Stressful jobs that pay badly

Median pay: $43,000
% who say their job is stressful: 65%

Anyone who passed notes in chemistry class may understand why high school teachers often end up frustrated when trying to reach out to their students. Preparing lesson plans, setting up early, and fielding calls from concerned parents add to the stress level of teaching grades 9-12.

But dealing with meddling parents can be even more stressful than keeping rowdy teens in line. One social studies teacher, from East Bay, Calif., says she not only has to manage over-involved parents but has also had to grade them -- specifically when one mother of a freshman in her class does her son's homework assignments herself. "The essays that he turns in are a hilarious read as the 'mistakes' that the mother makes in the writing are obviously a ploy to make it appear like a 9th grader wrote the essays."

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