There is an enormous difference between the job scenario in the US and in India. Nowhere is this more evident than in the lists that magazines publish at the beginning of the year. With practically half the year over, it’s time to take stock.

There are some jobs which mean hard work; but only takes determination to cope with. There are some jobs which mean hard times that takes a certain bent of mind to cope with. Survey after survey puts the politician as the hardest job in India. This is a new development. Until about half-a-decade ago, being a politician was a licence to make money unless you were Manmohan Singh who gave others a licence to make money. In the West, however, the politician, if not respected, is at least tolerated. But that’s only because of the laws of the land. In the US, for instance, politicians are allowed to join lobby groups provided they declare their interests and income.

Hard jobs out there mean physically dangerous or, in a twist of the phrase, difficult to fill. Take a look at the box accompanying this article. Would anybody in India classify a driver as a difficult job? In New York, a driver (or to use the more sophisticated title — chauffer) can’t be had for love or money. 

Punjabis dominate the cab scene in major Indian cities. They do so in major US cities also. Punjab, as they like to call their homeland to prevent Indian biases, encompasses large portion of Pakistan.

On the other hand, a list of the most dangerous jobs includes firefighters and police officers. Firefighters in India have been known to surface only after the event, though one cannot malign an entire tribe because of that. Strangely, if one goes by press reports, firefighters are at their efficient best not in fires but in building collapses. It may, of course, be that there are many more building collapses out here than fires.

 “The job is challenging and oftentimes incredibly stressful, but provides high levels of job satisfaction,” says a blogpost by CareerBuilder. “To become a firefighter you must have strong mental, physical and behavioural traits.”

The second most difficult profession, according to CareerBuilder, is astronaut. But only one in a million can aspire to that. The list is rounded up by Riot Police, Oil Rig Worker and Crab Fisherman. Riot Police and Oil Rig Worker, one can well understand, but Crab Fisherman is something one thought is an apt title for landlubbers.

But the future of jobs doesn’t belong here. Hundred years ago, firefighting was a much more dangerous job than it is today. “Crab fishing is often described as the most dangerous job in the world, involves long hours in rough seas searching for crabs. If there are no crabs to be caught, there is no money to be made.” 

Today practically everything is mechanised but for the hunting for the crabs. And there are sophisticated visual aids for that; seeding crab fields with RFID implanted crabs, for instance.

 Today, the most dangerous job in the fishing arena is catching whales. You have Greenpeace and other environmental groups blubbering on politicians’ shoulders and country after country has banned the activity. For Indians, the hardest job is anything that is likely to involve a low-grade foreign posting. And, despite the fact that almost all Indians know three languages – their mother tongue, English and Hindi —  a European language seems Double Dutch to them. An evening at a Paris bistro may be the hardest hurdle for even an Indian bon vivant to conquer.

HARD TIMES

The 10 Hardest Jobs To Fill In 2015

Skilled Trade Workers
Sales Representatives
Engineers
Technicians
Drivers
Management/Executives
Accounting and Finance Staff
Secretaries, PAs, Administrative Assistants, and Office Support Staff
IT Staff

Production/Machine Operators
Source: Forbes