Customs inspectors 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, customs inspectors rate their career happiness 2.9 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 21% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy customs inspectors 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
Bailiff
3.1
$48k
Court reporter
3.0
$57k
Fire inspector
3.0
$65k
Probation officer
2.9
$60k
Customs inspector
2.9
$84k
Legal secretary
2.7
$48k
Paralegal
2.7
$56k
Compliance manager
2.7
$125k

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

  • Salary: Are customs inspectors happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do customs inspectors find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as customs inspectors?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are customs inspector’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are customs inspectors making the best use of their abilities?

Are customs inspectors happy with their salary?

Customs inspectors rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.0/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most customs inspectors having generally positive views of their salary.

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

3.0 out of 5 stars

62 customs inspectors

5 Star
15%

15% of customs inspectors rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
26%

26% of customs inspectors rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of customs inspectors rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
18%

18% of customs inspectors rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
18%

18% of customs inspectors rated their compensation 1 stars

Do customs inspectors find their jobs meaningful?

On average, customs inspectors rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.7/5. While most customs inspectors aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

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

2.7 out of 5 stars

62 customs inspectors

5 Star
13%

13% of customs inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
16%

16% of customs inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of customs inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
21%

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

1 Star
24%

24% of customs inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Customs inspectors rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.6/5. The majority of customs inspectors find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

3.6 out of 5 stars

63 customs inspectors

5 Star
22%

22% of customs inspectors rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
38%

38% of customs inspectors rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
21%

21% of customs inspectors rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
11%

11% of customs inspectors rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
8%

8% of customs inspectors rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a customs inspector’s work environment?

As a whole, customs inspectors rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.2/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.

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

3.2 out of 5 stars

64 customs inspectors

5 Star
17%

17% of customs inspectors rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
25%

25% of customs inspectors rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
30%

30% of customs inspectors rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
13%

13% of customs inspectors rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
16%

16% of customs inspectors rated their work environment 1 stars

Are customs inspectors making the best use of their abilities?

Former customs inspectors on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.6/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a customs inspector.

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

2.6 out of 5 stars

64 customs inspectors

5 Star
9%

9% of customs inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
13%

13% of customs inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of customs inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
30%

30% of customs inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
22%

22% of customs inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars