 82.3
-- Median pay: $46,020
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -1.6%
-- 'High meaning' score: 37%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 59%A Talker Research survey found that cabinetmakers have one of the toughest jobs in America. Automation may make the job easier, but it will also decrease the number of jobs. Material costs, tariffs, and customers who have a difficult time making choices are just some of the pressures cabinetmakers face.

- Job Misery Index: 82.5
-- Median pay: $53,620
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -12.4%
-- 'High meaning' score: 39%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 57%The job market for desktop publishers is plummeting thanks to developments on two fronts. Companies continue to publish documents online, decreasing the need for people who know how to lay out print documents. Also, the advent of user-friendly software and AI tools enables other types of workers to edit graphics and lay out documents.

- Job Misery Index: 82.5
-- Median pay: $39,850
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -25.9%
-- 'High meaning' score: 49%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 61%Data entry keyer positions face extinction due to AI and automated tools that can more quickly perform the role's requirements. Until those tools become more widely used, people in this line of work need to have focus and accuracy to transform physical data into electronic data. This includes work that can be monotonous, such as scanning documents and transcribing texts.

- Job Misery Index: 82.7
-- Median pay: $49,970
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -10.7%
-- '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: 82.8
-- Median pay: $46,390
-- Projected job growth through 2034: 1.1%
-- 'High meaning' score: 29%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 53%

Moving materials around a warehouse or factory may pay decently at more than $21 an hour, but it doesn't provide much job satisfaction, ranking on the index at a total score of 82.8. The top-paying industry for this occupation is electric power generation, transmission, and distribution at $82,250 on average.

- Job Misery Index: 83.3
-- Median pay: $38,540
-- Projected job growth through 2034: 3.2%
-- '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 cases, that may be because of fatigue from dealing so often with angry, demanding customers.

- Job Misery Index: 84.
-- Median pay: $34,220
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -3.4%
-- 'High meaning' score: 44%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 61%On television, chefs make food preparation look much easier than it is. The reality involves long hours of standing on your feet, repetitively chopping, slicing, weighing, and mixing various ingredients for cooking, which involves working around sharp knives, hot stoves, and slippery floors. The role can be hectic during mealtimes and even under pressure, food preparers have to maintain food safety standards.

- Job Misery Index: 84.2
-- Median pay: $38,940
-- Projected job growth through 2034: 1.5%
-- '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 2024 and 2034, which the government estimates is as fast as the average for other occupations.

- Job Misery Index: 84.3
-- Median pay: $46,060
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -0.5%
-- 'High meaning' score: 35%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 52%

Those who work this job in the aerospace-manufacturing industry make around $43,990 on average. While employment is expected to decline in the coming years, the decrease is far less compared with other manual labor professions.

- Job Misery Index: 84.3
-- Median pay: $42,210
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -0.1%
-- '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: 84.5
-- Median pay: $47,450
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -12.8%
-- 'High meaning' score: 38%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 59%Working around furnaces and machinery can be hot, noisy work. Setters read blueprints for product specifications and set up the equipment so that operators can run it and remove finished products. Tenders conduct maintenance on these complex, heavy-duty machines so they continue to run smoothly.

- Job Misery Index: 84.9
-- Median pay: $44,830
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -16.1%
-- 'High meaning' score: 27%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 66%Job printers specialize in small-scale printing jobs like creating letterhead, invoices, announcements, and invitations. The work involves type setting, plate press operation, and proofing. With the decline of print products, the job market has also shrunk.

- Job Misery Index: 85.
-- Median pay: $47,060
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -9.%
-- 'High meaning' score: 26%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 63%

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

- Job Misery Index: 85.1
-- Median pay: $46,610
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -13.2%
-- 'High meaning' score: 40%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 58%The rise in online banking and brokerage accounts means that many account holders now bypass working with a new accounts clerk. These employees work with prospective clients who walk into financial institutions and help them apply for a new bank account. This role requires being able to talk with all types of personalities, understand the types of financial products that might be right for them, and ensure applications are correctly filled out.

- Job Misery Index: 85.1
-- Median pay: $41,270
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -15.9%
-- 'High meaning' score: 42%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 62%This low-wage job requires an eye for detail and a love of organization. File clerks maintain print and online records within a system and retrieve them when required. The job has evolved as files have moved online, but file clerks' jobs can be very repetitive.

- Job Misery Index: 85.2
-- Median pay: $36,000
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -10.8%
-- 'High meaning' score: 43%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 63%Sewing machine operators often work in loud environments and spend hours at their machines to meet production quota levels. During the Great Recession, the industry shed tens of thousands of apparel sewing jobs, and the industry has continued to decline ever since.

- Job Misery Index: 85.3
-- Median pay: $41,890
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -25.9%
-- 'High meaning' score: 46%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 58%Workers in these roles span a variety of industries, including plastics, foundries, metalworking, automotive parts, and medical equipment manufacturing. The bulk of the available jobs are in the Midwest, particularly in Michigan. A high school diploma is usually enough to get hired, but CNC automation is transforming the industry, which requires additional training.

- Job Misery Index: 86.4
-- Median pay: $49,140
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -5.5%
-- 'High meaning' score: 28%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 53%

Jewelers and others who work with precious stones and metals must possess a range of skills, including creativity, interpersonal skills, and excellent close-up vision. The pay for such a demanding job, though, sits far below the median U.S. wage. Plus, the job market is sluggish: The government projects a 5% decline in these positions from 2024 to 2034.

