These Are The 10 Worst Jobs In Chicago

Is it a job that makes your work 100 hours a week? Or one that’s so boring you’d rather be doing anything else?

Maybe it’s one that makes you watch the White Sox play everyday.

Well, at Zippia, we let the numbers be our guide to determining the best jobs from the worst jobs. We collected data about various criteria people like about their job and then figured out which jobs had the least of the things people like.

These aren’t touchy-feely ideas like “making a difference” or “being valued by the company”. We can’t adequately quantify feelings, so we stick to the hard numbers.

After the dust settled on our keyboards and data mainframes, we were were left with this set of the ten jobs that are the worst of the worst in Chicago:

1. Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors — $35,770
2. Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary — $45,740
3. Statistical Assistants — $49,160
4. Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians — $27,580
5. Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders — $18,660
6. Historians — $49,010
7. Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers — $26,010
8. Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians — $23,910
9. Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials — $27,620
10. Food Servers, Nonrestaurant — $22,320

How We Calculated The 100 Worst Jobs In Chicago

In order to find the worst jobs in Chicago, we went to the ultimate source of job statistics, the BLS and their online database buddy, ONet.

Trust me, it takes a certain kind of crazy to dive into those numbers, and I’m not sure I made it out in one piece.

Once we had the data, we looked at the following for each of the 647 job titles available:

• Average Annual Salary — The higher paying, the better
• Entry Level Pay (10th Percentile Salary) — You can be new to your job and still get paid well
• Job Availability — All else equal, more jobs mean more chances to snag one
• Education required — The lower the bar on education, the more people can do it

We then ranked each job across each criteria from 1 to 647, with 1 being the worst.

Finally, we averaged the ranks across each criteria to create a Zippia Worst Job Score. The job with the lowest Zippia Worst Job Score has to be the worst job that Chicago has to offer.

The 100 Worst Jobs In Chicago

Below is the list of the 100 worst jobs in Chicao with their associated salaries.

1. Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors — $35,770
2. Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary — $45,740
3. Statistical Assistants — $49,160
4. Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians — $27,580
5. Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders — $18,660
6. Historians — $49,010
7. Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers — $26,010
8. Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians — $23,910
9. Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials — $27,620
10. Food Servers, Nonrestaurant — $22,320
11. Psychiatric Aides — $28,250
12. Forest and Conservation Workers — $40,100
13. Occupational Therapy Aides — $21,410
14. Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary — $52,770
15. Funeral Attendants — $30,130
16. Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary — $54,350
17. Hearing Aid Specialists — $40,770
18. Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand — $28,400
19. Graduate Teaching Assistants — $25,130
20. Residential Advisors — $24,910
21. Bailiffs — $36,100
22. Marriage and Family Therapists — $39,520
23. Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary — $50,020
24. Shampooers — $19,090
25. Costume Attendants — $36,260
26. Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary — $56,910
27. Tour Guides and Escorts — $33,280
28. Athletic Trainers — $43,330
29. Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic — $40,710
30. Helpers–Roofers — $27,760
31. Model Makers, Wood — $30,930
32. Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers — $25,540
33. Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders — $28,440
34. Directors, Religious Activities and Education — $41,840
35. Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers — $62,160
36. Motion Picture Projectionists — $26,240
37. Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders — $31,130
38. Sewers, Hand — $28,340
39. Gaming Change Persons and Booth Cashiers — $24,760
40. Demonstrators and Product Promoters — $33,890
41. Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing — $29,100
42. Proofreaders and Copy Markers — $41,200
43. Slot Supervisors — $27,580
44. Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary — $64,310
45. Transportation Attendants, Except Flight Attendants — $24,990
46. Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles — $33,340
47. Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary — $61,200
48. Watch Repairers — $35,630
49. Museum Technicians and Conservators — $43,780
50. Set and Exhibit Designers — $49,070
51. Parking Enforcement Workers — $42,760
52. Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants — $23,020
53. Chiropractors — $54,050
54. Communications Teachers, Postsecondary — $59,400
55. Interpreters and Translators — $41,060
56. Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic — $32,050
57. Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals — $25,930
58. Archivists — $55,260
59. Broadcast Technicians — $40,920
60. Etchers and Engravers — $34,450
61. Clergy — $43,570
62. Education Teachers, Postsecondary — $51,710
63. Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors — $35,830
64. Social Science Research Assistants — $56,110
65. Concierges — $31,090
66. Conveyor Operators and Tenders — $33,390
67. Cutters and Trimmers, Hand — $24,760
68. Animal Control Workers — $43,850
69. Curators — $53,580
70. Audio-Visual and Multimedia Collections Specialists — $46,030
71. Agricultural and Food Science Technicians — $43,660
72. Rehabilitation Counselors — $42,320
73. Dental Laboratory Technicians — $36,010
74. Helpers–Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters — $33,770
75. Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health — $40,380
76. Dietetic Technicians — $25,390
77. Motorcycle Mechanics — $36,510
78. Helpers–Carpenters — $29,780
79. Geography Teachers, Postsecondary — $64,750
80. Bicycle Repairers — $26,580
81. Survey Researchers — $56,830
82. Baggage Porters and Bellhops — $26,330
83. Private Detectives and Investigators — $38,870
84. Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers — $27,930
85. Physics Teachers, Postsecondary — $67,120
86. Library Technicians — $34,700
87. Self-Enrichment Education Teachers — $37,460
88. Library Assistants, Clerical — $26,480
89. File Clerks — $29,720
90. Radio and Television Announcers — $51,710
91. Protective Service Workers, All Other — $29,090
92. Tank Car, Truck, and Ship Loaders — $37,350
93. Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary — $64,360
94. Helpers–Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons — $32,430
95. Craft Artists — $44,100
96. Recreation Workers — $25,270
97. Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary — $58,130
98. Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products — $21,710
99. Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders — $25,810
100. Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers — $45,250

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.