Butchers are one of the least happy 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, butchers rate their career happiness 2.6 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 6% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy butchers 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
Hazardous materials removal worker
2.6
$36k
Recreational vehicle service technician
2.6
$45k
Derrick operator
2.6
$65k
Drywall installer
2.6
$13k
Roofer
2.6
$12k
Butcher
2.6
$13k
Glazier
2.6
$29k
Exterminator
2.5
$43k
Forklift operator
2.5
$25k
Metal worker
2.5
$15k

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

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

Are butchers happy with their salary?

Butchers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.6/5. Butchers tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

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

2.6 out of 5 stars

279 butchers

5 Star
7%

7% of butchers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
17%

17% of butchers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of butchers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
24%

24% of butchers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
25%

25% of butchers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do butchers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, butchers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.1/5. The majority of butchers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.

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

2.1 out of 5 stars

279 butchers

5 Star
6%

6% of butchers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
9%

9% of butchers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
16%

16% of butchers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
25%

25% of butchers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
44%

44% of butchers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Butchers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.4/5. The majority of butchers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

3.4 out of 5 stars

299 butchers

5 Star
20%

20% of butchers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
33%

33% of butchers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of butchers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
13%

13% of butchers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of butchers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a butcher’s work environment?

As a whole, butchers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.0/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.

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

3.0 out of 5 stars

300 butchers

5 Star
16%

16% of butchers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
25%

25% of butchers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of butchers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
16%

16% of butchers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
20%

20% of butchers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are butchers making the best use of their abilities?

Former butchers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.4/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a butcher.

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

2.4 out of 5 stars

298 butchers

5 Star
11%

11% of butchers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
11%

11% of butchers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
20%

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

2 Star
26%

26% of butchers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
32%

32% of butchers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars