The risks and payoffs of dangerous jobs

The World

The recent accidents in a West Virginia mine and a Gulf of Mexico oil rig have a lot of us focusing on dangerous jobs, and asking: what makes some careers so dangerous? And what drives some workers to risk their lives for their work?

Abigail Gehring, author of “Dangerous Jobs: The World’s Riskiest Ways to Make an Extra Buck,” spent years researching what drives people to stay in jobs others might think are unsafe. Paul Soltys also joins us. He’s been working in residential construction for the past thirty years. It turns out construction is the fourth most dangerous job in America.

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