including those monitoring changes to sea ice extent in the polar regions

Ah, there it is. Kicking climate change under the carpet again, I see.

Workers risk a few things, depending on the job:

• Health
• Time
• Opportunity (could be working someplace else that’s better)

These have a lot of dimension to them, including how one quantifies what “pay” actually is/for, what legal restrictions there are around taking the job (e.g. non-compete, non-arbitration), work/life balance, and so on.

Risk comes into play where the employee takes a bet that the job won’t destroy their health, work only as much as is absolutely necessary, and have taken a position at the optimal balance of responsibility, personal growth, retirement prospects, and income. It’s a risk since there are substantial barriers to changing to a new job, so you can wind up “stuck” in a bad position, but can’t know until after you start.