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> jobs in services are less dangerous This depends on how you define dangerous. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States killing ~61

> jobs in services are less dangerous This depends on how you define dangerous. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States killing ~614,000 people per year whereas accidents account for ~136,000. Sedentary behavior has been shown to increase the odds of heart related disease. Moving from more active manufacturing jobs to more sedentary service jobs could arguably be more dangerous to the longevity of a person's life. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm "Physical inactivity has become a major public health concern because it is the second leading single cause of death in the United States, trailing only tobacco use (31)." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2857522/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2857522/

aidenn0 10y ago
Also to note: when I worked retail, I was significantly less active than when I started working software. With retail, my feet just hurt too damn much for me to want to play sports on my days off. When I started a software job, I had 3 weekly semi-organized games I played in most weeks, as well as occasional pickup games on other days.
- porpoisemonkey 10y ago
  Could you clarify why this should be noteworthy? I mean this in the nicest and most respectful way possible - I'm not sure how the statement fits into the discussion.
  - aidenn0 10y ago
    Always happy to clarify! My logic is roughly this: 1. The comment I replied to was talking about harms to health by being sedentary. 2. A lot of people on HN are young professionals with desk jobs, which at first glance seems more sedentary than most service jobs. 3. I thought it would be enlightening to realize that many of those service jobs can cause one to be more sedentary than a desk job. If I had not experienced it myself, I would not have considered this.
    - porpoisemonkey 10y ago
      I think I've identified my confusion. I had interpreted the original post to be a comparison of the levels of physical danger in manufacturing vs. service industry jobs. From my perspective both programming and retail are service industry jobs since they don't involve creating physical products by hand or through the use of tools.
      - aidenn0 10y ago
        Service industry is where no goods are produced. Non-live entertainment and software development both produce intangible goods, but still produce goods. Furthermore when one talks about the movement of low-wage jobs from manufacturing to services, it's assumed we aren't talking about professional services (e.g. lawyers, accountants), but unskilled and low-skill service jobs such as retail, food-services, and child-care.

aidenn0 10y ago

Also to note: when I worked retail, I was significantly less active than when I started working software. With retail, my feet just hurt too damn much for me to want to play sports on my days off. When I started a software job, I had 3 weekly semi-organized games I played in most weeks, as well as occasional pickup games on other days.

porpoisemonkey 10y ago
Could you clarify why this should be noteworthy? I mean this in the nicest and most respectful way possible - I'm not sure how the statement fits into the discussion.
- aidenn0 10y ago
  Always happy to clarify! My logic is roughly this: 1. The comment I replied to was talking about harms to health by being sedentary. 2. A lot of people on HN are young professionals with desk jobs, which at first glance seems more sedentary than most service jobs. 3. I thought it would be enlightening to realize that many of those service jobs can cause one to be more sedentary than a desk job. If I had not experienced it myself, I would not have considered this.
  - porpoisemonkey 10y ago
    I think I've identified my confusion. I had interpreted the original post to be a comparison of the levels of physical danger in manufacturing vs. service industry jobs. From my perspective both programming and retail are service industry jobs since they don't involve creating physical products by hand or through the use of tools.
    - aidenn0 10y ago
      Service industry is where no goods are produced. Non-live entertainment and software development both produce intangible goods, but still produce goods. Furthermore when one talks about the movement of low-wage jobs from manufacturing to services, it's assumed we aren't talking about professional services (e.g. lawyers, accountants), but unskilled and low-skill service jobs such as retail, food-services, and child-care.