CIOs 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, CIOs rate their career happiness 3.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 20% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy CIOs 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
CEO
4.0
$120k
Chief executive
3.9
$162k
Solution architect
3.7
$100k
COO
3.7
$79k
UX designer
3.5
$106k
CFO
3.4
$100k

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

Are CIOs happy with their salary?

CIOs rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.7/5. The majority of CIOs are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

60 CIOs

5 Star
30%

30% of CIOs rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
35%

35% of CIOs rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
18%

18% of CIOs rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of CIOs rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of CIOs rated their compensation 1 stars

Do CIOs find their jobs meaningful?

On average, CIOs rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.4/5. Unlike many careers, CIOs have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become CIOs.

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

3.4 out of 5 stars

61 CIOs

5 Star
21%

21% of CIOs rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
33%

33% of CIOs rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
18%

18% of CIOs rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of CIOs rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
7%

7% of CIOs rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

CIOs rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.3/5. The majority of CIOs find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

4.3 out of 5 stars

64 CIOs

5 Star
41%

41% of CIOs rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
48%

48% of CIOs rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
9%

9% of CIOs rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
2%

2% of CIOs rated their career fit 2 stars

How enjoyable is a CIO’s work environment?

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

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

3.9 out of 5 stars

63 CIOs

5 Star
35%

35% of CIOs rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
33%

33% of CIOs rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of CIOs rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
6%

6% of CIOs rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
2%

2% of CIOs rated their work environment 1 stars

Are CIOs making the best use of their abilities?

Former CIOs on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 4.0/5. Most CIOs surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a CIO, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

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

4.0 out of 5 stars

63 CIOs

5 Star
37%

37% of CIOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
37%

37% of CIOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
17%

17% of CIOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
8%

8% of CIOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
2%

2% of CIOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars