Dog walkers 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, dog walkers rate their career happiness 3.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 20% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy dog walkers 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
Aquarist
3.8
$28k
Organic farmer
3.8
$24k
Animal caretaker
3.7
$3k
Zoo educator
3.7
$25k
Veterinarian
3.7
$61k
Dog walker
3.7
$2k
Wildlife enforcement officer
3.6
$56k
Animal scientist
3.5
$58k

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

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

Are dog walkers happy with their salary?

Dog walkers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.2/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most dog walkers having generally positive views of their salary.

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

3.2 out of 5 stars

705 dog walkers

5 Star
18%

18% of dog walkers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of dog walkers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of dog walkers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of dog walkers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of dog walkers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do dog walkers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, dog walkers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.0/5. While most dog walkers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

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

3.0 out of 5 stars

711 dog walkers

5 Star
19%

19% of dog walkers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
19%

19% of dog walkers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of dog walkers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
23%

23% of dog walkers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
15%

15% of dog walkers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Dog walkers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.2/5. The majority of dog walkers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

4.2 out of 5 stars

763 dog walkers

5 Star
46%

46% of dog walkers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
33%

33% of dog walkers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
15%

15% of dog walkers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
4%

4% of dog walkers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
2%

2% of dog walkers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a dog walker’s work environment?

As a whole, dog walkers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.9/5. A solid majority of dog walkers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a dog walker.

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

3.9 out of 5 stars

764 dog walkers

5 Star
36%

36% of dog walkers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
34%

34% of dog walkers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
19%

19% of dog walkers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of dog walkers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of dog walkers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are dog walkers making the best use of their abilities?

Former dog walkers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.7/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a dog walker.

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

2.7 out of 5 stars

766 dog walkers

5 Star
15%

15% of dog walkers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
14%

14% of dog walkers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
21%

21% of dog walkers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
26%

26% of dog walkers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
24%

24% of dog walkers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars