The 4 Most Dangerous Jobs in Tampa

Sometimes lucrative employment can be accompanied with a higher level of risk to one’s safety. In Florida and the Tampa Bay area, specifically, there are four occupations that stand out as potentially dangerous to employees, meaning they have a higher risk of injury for employees. Before accepting a higher risk job, be sure to carefully consider your worker’s compensation benefits and what your employer is willing to cover in the event of injury or work fatality. Danger in the workplace is a challenge for a variety of industries that have a significant presence in the Florida economy.

1. Commercial or deep sea fishing

In the Tampa Bay area, commercial fishing is often a dangerous profession. The commercial fisherman must know how to navigate waters in all types of weather and work with heavy fishing equipment that can malfunction at any time. Deep sea fishing in the area, for example, is particularly dangerous as employees have a risk of drowning. Tampa is also the lightning capital of the United States, making deep sea and commercial fishermen particularly vulnerable to inclement weather.

2. Construction

Construction workers find themselves in situations daily where an injury is likely to occur, from using power tools and complex machinery to climbing tall surfaces where the risk of falling is always a possibility. Construction work is difficult and often dangerous, particularly in a metropolitan area like Tampa Bay.

3. Roofers

Florida’s extreme weather conditions put roofers at a high risk for heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and intense sun exposure. High elevations and the elements make roofing a challenging and dangerous profession in many ways.

4. Ranchers and farmers

Not only do ranchers and farmers in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding areas face unique challenges of growing crops and maintaining ranches in high heats and weather extremes, they also must operate heavy equipment, spend hours outdoors in the Florida summers, and interact with animals that weigh hundreds of pounds more than the average person. Tractors, cranes, and other machinery are common with farming and ranching jobs, and can cause loss of limb or life in many scenarios for farmers and ranchers, even when they interact with these tools daily.