Beekeepers are one of the happiest careers in the United States.

At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, beekeepers rate their career happiness 3.9 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 12% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy beekeepers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:

Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers

Career Satisfaction Avg Salary
Sculptor
4.1
$30k
Animal breeder
4.0
$40k
Beekeeper
3.9
$29k
Ski patroller
3.9
$29k
Dog trainer
3.9
$26k
Rancher
3.9
$26k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

  • Salary: Are beekeepers happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do beekeepers find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as beekeepers?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are beekeeper’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are beekeepers making the best use of their abilities?

Are beekeepers happy with their salary?

Beekeepers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.1/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most beekeepers having generally positive views of their salary.

We asked beekeepers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

3.1 out of 5 stars

95 beekeepers

5 Star
23%

23% of beekeepers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
13%

13% of beekeepers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
34%

34% of beekeepers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
13%

13% of beekeepers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
18%

18% of beekeepers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do beekeepers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, beekeepers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.7/5. Unlike many careers, beekeepers have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become beekeepers.

We asked beekeepers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

3.7 out of 5 stars

94 beekeepers

5 Star
35%

35% of beekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
26%

26% of beekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of beekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
11%

11% of beekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of beekeepers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as beekeepers?

Beekeepers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.0/5. The majority of beekeepers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked beekeepers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

4.0 out of 5 stars

101 beekeepers

5 Star
46%

46% of beekeepers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
29%

29% of beekeepers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
15%

15% of beekeepers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
5%

5% of beekeepers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of beekeepers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a beekeeper’s work environment?

As a whole, beekeepers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.9/5. A solid majority of beekeepers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a beekeeper.

We asked beekeepers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.9 out of 5 stars

99 beekeepers

5 Star
46%

46% of beekeepers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of beekeepers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
13%

13% of beekeepers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
10%

10% of beekeepers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of beekeepers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are beekeepers making the best use of their abilities?

Former beekeepers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most beekeepers surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a beekeeper, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

We asked beekeepers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

3.6 out of 5 stars

101 beekeepers

5 Star
32%

32% of beekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of beekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of beekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of beekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of beekeepers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars