Couriers 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, couriers rate their career happiness 2.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 9% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy couriers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Meter reader | 2.7 | $46k |
| Bus driver | 2.7 | $42k |
| Brickmason | 2.7 | $59k |
| Taxi driver | 2.7 | $26k |
| Truck driver | 2.7 | $48k |
| Courier | 2.7 | $33k |
| Cargo and freight agent | 2.7 | $47k |
| Delivery service driver | 2.6 | $38k |
| Administrative assistant | 2.6 | $38k |
| Traffic technician | 2.6 | $49k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are couriers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do couriers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as couriers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are courier’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are couriers making the best use of their abilities?
Are couriers happy with their salary?
Couriers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.7/5. Couriers tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked couriers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.7 out of 5 stars
407 couriers
11% of couriers rated their compensation 5 stars
15% of couriers rated their compensation 4 stars
29% of couriers rated their compensation 3 stars
26% of couriers rated their compensation 2 stars
20% of couriers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do couriers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, couriers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.0/5. The majority of couriers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked couriers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.0 out of 5 stars
408 couriers
5% of couriers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
7% of couriers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
17% of couriers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
25% of couriers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
45% of couriers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as couriers?
Couriers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of couriers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked couriers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
420 couriers
28% of couriers rated their career fit 5 stars
32% of couriers rated their career fit 4 stars
25% of couriers rated their career fit 3 stars
9% of couriers rated their career fit 2 stars
6% of couriers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a courier’s work environment?
As a whole, couriers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. A solid majority of couriers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a courier.
We asked couriers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
416 couriers
24% of couriers rated their work environment 5 stars
29% of couriers rated their work environment 4 stars
25% of couriers rated their work environment 3 stars
13% of couriers rated their work environment 2 stars
9% of couriers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are couriers making the best use of their abilities?
Former couriers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.0/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a courier.
We asked couriers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.0 out of 5 stars
417 couriers
5% of couriers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
9% of couriers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
15% of couriers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
28% of couriers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
43% of couriers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars