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These are the worst jobs of 2016

[Both military personnel and reporters don’t rank very well on this year’s worst jobs list.]

The worst job you could have in 2016 is … mine.

Well, actually I should qualify that. For the third straight year, in its 2016 Jobs Rated Report, CareerCast.com ranked “Newspaper Reporter” at the bottom of its list of 200. This was according to the job’s environment, income and outlook, along with 11 stress factors. I only write online, so I might be more safe than those working for legacy media, but in truth, it doesn’t look good for much of my industry.

Not far behind my colleagues writing in print are “Broadcaster” at 198, “Disc Jockey at 197 and “Ad Sales People” at 193. The main reason these jobs find themselves at the bottom of the list? They’re disappearing.

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This is an American list, but examples showing its relevancy north of the border are easy to find. The Guelph Mercury is only the latest print edition of a Canadian newspaper to be shuttered. In January, PostMedia cut 90 jobs and merged newsrooms at some of Canada’s most well-known dailies and those who read weekly newspapers in Toronto might remember The Grid.

“The news business has changed drastically over the years, and not in a good way,” says former Broadcaster Ann Baldwin, president of Baldwin Media PR in New Britain, Connecticut when commenting on the CareerCast.com report. “When people ask me if I miss it, I tell them ‘I feel as if I jumped off of a sinking ship.‘”

CareerCast.com agrees. The researchers there attribute so many media jobs at the bottom of their list to the way the media industry is transforming. They recommend Broadcasters seeking a career transition consider becoming a podcaster, online news producer or data journalist because employment of broadcasters is expected to decline by nine per cent, or 4,800 total positions, by 2024.

But it’s not just that media is changing, the ad revenue that economically supports media outlets is changing as well. Advertisers are leaving traditional media and turning to social media and the internet to get their messages across, so there are also fewer positions out there for ad sales people, which is why they’re so close to the bottom of the list.

“Declining prospects tied to the stability – or instability – of media impact the outlook for the profession. Add high stress from the growing pressure to drive profits for increasingly less profitable outlets, and advertising sales person’s place in the worst jobs of 2016 makes sense,” CareerCast said in its analysis.

Long hours, the constant threat of being laid off and median salaries somewhere between $30,000 - $50,000 or less place these media jobs in the same sphere as more hazardous blue collar jobs like Logger (199), Pest Control Worker (195) and Firefighter (191). Plus, though a traditional first jobs like Retail Salesperson pays less than the media jobs mentioned (a median income of $21,670) it actually ranks higher than both newspaper reporter and disc jockey at 194.

So are me and my colleagues stupid for continuing to do what we love? Perhaps we too should take CareerCast’s advice for firefighters and military personnel (also on this list) to heart.

“[These] are noble careers, but those embarking on these positions should understand the dangers, as well as the surprisingly low pay for each.”

Here’s the full list of the top 10 worst-ranked jobs of 2016, as based on CareerCast’s list of 200 professions.

1. Newspaper Reporter

2. Logger

3. Broadcaster

4. Disc Jockey

5. Enlisted Military Personnel

6. Pest Control Worker

7. Retail Sales Person

8. Advertising Sales Person

9. Taxi Driver

10. Firefighter