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Did you enjoy monkey bars, jungle gyms, and climbing walls when you were a kid? Maybe you still enjoy climbing. If so, there may be a job for you. In 2017, 18.7 percent of all jobs required workers to climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds to complete their work assignments. Nearly all jobs among municipal firefighters and electricians require climbing. Many jobs related to construction and telecommunications also require climbing.
Occupation | Percent of jobs that require climbing |
---|---|
Municipal firefighters |
99.6% |
Electricians |
99.5 |
Telecommunications line installers and repairers |
98.3 |
Municipal fire fighting and prevention supervisors |
96.9 |
Construction carpenters |
96.9 |
Carpenters |
96.6 |
Painters, construction and maintenance |
96.6 |
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers |
96.0 |
Maintenance and repair workers, general |
93.1 |
Electrical power-line installers and repairers |
91.0 |
Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers |
89.3 |
Plumbers |
88.1 |
First-Line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers |
84.2 |
Heating and air conditioning mechanics and installers |
84.1 |
Construction and building inspectors |
81.6 |
If heights have you feeling down, you may want a job where you don’t need to climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds. Overall, 81.3 of jobs in 2017 did not require climbing. In some occupations, nearly all jobs do not require climbing. These occupations include licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, human resources specialists, and computer programmers, among others.
Occupation | Percent of jobs that do not require climbing |
---|---|
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses |
99.6% |
Human resources specialists |
99.5 |
Management analysts |
99.5 |
Market research analysts and marketing specialists |
99.5 |
Computer programmers |
99.5 |
Software developers, systems software |
99.5 |
Educational, guidance, school, and vocational counselors |
99.5 |
Medical records and health information technicians |
99.5 |
Paralegals and legal assistants |
98.3 |
Personal care aides |
98.3 |
Tellers |
98.3 |
Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists |
96.9 |
Social and community service managers |
96.0 |
Grinding/lapping/polish/buff machine tool setters, operators, and tenders - metal/plastic |
89.3 |
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers |
88.1 |
Nonfarm animal caretakers |
84.2 |
Cashiers |
84.2 |
These data are from the Occupational Requirements Survey. To learn more, see "Occupational Requirements in the United States — 2017" (HTML) (PDF) and the occupational profiles from the survey.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Climbing the ladder (or rope or scaffold) on the job in 2017 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/climbing-the-ladder-or-rope-or-scaffold-on-the-job-in-2017.htm (visited October 13, 2024).