This is from downeast.com. The only direct "King" connection is the line, "The University of Maine Cooperative Extension's Potato Harvester Safety bulletin was written by Steven Johnson but reads like Stephen King." This is, after all, King country.
.Number of Fatalities per 100,000 employed
.1. Fishers and Related Fishing Workers 118.4
2. Logging Workers 92.
3. Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers 66.9
4. Structural Iron and Steel Workers 55.6
5. Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors 43.8
6. Farmers and Ranchers 41.1
7. Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 32.7
8. Drivers/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers 29.1
9. Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers 23.2
10. Construction Laborers 22.7
.Most Dangerous Occupations In A King Novel:
This got me to thinking: Most dangerous professions in a Stephen King novel. My list included a mix of people who were harmed directly because of their occupation, and some who had bad stuff happen unrelated to their work. Of course, one of the most dangerous things to be in a Stephen King novel is: A resident of Maine! (Or a simply a resident of a small town).
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Of course, you might notice that only a few of the real dangerous occupations appear. Of course, it wasn't too good to own a farmhouse in Fire starter. And Brian, the pilot in Langoliers certainly encountered some serious trouble.
.1. Writer. (Misery, Desperation, Dark Half, The Shining, IT, The Dark Tower 6-7, Tommyknockers, Secret Window, 1408). Now, not all of these were directly affected by their writing. But several were! For instance, Misery was about a writer who meets the fan from hell. And Secret Window and Dark Half were both about writers pretty much going mad. Of course, in Dark Half, there was a real ghost hunting Thad down! But Bobby in Tommyknockers gets in her mess not because she's a writer -- though writing certainly plays a role in the book.
.2. Writers spouse. (Dark Half, The Shining, IT) It's definitely not good to be married to a writer in a Stephen King novel!
.3. High School Student. (Carrie, Christine, Rage) The death toll in both these books is pretty high!
.4. High School teacher. (Carrie, Sometimes they come back, Dolan's Cadillac)
.5. Prisoner. (Firestarter, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption)
.6. Police. (Green Mile, Buick 8, Needful Things, Under the Dome) I have the most sympathy here for Allen Pangborn in Needful Things. Hi job put him in a real tight spot.
.7. Child. (IT, The Sun Dog, Cujo, the Talisman, Pet Semetery, The Mist, Storm of the Century, The Body, The Shining, Fire starter) Though not an occupation, it's tough stuff being a Kid in a Stephen King novel. Kids are most likely to get picked on, see monsters and have unusual gifts that various unseemly people want to take advantage of.
.8. House keeper. (Dolores Claiborne)
.9. Artist. (Cell, The Mist) This is just circumstantial here. I don't think either book's misery was directly related to their work.
.10. Preacher. (Under the Dome, Salem's Lot, Silver Bullet, Needful Things.) Sorry to say, preachers don't fair well in a King novel. About as well as they do in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath (remember Casey?) The preachers in Needful Things were truly awful.
.11. Construction Worker / roads. (Roadwork, Dolan's C., Duma Key) Duma Key is the best here, since the injury happened at work.
.12. Human. (The Stand, Cell) That's not a over statement!
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