Hazardous materials removal workers 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, hazardous materials removal workers rate their career happiness 2.6 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 9% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy hazardous materials removal workers 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
Mining machine operator
2.7
$60k
Machinist
2.7
$48k
Truck driver
2.7
$48k
Construction worker
2.7
$38k
Cargo and freight agent
2.7
$47k
Hazardous materials removal worker
2.6
$46k
Traffic technician
2.6
$49k
Recreational vehicle service technician
2.6
$44k
Derrick operator
2.6
$47k
Drywall installer
2.6
$48k

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

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

Are hazardous materials removal workers happy with their salary?

Hazardous materials removal workers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.2/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most hazardous materials removal workers having generally positive views of their salary.

We asked hazardous materials removal workers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

3.2 out of 5 stars

46 hazardous materials removal workers

5 Star
22%

22% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
22%

22% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
24%

24% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
13%

13% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do hazardous materials removal workers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, hazardous materials removal workers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.5/5. The majority of hazardous materials removal workers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.

We asked hazardous materials removal workers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.5 out of 5 stars

47 hazardous materials removal workers

5 Star
11%

11% of hazardous materials removal workers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
11%

11% of hazardous materials removal workers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of hazardous materials removal workers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of hazardous materials removal workers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
32%

32% of hazardous materials removal workers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as hazardous materials removal workers?

Hazardous materials removal workers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.5/5. The majority of hazardous materials removal workers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked hazardous materials removal workers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.5 out of 5 stars

50 hazardous materials removal workers

5 Star
24%

24% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
34%

34% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
8%

8% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a hazardous materials removal worker’s work environment?

As a whole, hazardous materials removal workers 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 hazardous materials removal workers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.1 out of 5 stars

50 hazardous materials removal workers

5 Star
16%

16% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
26%

26% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
24%

24% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
12%

12% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are hazardous materials removal workers making the best use of their abilities?

Former hazardous materials removal workers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.6/5. Hazardous materials removal workers tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.

We asked hazardous materials removal workers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

2.6 out of 5 stars

50 hazardous materials removal workers

5 Star
12%

12% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
16%

16% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
28%

28% of hazardous materials removal workers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars