Delivery Drivers Face More Deadline Pressure Than ER Doctors, According To New Study

Couriers and delivery drivers score 100 out of 100 for time pressure, the highest of 26 well-known American jobs, and a new analysis of federal job data by The Texas Law Dog (https://thetexaslawdog.com/research/most-dangerous-states-for-gig-delivery-drivers/) finds they face strict deadlines more often than airline pilots, roofers and emergency room doctors. Labor Department ratings, scored across all 26 jobs, put couriers ahead of roofers at 97 and airline pilots at 93, and well clear of emergency medicine physicians at 78, lifting couriers to an overall stress score of 55.1, 10th of 26 and above firefighters at 54.4.

A courier and a firefighter can start the same shift knowing the day carries risk, but only one of them spends it racing the clock. Couriers score 100 for time pressure, more than double the 41 scored by firefighters, and still finish above them overall. The gap widens further on pay. Couriers score 97 on the low pay measure, sixth highest of the 26 jobs, on a median wage of $39,200, while firefighters earn $59,280 and emergency medicine physicians earn $335,550.

| Job | Time Pressure Score | Overall Stress Score | Median Annual Wage | |---|---|---|---| | Couriers and Messengers | 100 | 55.1 | $39,200 | | Roofers | 97 | 56.2 | $55,440 | | Airline Pilots, Copilots and Flight Engineers | 93 | 59.8 | $232,140 | | Customer Service Representatives | 93 | 50.7 | $44,770 | | Correctional Officers and Jailers | 88 | 76.9 | $58,940 | | Emergency Medicine Physicians | 78 | 75.1 | $335,550 | | Firefighters | 41 | 54.4 | $59,280 | | Fast Food and Counter Workers | 0 | 42.5 | $31,200 |

On most other measures they sit mid-table, 10th of 26 for dealing with violent or aggressive people, 10th for hazardous conditions and 15th for unpleasant or angry people. It is the clock, together with low pay, that lifts them above heavy truck drivers at 53.9, lawyers at 50.8 and air traffic controllers at 49.5, and within touching distance of roofers at 56.2.

The Clock Is The Thread Running Through The Data

Driving jobs that run to a schedule score high for time pressure across the board, with heavy truck drivers at 79, light truck drivers at 78 and shuttle drivers and chauffeurs at 74, against 62 for transit and intercity bus drivers. Couriers top them all. The jobs most people picture as the most stressful, correctional work at 76.9 and emergency medicine at 75.1 overall, do lead the index, but neither faces deadlines as often as the person bringing the order to the door. With the holiday delivery rush weeks away, that gap between perceived and real pressure is the kind of finding delivery platforms, employers and policymakers should weigh when they set delivery windows, targets and pay.

Couriers' overall score of 55.1 sits just below roofers at 56.2 and registered nurses at 59.5, and well above light truck drivers at 42.5 and cashiers at 33.7. For a job paid a median $39,200, that places couriers inside the 10 most stressful of the 26 jobs studied, in a group led by correctional officers, emergency medicine physicians, police officers, paramedics and nurses.

Full data: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PeLVHuZi380Z3JdBLfwFOBGkvVvdgHERjtXEOaq1_SY/edit?usp=sharing

ENDS

Notes to editors: Scores come from a job stress index built on seven O*NET Work Context ratings from the U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET OnLine (https://www.onetonline.org/find/descriptor/browse/4.C): time pressure, dealing with unpleasant or angry people, conflict situations, dealing with violent or physically aggressive people, exposure to hazardous conditions, consequence of error and level of competition, plus low pay, based on BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 2025 median annual wages as published on each occupation's O*NET OnLine summary page (for example https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-5021.00). Each factor is rescaled 0 to 100 across the 26 jobs, so 100 marks the highest score in the group and 0 the lowest; pay is inverted so the lowest-paid job scores 100. The overall stress score is the equal-weighted average of the eight factors. On O*NET's own 0 to 100 context scale, couriers score 93 for time pressure, against 91 for roofers, 89 for airline pilots, 80 for emergency medicine physicians and 59 for firefighters. Gig delivery drivers are represented by the federal Couriers and Messengers occupation (SOC 43-5021), which also includes employed couriers and messengers. Wages are medians for employed workers, not gig earnings after costs. O*NET ratings reflect how workers describe their jobs, not measured stress or health outcomes, and scores are relative to the 26 jobs compared.