Whether you're contemplating a change of career or wondering how your occupation compares with other professions in terms of pay and stress, we've got you covered. Comparing US Bureau of Labor Statistics' average salary figures with data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which assigns a 'stress tolerance' score from 0 to 100 for each job (with 100 being the most pressurized), we reveal the 15 worst careers for pay and stress followed by the 15 best.

Starting with the 15 worst roles for pay and stress, we've only included jobs that pay below the average nationwide salary of $46,800. A career in choreography calls for a large degree of personal sacrifice. Though creative, the physically demanding job entails long, antisocial hours, and pay is relatively meager at just $46,670 a year typically. Not only that but regular work can be hard to come by. No wonder this role scores a high 89 for stress.

Retail sales supervisors tend to be overworked and underpaid, putting in long hours for precious little reward. As well as coordinating staff, stock inventories and merchandising, these put-upon professionals have to face irate customers and resolve complaint after complaint. Needless to say, the stress rating for the role is super-high at 96 and it ranks fourth in CareerBliss.com's Unhappiest Jobs survey.

The role of a 911 dispatcher is particularly trying. These emergency workers, who are increasingly being recognized as first responders, have to field traumatic calls on a daily basis and keep calm during frightening life or death situations. In addition, they tend to work long hours, as well as weekends and public holidays, and are poorly paid to boot. The job scores 97 for stress and a 2012 study in the Journal of Traumatic Stress found that between 18-24% of 911 telecommunicators show signs of PTSD.

Working in a pressurized environment, credit authorizers are tasked with assessing the credit worthiness of customers and maintaining records of charges and payments. They often have to liaise with a wide range of businesses and may have to deal with angry customers. Pay is pretty modest and the job has a stress rating of 90.

The most stressful job in our round-up based on the Occupational Information Network study, the role of telephone operator scores an extra-high 98. A very thick skin is essential for the position given the amount of rude callers the typical operator has to endure on a daily basis. Hours are long and compensation for the anxiety-inducing job is low at just $39,360 a year on average.

Rating 92 for stress, animal control workers have to capture dangerous pets or wildlife and investigate cases of animal cruelty. Not for the faint-hearted, the nerve-racking role requires an unflappable attitude and strong stomach, not to mention an ability to handle sometimes furious and aggressive animal owners. A vocational job if there ever was one, pay is paltry at $38,490 a year.

Working in psychiatric hospitals, care homes, residential treatment centers, and similar facilities, psychiatric technicians provide hands-on therapeutic care to patients with mental health conditions ranging from paranoid schizophrenia to advanced dementia. As you might imagine, the role is extremely psychologically and physically demanding, but despite this is poorly paid despite this. That said this type of role can be highly rewarding nonetheless. It scores 90 for stress.

Staying with health professionals, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics are among the most stressed-out first responders, scoring 92 out of 100 for very good reason. On top of having to save lives under often very difficult circumstances, a shocking 69% of EMTs and paramedics have experienced violence on the job. Additionally, hours are long and pay is low at just $37,760 a year.

Helping patients obtain services, understand policies and make sometimes very difficult healthcare decisions is no walk in the park and patient reps understandably have to cope with a plethora of tense and upsetting situations. Salaries are on the low side for what the role entails. As a result the job rates 94 for stress.

Opting to be an umpire, referee, or other sports official may seem like a fun move, but working in the field can be tremendously stressful. Decisions made can be highly contentious and attract a barrage of criticism from athletes, coaches and fans alike, and being on the receiving end of so much hate can be taxing, contributing to the job's high stress rating of 93.

Mundane roles that involve very little variety can lead to significant levels of stress according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and data entry work, which scores 92 for stress, can be mindless and repetitive at the best of times. The pressure to meet targets can be full-on and pay is far from generous at just $33,740 a year on average.

Whereas psychiatric technicians provide therapeutic care for mental health patients, psychiatric aides assist patients in their day to day activities. The role tends to be more physically strenuous and stressful, scoring 93 in this respect, and isn't as well paid. Psychiatric aides earn just $31,090 a year on average.

The role of flight attendant has a stress rating of 92, which is higher than the score of 90 assigned to transportation attendants, yet they take home much better pay. Transportation attendants working on ships, trains, buses, or in stations and terminals have to deal with similar stresses, including annoying passengers and long hours, and all for just $30,640 a year typically.

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The unsung heroes of the medical world, nursing assistants have a raw deal. As well as doing all the unpleasant jobs nurses avoid like cleaning up blood, vomit and poop, they have to cope with sometimes unbearable emotional stresses and arduously long shifts, which makes for a high stress rating of 91. Plus pay in this role is extremely poor at only $29,580 per year.

