Ask Americans to define the issue that sparks their stress, and most will start talking about work.
The American Psychological Association says three out of four Americans experience at least one stress symptom per month, and 61% cite work as a major stress source.
Your job doesn't require stress. In fact, there are plenty of easy and low-stress positions out there that come with a busy workday and no mental health distress. Here are a few of our favorite ideas, listed in alphabetical order.
You consider yourself as a creative person, but you don't like the day-to-day grind of a graphic designer's job. An art director position might be just right for you. Here, you'll continue to express your creativity, but you'll also manage a team that makes your vision a reality.
During an average day as an art director, you might:
This job involves a lot of collaboration, but it's not unusual for art directors to work independently. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says three in five art directors were self-employed during 2016. That could be a boon for you if you resist the idea of holding down the same job with the same coworkers for weeks on end.
According to the BLS, your salary will stand at about $93,000, but this isn't a job you'll land right out of school. Most art directors work as graphic designers or photographers for years after they graduate with a degree in art or design.
If you do not like working with people, and the idea of supervising others as they work makes your skin crawl, this could be a bad match for your skills. As an art director, you are asked to direct other creative professionals. If that doesn’t concern you, this could be a good choice.
How did the universe develop? How is it changing over time? How do black holes work? What does an asteroid really look like?
If these questions consume your thoughts from dawn to dusk, life as an astronomer could be just right for you. This is a job that's associated with a remarkably low amount of stress.
Astronomers at Cornell explain that their work doesn't involve staring into space all night long. Instead, they say, their days are filled with easy, rewarding tasks, such as:
Notice that these are largely solitary, cerebral tasks. If you choose not to teach, you may not speak to other people for long periods of time while you do your research and write up results. If other people are your source of stress, this could be perfect for you.
Astronomers often have doctoral degrees, so they can grab teaching positions in universities. Those degrees can come with big student loan bills, but the astronomer gig comes with a median salary of about $110,000, according to the BLS. Your education investment could be more than worthwhile.
If you don't like teaching, you'll need to find a job in the private sector, but research jobs for people with this background aren't plentiful all across the country. The BLS says most astronomers are clustered in:
When you're looking for a job, insurance coverage, travel reimbursement, and retirement savings are crucial details. They help you understand, in addition to your salary, how much you'll get paid for the work you do. If you've always wanted to help your colleagues get the best deal, you might love this job.
The BLS says benefits managers need bachelor's degrees, and they tend to make about $121,000 per year.
While you're at work, you'll talk with representatives from insurance companies, stock brokers, and others. You'll negotiate to get the best packages for your company, but you won't make the final decision.
Often, a board of directors or senior management must approve every deal you make. That means you can simply accept the free lunches, the long phone calls, and the pleading looks from the people trying to sell your company something. You're not under any pressure to close the deal.
If searching for a job worries you, this is a good career choice. Almost every company in the world needs someone to do this job, and that means it can be easy to find gigs almost anywhere, in any industry.
What should you have for dinner tonight? If you have a medical condition, it's a crucial question. A dietitian can help find the answers.
If you enjoy working with nutrition concepts, and helping people feel better is important to you, this could be the right career choice for you.
Most health care jobs come with stress, but the dietitian gig is a little different. You'll create meal plans for your clients, and you might even work in a health care setting like a hospital or clinic, but you won't be required to perform any hands-on medical care (like drawing blood). You won't even have to give patients bad news. You'll just support them with food.
To call yourself a dietitian, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that you'll need:
Like most health care positions, this job is associated with explosive growth. The BLS says the number of dietitian jobs should rise by about 15% between now and 2026. Land a job, and you'll take home about $60,000 per year.
You don't want to spend years getting a degree or working up the corporate ladder. You want to start your job now, and you'd prefer to reserve your brain cells for your hobbies. If this resonates with you, then working as a maid could be just right for you.
Maids and housekeepers are responsible for the day-to-day grind of keeping the world clean. A broom, vacuum, and washing machine will be your primary tools in this work, and no formal education is required. You will have some planning and programming to do, so you can get all of your tasks done in the order your employer expects, but won't be asked to sit in front of a computer or conduct rigorous research.
Maid jobs may be low-stress, but they do come with low salaries, and can be physically demanding. According to the BLS, maids only make $25,000 per year.
These jobs can also be hazardous. Research suggests that people who work in hotels have a 40% higher injury rate than workers in other service sectors.
The eyes are delicate instruments, and diseases can cost your sight. That's why experts recommend yearly exams with optometry experts. As an optometrist, you'll conduct and perform those tests.
Typically, jobs in health care can come with high pressure and intense stress, but optometry is different. You'll work with patients, but you have many machines that do the heavy lifting for you. Your job is akin to a computer analyst. Your patients move through all of the tests, you look over the data, and you make recommendations.
Optometrists also don't get involved in difficult, life-threatening situations. If something goes wrong with your patients, you'll send them to surgeons and specialists for help. Your main job is routine care, and it's straightforward, low-stress work.
Optometrists make about $111,000 per year, per the BLS, and job openings are expected to rise much faster than average, which means this is a growing industry.
You will have to work with patients in this field, and you will have to deal with some complaints and concerns from those patients, but if you're good with people, it could be an easy choice.
Breathe in, breathe out, and feel yourself melt into your mat. If resting in the studio is your favorite part of the class, and you find yourself wishing you could stay there all day long, a yoga career could be right for you.
As a yoga instructor, you'll help your class understand how to move into each pose safely. That might mean guiding them with your voice, and it might mean helping each individual by pulling them into alignment. You'll also cue the class to move from pose to pose, and you'll bring the session to a close at the appropriate time.
Yoga instructors make about $40,000 per year, says the BLS. You can work in a variety of different settings, including health clubs, private studios, offices, and more.
You encourage your students to embrace calm and to release stress with every exhale. This easy breathing will likely translate into your life in this low-stress job.
Some yoga instructors have no training at all, and they pull their love of the practice into a career. It's also not uncommon to sign up with an organization to get a formal certification, so you can prove that you know exactly what you're doing. Those courses can be expensive, and that's one drawback of this career path.
Did you find the job of your dreams on this list? If so, we can make your dream a reality.
Visit our website, and search for positions by location, title, or both. Search for companies you know, or experiment and try something new. You'll leave that stressful job behind in no time.
By the Numbers: Our Stressed-Out Nation. (December 2017). American Psychological Association.
Art Directors. (April 2019). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Can You Describe a Day on the Job as an Astronomer? Astronomy Department at Cornell University.
Astronomers. (March 2018). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Compensation and Benefits Managers. (June 2019). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
10 Reasons to Visit an RDN. (September 2017). Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Dietitians and Nutritionists. (June 2019). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners. (March 2019). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Housekeeping Can Be Dangerous Work. Unite Here.
Optometrists. (April 2019). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Fitness Trainers and Instructors. (April 2019). Bureau of Labor Statistics.
