Financial clerks 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, financial clerks rate their career happiness 2.5 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 5% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy financial clerks 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
Credit analyst
2.6
$67k
Customs broker
2.6
$67k
Accountant
2.6
$56k
Office clerk
2.6
$16k
Actuary
2.5
$121k
Financial clerk
2.5
$39k
Loan officer
2.5
$62k
Underwriter
2.5
$57k
Teller
2.5
$19k
Auditor
2.5
$54k

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

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

Are financial clerks happy with their salary?

Financial clerks rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.9/5. Financial clerks tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

We asked financial clerks how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

1340 financial clerks

5 Star
9%

9% of financial clerks rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
25%

25% of financial clerks rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
30%

30% of financial clerks rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of financial clerks rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
15%

15% of financial clerks rated their compensation 1 stars

Do financial clerks find their jobs meaningful?

On average, financial clerks rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.2/5. The majority of financial clerks struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.

We asked financial clerks how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.2 out of 5 stars

1341 financial clerks

5 Star
6%

6% of financial clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
10%

10% of financial clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
18%

18% of financial clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
29%

29% of financial clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
37%

37% of financial clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as financial clerks?

Financial clerks rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.3/5. The majority of financial clerks don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.

We asked financial clerks how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.3 out of 5 stars

1449 financial clerks

5 Star
17%

17% of financial clerks rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
30%

30% of financial clerks rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
28%

28% of financial clerks rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of financial clerks rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
10%

10% of financial clerks rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a financial clerk’s work environment?

As a whole, financial clerks rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.1/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.

We asked financial clerks how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.1 out of 5 stars

1442 financial clerks

5 Star
14%

14% of financial clerks rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
27%

27% of financial clerks rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
28%

28% of financial clerks rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of financial clerks rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
13%

13% of financial clerks rated their work environment 1 stars

Are financial clerks making the best use of their abilities?

Former financial clerks on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.5/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a financial clerk.

We asked financial clerks how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

2.5 out of 5 stars

1454 financial clerks

5 Star
8%

8% of financial clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
14%

14% of financial clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of financial clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
30%

30% of financial clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
26%

26% of financial clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars