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Scientists, Lab Techs Top Coffee Consumers

BOSTON (CBS) - Coffee is the drug of choice for millions of professionals who say they couldn't function at work without their daily latte or mocha — and openly scoff at tea drinkers.

But certain professions, according to a new survey from Dunkin' Donuts parent Dunkin' Brands and CareerBuilder, need that java fix even more than others.

Topping the list — which ranked professions according to which people said they needed coffee to the most in order to be productive — were scientists and lab technicians.

Sitting at a lab bench, pouring chemicals into beakers apparently requires a high amount of caffeine-fueled concentration.

Rounding out the top five are:

2) marketing/public relations professional

3) education administrator

4) editor/writer

5) health-care administrator

Nurses, professors, doctors and social workers also made an appearance on Dunkin's top 15 coffee-addicted professions list, which was created for the second year in a row in honor of National Coffee Day, Thursday, Sept. 29.

The survey also found that overall, 34 percent of professionals surveyed said they need coffee to get through the day and 46 percent of coffee drinkers say they are less productive, if they don't get their morning fix of Joe.

The Dunkin' and CareerBuilder survey queried over 4,700 workers in August and September.

Lisa van der Pool of the Boston Business Journal reports

The degree to which professionals are slaves to their coffee machines (or local coffee outlet) also depends on where they live.

Geographically in the United States, professionals in the Northeast (49 percent) are more dependent on coffee than workers in the west (47 percent) and the South (at 45 percent).

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