Golf course superintendents are about average in terms of 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, golf course superintendents rate their career happiness 3.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 47% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy golf course superintendents 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
Grain elevator worker
3.2
$7k
Network administrator
3.2
$65k
Referee
3.2
$1k
IT security consultant
3.2
$60k
Golf course superintendent
3.2
$34k
Pump operator
3.1
$32k
Irrigation technician
3.1
$15k

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

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

Are golf course superintendents happy with their salary?

Golf course superintendents rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.4/5. Golf course superintendents tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

We asked golf course superintendents how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

2.4 out of 5 stars

69 golf course superintendents

5 Star
20%

20% of golf course superintendents rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
26%

26% of golf course superintendents rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
32%

32% of golf course superintendents rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
22%

22% of golf course superintendents rated their compensation 2 stars

Do golf course superintendents find their jobs meaningful?

On average, golf course superintendents rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.4/5. The majority of golf course superintendents struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.

We asked golf course superintendents how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.4 out of 5 stars

69 golf course superintendents

5 Star
3%

3% of golf course superintendents rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
13%

13% of golf course superintendents rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
30%

30% of golf course superintendents rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
25%

25% of golf course superintendents rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
29%

29% of golf course superintendents rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as golf course superintendents?

Golf course superintendents rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.6/5. The majority of golf course superintendents find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked golf course superintendents how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.6 out of 5 stars

72 golf course superintendents

5 Star
18%

18% of golf course superintendents rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
43%

43% of golf course superintendents rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of golf course superintendents rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
13%

13% of golf course superintendents rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of golf course superintendents rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a golf course superintendent’s work environment?

As a whole, golf course superintendents rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.5/5. A solid majority of golf course superintendents enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a golf course superintendent.

We asked golf course superintendents how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.5 out of 5 stars

71 golf course superintendents

5 Star
24%

24% of golf course superintendents rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
28%

28% of golf course superintendents rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
34%

34% of golf course superintendents rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of golf course superintendents rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
7%

7% of golf course superintendents rated their work environment 1 stars

Are golf course superintendents making the best use of their abilities?

Former golf course superintendents on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.8/5. Golf course superintendents tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.

We asked golf course superintendents how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

2.8 out of 5 stars

71 golf course superintendents

5 Star
10%

10% of golf course superintendents rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
18%

18% of golf course superintendents rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
28%

28% of golf course superintendents rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
28%

28% of golf course superintendents rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
15%

15% of golf course superintendents rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars