CFOs rate their happiness above average.

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, CFOs rate their career happiness 3.4 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 34% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy CFOs 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
Solution architect
3.7
$100k
COO
3.7
$79k
CFO
3.4
$100k
Franchise owner
3.4
$58k
Stock trader
3.4
$63k
Disaster recovery specialist
3.3
$41k
Product manager
3.3
$85k

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

Are CFOs happy with their salary?

CFOs rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.5/5. The majority of CFOs are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

213 CFOs

5 Star
28%

28% of CFOs rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
27%

27% of CFOs rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of CFOs rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
10%

10% of CFOs rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
12%

12% of CFOs rated their compensation 1 stars

Do CFOs find their jobs meaningful?

On average, CFOs rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.2/5. Most tend to be satisified with the level of meaning they find in their careers.

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

3.2 out of 5 stars

215 CFOs

5 Star
22%

22% of CFOs rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
20%

20% of CFOs rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of CFOs rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
17%

17% of CFOs rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
13%

13% of CFOs rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

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

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

4.1 out of 5 stars

225 CFOs

5 Star
44%

44% of CFOs rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
36%

36% of CFOs rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
13%

13% of CFOs rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
3%

3% of CFOs rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of CFOs rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a CFO’s work environment?

As a whole, CFOs rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of CFOs enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a CFO.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

224 CFOs

5 Star
26%

26% of CFOs rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
38%

38% of CFOs rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of CFOs rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
8%

8% of CFOs rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of CFOs rated their work environment 1 stars

Are CFOs making the best use of their abilities?

Former CFOs on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.4/5. Most CFOs surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a CFO, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

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

3.4 out of 5 stars

226 CFOs

5 Star
23%

23% of CFOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
28%

28% of CFOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of CFOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of CFOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
10%

10% of CFOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars