COOs 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, COOs rate their career happiness 3.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 21% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy COOs 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
$88k
Entrepreneur
4.0
$43k
Chief executive
3.9
$180k
COO
3.7
$79k
CFO
3.4
$100k
Franchise owner
3.4
$58k
Stock trader
3.4
$63k
Technical product manager
3.4
$78k

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

Are COOs happy with their salary?

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

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

438 COOs

5 Star
29%

29% of COOs rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
26%

26% of COOs rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of COOs rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
15%

15% of COOs rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of COOs rated their compensation 1 stars

Do COOs find their jobs meaningful?

On average, COOs rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.5/5. Unlike many careers, COOs have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become COOs.

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

439 COOs

5 Star
32%

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

4 Star
20%

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

3 Star
22%

22% of COOs rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
16%

16% of COOs rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
9%

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

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

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

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

4.3 out of 5 stars

471 COOs

5 Star
48%

48% of COOs rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
37%

37% of COOs rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
10%

10% of COOs rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
4%

4% of COOs rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
1%

1% of COOs rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a COO’s work environment?

As a whole, COOs rated their enjoyment of their work environment 4.0/5. A solid majority of COOs enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a COO.

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

4.0 out of 5 stars

471 COOs

5 Star
37%

37% of COOs rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
35%

35% of COOs rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
19%

19% of COOs rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of COOs rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
2%

2% of COOs rated their work environment 1 stars

Are COOs making the best use of their abilities?

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

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

3.8 out of 5 stars

469 COOs

5 Star
37%

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

4 Star
29%

29% of COOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
18%

18% of COOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of COOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of COOs rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars