What profession has the highest job satisfaction, you wonder?
While employees are very satisfied working in some professions, others not so much.
So which careers have the lowest job satisfaction, and what are the happiest jobs out there?
Continue reading this article and you will find out!
Key Job Satisfaction Statistics By Profession (Editor’s Pick)
- 90% of clergy workers are satisfied with their jobs.
- 41% of parking lot attendants are happy with their jobs.
- 90% of US teachers report a high job satisfaction rate.
- Recruiting manager is the number one job with the highest satisfaction.
- Childcare is the industry with the most satisfied professionals.
20 Job Satisfaction Statistics By Profession & Industry
1. 90% of those working in the clergy profession are highly satisfied with their jobs.
Almost all of those in the clergy profession feel job satisfaction on a high level. Moreover, according to job satisfaction statistics by profession, 98% of them say their job has a high meaning for them.
Source: PayScale
2. Education administrators in elementary and secondary school report a job satisfaction rate of 88%.
While education administrators in elementary and secondary schools report a high meaning of 95%, they are also very happy with their jobs (88%). Education administrators include deans in universities and principals in schools and are at the same time highly rewarding and challenging jobs.
Source: PayScale
3. Radiation therapists report a job satisfaction rate of 86%, with a high meaning rate of 93%.
Almost nine in 10 radiation therapists (86%) show a high job satisfaction. This is due to the fact that such a job is still relatively less stressful than other professions that work with oncological patients.
Source: PayScale
4. Firefighters show a job satisfaction rate of 83%.
Over eight in 10 firefighters (83%) say they are satisfied with their jobs. While this is a demanding and stressful job, firefighters rated their job satisfaction at 3.8 out of 5, according to CareerExplorer.
Source: PayScale
5. Foresters report a job satisfaction rate of 85%.
Foresters, aka those who plant new trees and manage land, are reporting a high satisfaction rate with their jobs of 85%. On the other hand, when asked to rate their career happiness, foresters rate it at 3.4 out of 5, according to a survey by CareerExplorer.
Source: PayScale
6. 72% of employment, recruitment, and placement specialists are satisfied with their job.
More than seven in 10 of those with specialization in employment, recruitment, and placement are happy and satisfied with their jobs. According to research by PayScale, these specialists rate their job happiness at 3.78 out of 5.
Source: PayScale
7. Software development, physician assistants, and dentists were top American jobs in 2020.
According to job satisfaction statistics by profession, software developers, physician assistants, and dentists were top jobs in the United States in 2020. According to US News, software developer gets spot number one for three years in a row. Then, in 2021, US News reports that physician assistant climbs to stop number 1, while software developer moves to the second place of the top 100 jobs in the US.
Source: US News
8. 41% of parking lot attendants are satisfied with their jobs.
Less than half of those working as parking lot attendants are happy with their jobs. Moreover, only 5% of those working as parking lot attendants report that they find their work meaningful.
Source: PayScale
9. 40% of dishwashers are satisfied with their jobs.
Only four in 10 dishwashers are satisfied with what they do for a living. This comes as no surprise, as dishwashers have to stand on their feet a lot, encounter sharp objects, have to lift heavy objects, and always have to be on high alert so they do not get injured.
Source: PayScale
10. 39% of the dining room and cafeteria attendants are happy with their jobs, as well as bartender helpers.
Less than 40% of those who are helping bartenders are happy with their jobs, as well as those who are attending dining room and cafeteria customers. They work in pressure-packed environments without their jobs having much meaning to them.
Source: PayScale
11. 90% of US teachers say they are satisfied with their jobs.
The majority of US teachers report they are satisfied with their jobs, in line with the rest of the world’s findings. Moreover, 74% of English Language and Literature teachers in postsecondary education are happy with their jobs, according to PayScale.
Source: Brookings Institution
12. 81% of kindergarten teachers are satisfied with their jobs.
More than eight in 10 kindergarten teachers say they are happy with their jobs, according to teacher job satisfaction statistics. This is possibly due to the reason they work with kids, which makes it a very rewarding job.
Source: PayScale
13. 76% of secondary school teachers report high job satisfaction.
Just under eight in 10 teachers who work in secondary schools say they are highly satisfied with their jobs. According to US News, a high school teacher earns the number one spot for the best education jobs in the US.
Source: PayScale
14. 68% of lawyers show high job satisfaction.
According to lawyer job satisfaction statistics, 68% of lawyers are highly satisfied with their jobs. However, it is usually lawyers with longer tenures that are more satisfied than those who are only starting out.
Source: PayScale
15. Job happiness rating for lawyers is reported at 2.6 out of 5.
It seems that lawyers are not showing a lot of happiness for their jobs, as they gave it an overall rating of 2.6 out of 5. Moreover, this puts the career in 7% of the least happy professions.
Source: CareerExplorer
16. Recruiting manager is the number one job with the highest satisfaction.
With a rating of 4.6 out of 5, a recruiting manager is a top job with the highest satisfaction for workers. Likewise, sales operation managers and product designers have a job satisfaction rating of 4.5 out of 5, while marketing assistants have a job satisfaction rating of 4.3 out of 5, along with brand managers and data scientists.
Source: Glassdoor
17. Nurses report a very high job satisfaction rate of between 94% and 98%.
Depending on the position they have, nurses report a high job satisfaction with rates between 94% and 98%. Moreover, out of those who were dissatisfied with their jobs, many are planning to pursue another nursing path, according to nursing job satisfaction statistics.
Source: Medscape
18. The best-paid job with the highest satisfaction rate is product designer.
Product designers have a median salary of $100,000 and among the best-paid jobs, they have the most satisfied workers. On a 5-point scale, product designers rate their job satisfaction at 4.5.
Source: PayScale
19. In 2021, Java developers have the highest job satisfaction score.
Glassdoor job satisfaction ranking includes job happiness, the annual median salary, and the number of job openings by the end of the year. In 2021, they found that Java developers have the highest job satisfaction score of 4.2 out of 5.
Source: Glassdoor
20. Childcare is the industry with the most satisfied working professionals.
With 239 points overall, childcare is the industry with the highest number of satisfied workers. The second place belongs to finance and banking (232 points), and hospitality comes in the last spot (83 points).
Source: SavoyStewart
Final Verdict
While job satisfaction is something that workers mostly experience on an individual level, some professions simply offer more satisfaction to individuals than others. Also, according to job satisfaction statistics, the most rewarding professions are also those that have the highest job satisfaction rate. Moreover, these numbers also might play in role in new generations picking out a career they wanna work in once they finish their education.