- Job Misery Index: 86.4
-- Median pay: $34,600
-- Projected job growth through 2034: 3.%
-- 'High meaning' score: 5%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 41%

Although parking lot attendants are still in demand and will be for the foreseeable future, the job can take a toll on workers, who are often stuck outside in terrible weather. Parking attendants also must deal with a lot of boredom and a scant sense of meaning.

- Job Misery Index: 86.5
-- Median pay: $40,100
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -2.6%
-- '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: 86.7
-- Median pay: $39,820
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -16.1%
-- 'High meaning' score: 46%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 54%Printed books, magazines, pamphlets, and catalogs take their shape because a bindery worker put them together. Working in bindery is a very physical job, full of repetitive movements like bending and lifting, and requires the use of loud, heavy machines.

- Job Misery Index: 88.1
-- Median pay: $44,660
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -17.2%
-- 'High meaning' score: 38%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 58%Technology has completely disrupted the job market for order clerks, who typically receive and process orders. The job requires clerks to perform manual data entry, but systems such as automated ordering, digital inventory, and e-commerce software have all but replaced order clerks.

- Job Misery Index: 88.3
-- Median pay: $34,580
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -0.5%
-- 'High meaning' score: 35%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 55%

With difficult customers and long days on your feet, working in retail isn't easy. A 2024 report from McKinsey & Co. noted that retail workers are 1.2 times more likely to consider leaving their jobs than the average U.S. employee.

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: 88.4
-- Median pay: $46,890
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -2.5%
-- '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: 88.8
-- Median pay: $45,590
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -12.1%
-- '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 are generally few jobs available for workers who specialize in these tasks.

- Job Misery Index: 89.3
-- Median pay: $45,700
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -25.9%
-- '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 automated systems increasingly take over this line of work.

- Job Misery Index: 89.4
-- Median pay: $33,760
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -0.7%
-- '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, the restaurant turnover has a famously high turnover rate, which has ticked up to more than 80% according to a Toast analysis of the most recently available BLS data.

Some parts of the U.S. are moving away from the subminimum wage typically received by wait staff, bartenders, and other workers who rely on tips. As of 2025, a handful of states require employers to pay their workers more than the federal minimum of $2.13 an hour.

- Job Misery Index: 89.7
-- Median pay: $36,020
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -1.6%
-- '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 around $17 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: 89.7
-- Median pay: $43,190
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -7.7%
-- '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 nearly $71,000 a year.

- Job Misery Index: 90.
-- Median pay: $30,380
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -1.5%
-- 'High meaning' score: 33%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 56%

A host or hostess welcomes customers and seats them at tables. The average hourly wage is $14.78 per hour, which may not be enough to make up for dealing with rude customers and spending hours on your feet.

- Job Misery Index: 90.2
-- Median pay: $44,830
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -8.1%
-- '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 32% of workers in this industry don't receive benefits.

- Job Misery Index: 90.8
-- Median pay: $34,410
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -22.1%
-- '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 $34,000 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 2025, from job security concerns thanks to AI to new legislation.

- Job Misery Index: 91.
-- Median pay: $47,300
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -14.6%
-- '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. However, industry workers who become proficient in programs like Adobe Creative Cloud may still be able to find positions in the field.

- Job Misery Index: 91.1
-- Median pay: $39,340
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -12.9%
-- '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 rate.

The situation for bank tellers doesn't appear to be getting any better. Currently, the average salary is only about $39,300, and job security is also decreasing—the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 13% decline in teller jobs over the next decade.

- Job Misery Index: 91.1
-- Median pay: $38,220
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -8.9%
-- 'High meaning' score: 35%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 55%Considered a low-skill manufacturing job, helpers assist production workers by keeping their work areas supplied and cleaned. Many find these roles through employment services that cater to industrial and manufacturing companies. Helpers are also more in demand in the animal slaughtering and processing industry.

- Job Misery Index: 91.4
-- Median pay: $33,670
-- Projected job growth through 2034: 0.2%
-- 'High meaning' score: 29%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 40%

Dishwashers are essential to any smooth-running restaurant. Yet these workers are also 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: 92.1
-- Median pay: $45,870
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -12.1%
-- 'High meaning' score: 32%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 35%

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

- Job Misery Index: 92.4
-- Median pay: $35,580
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -5.4%
-- '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. To add to these problems, nearly half of hand packagers receive no health benefits.

- Job Misery Index: 92.7
-- Median pay: $35,620
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -5.6%
-- '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: 93.2
-- Median pay: $34,220
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -3.4%
-- 'High meaning' score: 33%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 46%

While the median wage is low for this industry, those who work in food preparation for colleges, universities, and professional schools stand to make several more dollars per hour than their counterparts in other industries. California, Texas, and New Jersey have the highest employment levels for food preparation and serving workers in the country. In 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: 96.
-- Median pay: $31,200
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -9.9%
-- 'High meaning' score: 33%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 47%

The monotony of standing all shift can certainly take a toll on workers. Combine that with an hourly average pay of less than $15 an hour and the stress of dealing with often impatient customers, and it's easy to understand why being a cashier has such a high misery index score.

- Job Misery Index: 97.7
-- Median pay: $30,160
-- Projected job growth through 2034: -13.5%
-- 'High meaning' score: 28%
-- 'High satisfaction' score: 48%

There are plenty of reasons not to want to work in the fast food industry: an average hourly wage of $14.31, the extremely stressful work environment, the physical demands of the job, and more. Plus, nearly 80% of workers in the industry don't receive health benefits.