Calligraphers 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, calligraphers rate their career happiness 3.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 15% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy calligraphers 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
Potter
4.0
$38k
Cartoonist
4.0
$30k
Ski patroller
3.9
$29k
Recording engineer
3.9
$34k
Calligrapher
3.8
$62k
Tattoo artist
3.8
$39k
Set designer
3.8
$28k
Videographer
3.8
$35k
Art therapist
3.7
$48k

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

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

Are calligraphers happy with their salary?

Calligraphers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.9/5. Calligraphers tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

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

2.9 out of 5 stars

75 calligraphers

5 Star
20%

20% of calligraphers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
15%

15% of calligraphers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of calligraphers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
13%

13% of calligraphers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
25%

25% of calligraphers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do calligraphers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, calligraphers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.6/5. Unlike many careers, calligraphers have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become calligraphers.

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

3.6 out of 5 stars

77 calligraphers

5 Star
32%

32% of calligraphers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of calligraphers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of calligraphers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of calligraphers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
8%

8% of calligraphers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Calligraphers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.1/5. The majority of calligraphers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

4.1 out of 5 stars

79 calligraphers

5 Star
46%

46% of calligraphers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
29%

29% of calligraphers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
16%

16% of calligraphers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
6%

6% of calligraphers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of calligraphers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a calligrapher’s work environment?

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

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

3.9 out of 5 stars

77 calligraphers

5 Star
42%

42% of calligraphers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of calligraphers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of calligraphers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
8%

8% of calligraphers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of calligraphers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are calligraphers making the best use of their abilities?

Former calligraphers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.8/5. Most calligraphers surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a calligrapher, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

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

3.8 out of 5 stars

80 calligraphers

5 Star
41%

41% of calligraphers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
21%

21% of calligraphers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
20%

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

2 Star
11%

11% of calligraphers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
6%

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