Crane operators are below average when it comes to happiness.
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, crane operators rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 39% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy crane operators 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Locomotive engineer | 3.1 | $80k |
| Commercial fisherman | 3.1 | $37k |
| Irrigation technician | 3.1 | $34k |
| Logging worker | 3.1 | $48k |
| Pipefitter | 3.1 | $60k |
| Crane operator | 3.1 | $62k |
| Radio frequency specialist | 3.1 | $105k |
| Upholsterer | 3.1 | $37k |
| Millwright | 3.1 | $60k |
| Shipmate | 3.1 | $82k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are crane operators happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do crane operators find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as crane operators?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are crane operator’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are crane operators making the best use of their abilities?
Are crane operators happy with their salary?
Crane operators rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most crane operators having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked crane operators how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
66 crane operators
21% of crane operators rated their compensation 5 stars
27% of crane operators rated their compensation 4 stars
27% of crane operators rated their compensation 3 stars
15% of crane operators rated their compensation 2 stars
9% of crane operators rated their compensation 1 stars
Do crane operators find their jobs meaningful?
On average, crane operators rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.8/5. While most crane operators aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked crane operators how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
66 crane operators
14% of crane operators rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
18% of crane operators rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
24% of crane operators rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
27% of crane operators rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
17% of crane operators rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as crane operators?
Crane operators rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of crane operators find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked crane operators how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
73 crane operators
30% of crane operators rated their career fit 5 stars
29% of crane operators rated their career fit 4 stars
29% of crane operators rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of crane operators rated their career fit 2 stars
5% of crane operators rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a crane operator’s work environment?
As a whole, crane operators rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.
We asked crane operators how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
72 crane operators
28% of crane operators rated their work environment 5 stars
19% of crane operators rated their work environment 4 stars
28% of crane operators rated their work environment 3 stars
19% of crane operators rated their work environment 2 stars
6% of crane operators rated their work environment 1 stars
Are crane operators making the best use of their abilities?
Former crane operators on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.1/5. Most crane operators are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked crane operators how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
72 crane operators
17% of crane operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
22% of crane operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
29% of crane operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
22% of crane operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
10% of crane operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars