CorpComms Magazine

Public relations was the seventh most stressful job last year but appears to be less nerve racking than 12 months earlier when it was deemed the second most stressful profession, according to a new survey by CareerCast.com.

PR professionals received a stress score of 47.56. CareerCast.com said they were 'typically responsible for giving presentations and making speeches, often in front of large crowds. This very competitive field, which often includes highly visible, tight deadlines, keeps stress at high levels for specialists'. The survey added: 'Some PR executives are required to interact with potentially hostile members of the media, especially after a disaster.'

PR ranks between an events co-ordinator, with a stress score of 49.85, and a corporate executive, with a stress score of 47.41. It is not clear why CareerCast.com has downgraded its ranking by five positions over a year.

CareerCast.com deemed the most stressful job last year as an enlisted soldier, with a stress score of 84.61 and an average income of $35,580, because of the variety of duties they perform. 'From serving food in the mess hall to fighting a battle on the front line, to avoiding land mines along the path to a village, the duties a soldier carries out have very different levels of responsibility,' it said. Just one year earlier, enlisted soldiers did not even rank in the stressful job ratings, which was topped by a commercial airline pilot.

The recruitment site considered 11 stress factors, such as deadlines, travel, physical demands and whether the lives of professionals or their colleagues are at risk, and assigned a range of points per category. Journalists received a maximum of nine points for the stress related to deadlines, while biologists were assigned no points.

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