The Burrow
Sep 26, 2025
Work is more than a way to earn a living, as it also shapes our daily routines, our sense of purpose, and even the pace at which we age. While job satisfaction can boost wellbeing, factors such as long hours, relentless work stress, physical strain and low pay can quietly accelerate the ageing process.
To uncover how different careers affect long-term health, the health insurance comparison experts at Compare the Market put together the Ageing Impact Index 2025, which analyses 20 professions against five key factors: stress load, movement imbalance, hazard exposure, weekly hours, and salary. The findings reveal stark contrasts, with some jobs carrying heavy biological costs.
So, which jobs take the greatest toll on your health, and which ones could be kinder to your body and mind? Here are the jobs ageing you the most.
When it comes to professions that accelerate biological ageing, three roles stand out above the rest. Each combines high stress, physical strain and demanding schedules, creating conditions that wear down the body faster than average.
Firefighting ranks highest on the Ageing Impact Index, with the combination of constant danger, unpredictable hours and intense stress levels creating a heavy toll. Hazard exposure (6.30) is among the highest of all professions, while the average salary of AU$87,329 provides only a limited buffer against the risks. The reality is clear: balancing life-threatening emergencies with long shifts and modest financial reward makes this an undeniably tough profession.
Truck drivers face one of the most draining work patterns in the dataset. Extended sedentary hours behind the wheel contribute to high movement imbalance (5.64), while the duration of the work week is among the longest measured (9.20). Add to this road hazards and mental strain from tight schedules, and the profession emerges as a major driver of accelerated ageing. Even with a relatively high salary of AU$146,242, the biological costs remain significant.
Behind the glamour of the kitchen lies one of the toughest professions for long-term health. Chefs endure exceptionally long work weeks (the longest in the dataset at 9.65) combined with intense stress, heat, burns, and repetitive strain from standing for hours at a time. With an average salary of AU$98,018, the financial return doesn’t offset the physical and emotional pressure. For many, this constant cycle of stress and fatigue makes cooking professionally one of the jobs ageing you the most.
Not all rapid-ageing professions are defined by danger or low pay. Some of the most demanding roles sit at the top of the corporate ladder, where stress is intense, but salaries provide a financial cushion. Lawyers and CEOs are careers where long-term health is put under pressure, though earnings help to compensate for the risk compared to other high-stress jobs.
Lawyers experience the highest stress load in the dataset (8.08), with long hours and heavy workloads accelerating biological ageing. While hazard exposure is minimal, the mental toll of deadlines, client demands, and courtroom pressures is significant. With an average salary of AU$161,319, the financial rewards help to mitigate the strain, but law remains one of the most stress-heavy professions with a clear impact on long-term wellbeing.
Chief executives may top the earnings chart with an average salary of AU$236,616, but their leadership comes at a steep cost. CEOs face high stress levels (7.79) and some of the longest working weeks of all professions (9.50, second only to chefs). While hazard exposure is relatively low, the relentless pace and decision-making pressure still accelerate ageing. The difference is that high income provides resources for health, recovery and lifestyle balance that can soften the toll.
Between the highest-risk roles and those that age you the least are a group of jobs that sit firmly in the middle. These careers combine notable levels of work stress and long hours, but without the severe hazard exposure of firefighting or the financial rewards of top-tier executives. For many people, they represent familiar professions where job satisfaction coexists with significant pressures.
Journalism remains a high-intensity career, with constant deadlines, irregular hours and unpredictable workloads. Stress levels are elevated (5.85), yet the average salary of AU$74,988 offers little financial buffer against burnout. With relatively low pay and high demands, journalism highlights how work stress, even without physical hazards, can still create a work environment that ages you faster than others.
Sales roles are driven by targets, long client hours and relentless performance pressure. The work week is lengthy (8.69, even longer than lawyers), while the average salary of AU$112,879 is only modest compared to the stress involved. Although hazards are low, the imbalance between time spent working and financial reward places sales firmly in the mid-range of ageing impact.
Teaching blends meaningful job satisfaction with considerable day-to-day pressures. Stress levels are moderate (5.77), and the work week averages 7.53, making it less extreme than many other professions. With an average salary of AU$87,980 and relatively low hazard exposure, teaching sits mid-tier. It’s challenging enough to carry ageing risks, but not among the jobs ageing you the most.
At the other end of the scale are professions where lower stress levels, shorter work weeks or higher salaries help to minimise the impact on long-term health. These roles may not be without their challenges, but compared to the most punishing jobs, they offer a far gentler effect on biological ageing.
Software developers benefit from high pay (AU$190,981) and low hazard exposure, with moderate stress levels (4.82) that are significantly below those seen in more demanding jobs. The role is sedentary, which introduces some movement imbalance (5.56), but overall, the work week (7.60) and job conditions help to keep ageing risks low.
Data science emerges as one of the healthiest careers, combining low stress (4.26, which is the lowest across all professions) with a high average salary of AU$196,368. While the work week is on the longer side (8.32), the combination of strong pay, minimal hazard exposure and manageable stress makes it a career that supports healthy ageing.
Retail has the lowest ageing score overall, thanks largely to shorter work weeks (just 4.02 on the index) and a relatively low stress load (4.93). While the average salary of AU$60,006 is the lowest in the dataset, reduced work hours and minimal hazard exposure mean retail work carries less long-term strain. There’s a lot less financial security, but in terms of health, retail workers face a comparatively slower pace of ageing.
Executive General Manager of Health, Life and Energy at Compare the Market, Steven Spicer, notes the impact stress and physical strain can have on your health.
“Professions with high stress and hazard exposure accelerate ageing and increase the likelihood of long-term health risks,” Mr Spicer said.
“This makes comprehensive health insurance especially important.
“When looking into health insurance, it’s important to compare your options in order to find a policy that best suits your lifestyle and your budget.”
This dataset ranks 20 professions based on their impact on ageing using 5 key factors. Each factor’s data was collected and normalised for the ranking. The scores were then combined to give each profession a total score out of 100, and professions were ranked from highest to lowest.
O*NET – the U.S. Department of Labor’s occupational database – evaluates jobs across hundreds of “element types” (e.g., Work Context and Work Activities) covering schedule demands, physical load, environmental hazards, interpersonal pressures, and more. For category construction, the underlying O*NET elements (originally on mixed scales) were first rescaled to 0–10, then averaged to form each factor before normalising to 0–1.
The factors used were:
Factors were weighted as follows:
Indexing rules:
Job title matching:
The job titles from O*NET were matched to a predefined set of professions identified for analysis in this study. Where multiple O*NET roles represented variations of the same occupation, they were grouped under a single representative title. For example, different types of nurses were grouped under “Nurse.” Matching was based on recognised job titles and their suitability for the study. The final category scores represent the average of the relevant grouped job roles.
All data is accurate as of 15/8/2025. Rankings reflect the data sources used but may not capture every real-life detail. Salary figures use U.S. data and were converted for presentation. They do not represent local pay levels. The rationale is that relative differences between roles are more informative for this analysis than country by country levels.
Currencies were converted from USD to GBP, AUD, and EUR using Google rates on 12/08/2025 at: 1 USD = 0.74 GBP; 1 USD = 1.53 AUD; 1 USD = 0.86 EUR.