The lowest-paid roles in our round-up, veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers average a salary of just $28,690. With a stress rating of 92, these occupations are not the nicest by a long shot. Mucking out animal enclosures day in day out and having to assist with the euthanasia of pets can certainly take its toll and career burnout is an all too common occurrence.

Now for the least stressful, highest-salaried careers. We've restricted our choices to roles that pay at least double the US average salary of $46,800. Interestingly, every single job in the top 15 is in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Biomedical engineers for instance, whose role entails applying design and engineering principles to biology which has led to the development of artificial organs, surgical robots and kidney dialysis in the past, earn a generous $95,090 per year on average and have a relatively low stress rating of 63.

Materials engineers develop, process, and test components used in a wide range of products and across a variety of manufacturing and industrial sectors. Payscale scores the role highly in terms of job satisfaction and pay is very impressive indeed at $96,930 a year, which goes some way to explaining its low stress rating of 61.

Fuel cell engineers take care of the design, development, and testing of fuel cells. They tend to work in calm environments and often alone, but do undertake team work from time to time. This job is the least stressful in our round-up, scoring a no-sweat 50, and salaries are excellent, averaging $99,230.

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Another incredibly rewarding engineering role, solar energy engineers oversee the creation and development of solar energy systems and perform site analysis work too. The job scores just 61 for stress and professionals in the sector have the added bonus of knowing they're helping to save the planet, while making a lot of money in the process.

Crunching colossal numbers and coming up with insanely complex equations is all in a day's work for the typical mathematician, who might work in the field of education, government, medicine, or engineering. In many cases the working environment is tranquil and conflict-free. Payscale rates the job very highly for job satisfaction and the financial rewards are considerable with salaries averaging $104,870 a year, no doubt contributing to a stress rating of only 57.

Bioinformatics scientists apply IT and computer science to biological systems, working with data to create algorithms that analyse DNA and protein sequences. The role, which scores just 56 for stress, is in big demand and average salaries are high at $105,904. 

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The role of geoscientist, which involves the exploration and harnessing of natural resources, is fascinating and varied, and frequently involves field work in picturesque locations. Unsurprisingly given its variety and the chance to enjoy the great outdoors, the job has a low stress score of 63 and pays exceedingly well.

This role is all about monitoring, managing, and protecting water resources with a focus on safety and sustainability. Like geoscientists, hydrologists get to work outside as well as in an office environment, and have relatively low stress levels, scoring 62 in this respect. They also earn huge salaries, typically $107,800.

Likewise, geographers often get to engage in interesting fieldwork and may have the opportunity to travel to exotic locations to study the earth and its features. Their pay matches that of hydrologists with salaries averaging out at $107,800 but the job is even less stressful with a rating of just 59.

It's not hard to figure out why the role of software developer tops this year's U.S. News & World Report's 100 Best Jobs in America survey. Salaries in the field – particularly in app development – are sky-high, job satisfaction, future employment prospects, and security are stellar, and stress is reassuringly low with the role scoring just 61 according to the Occupational Information Network.

Chemical engineers work in low-stress office or lab environments applying their scientific know-how to develop and design chemical manufacturing processes, be they in the fields of food and drink, household products, medicine, energy, or plastics. Scoring a calming 61 for stress, the job pays fantastically well with salaries averaging $114,740.

Researching and studying political systems may not be everyone's idea of a fun job, but political scientists, who work in government and education, or for think tanks, lobbying firms, and non-profits, enjoy great job satisfaction, pull in enormous salaries, and have comparatively low stress levels, scoring 61 in the Occupational Information Network analysis.

Economists engage in specialist research for public sector organizations and private companies, studying the ways in which society uses resources and how entities obtain, invest, and use money. A multifaceted, ultra-satisfying role with sensational pay prospects, the job scores low for stress, garnering a rating of just 64.

Who knew studying the planets, stars, and other celestial phenomena could be so chill and tension-free? The role of astronomer scores just 62 for stress, and pays spectacularly well with salaries averaging out at $123,730. Job satisfaction is very high and professionals in the field are in high demand with the employment market expected to grow significantly in the coming years.

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Physicists have the highest-paid low-stress job of them all. Although they have to work extra-hard at college to land a job in the field, these highly trained scientists are handsomely rewarded for their efforts and gain immeasurable satisfaction from researching and experimenting with the building blocks of the universe. To top it off the role has a stress rating of just 61.

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