Cryptanalysts 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, cryptanalysts rate their career happiness 2.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 15% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy cryptanalysts 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Quality assurance analyst | 2.8 | $58k |
| Energy broker | 2.8 | $55k |
| Database administrator | 2.8 | $58k |
| Civil engineer | 2.8 | $81k |
| Budget analyst | 2.8 | $67k |
| IT support specialist | 2.8 | $50k |
| Logistician | 2.7 | $45k |
| Nuclear medicine technologist | 2.7 | $89k |
| Shipping and receiving clerk | 2.4 | $20k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are cryptanalysts happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do cryptanalysts find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as cryptanalysts?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are cryptanalyst’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are cryptanalysts making the best use of their abilities?
Are cryptanalysts happy with their salary?
Cryptanalysts rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.1/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most cryptanalysts having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked cryptanalysts how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
30 cryptanalysts
17% of cryptanalysts rated their compensation 5 stars
27% of cryptanalysts rated their compensation 4 stars
20% of cryptanalysts rated their compensation 3 stars
23% of cryptanalysts rated their compensation 2 stars
13% of cryptanalysts rated their compensation 1 stars
Do cryptanalysts find their jobs meaningful?
On average, cryptanalysts rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.7/5. While most cryptanalysts aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked cryptanalysts how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.7 out of 5 stars
30 cryptanalysts
13% of cryptanalysts rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
17% of cryptanalysts rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
27% of cryptanalysts rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
17% of cryptanalysts rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
27% of cryptanalysts rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as cryptanalysts?
Cryptanalysts rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of cryptanalysts find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked cryptanalysts how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
30 cryptanalysts
20% of cryptanalysts rated their career fit 5 stars
43% of cryptanalysts rated their career fit 4 stars
27% of cryptanalysts rated their career fit 3 stars
3% of cryptanalysts rated their career fit 2 stars
7% of cryptanalysts rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a cryptanalyst’s work environment?
As a whole, cryptanalysts rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. A solid majority of cryptanalysts enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a cryptanalyst.
We asked cryptanalysts how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
30 cryptanalysts
17% of cryptanalysts rated their work environment 5 stars
37% of cryptanalysts rated their work environment 4 stars
23% of cryptanalysts rated their work environment 3 stars
13% of cryptanalysts rated their work environment 2 stars
10% of cryptanalysts rated their work environment 1 stars
Are cryptanalysts making the best use of their abilities?
Former cryptanalysts on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.9/5. Cryptanalysts tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.
We asked cryptanalysts how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
30 cryptanalysts
13% of cryptanalysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
23% of cryptanalysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
27% of cryptanalysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
17% of cryptanalysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
20% of cryptanalysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars