Intelligence analysts 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, intelligence analysts rate their career happiness 3.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 46% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy intelligence analysts 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
Data scientist
3.3
$88k
Disaster recovery specialist
3.3
$41k
Geospatial information scientist
3.3
$90k
Consultant
3.2
$77k
Security engineer
3.2
$74k
Intelligence analyst
3.2
$84k
Statistician
3.2
$96k
Information security analyst
2.9
$98k

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

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

Are intelligence analysts happy with their salary?

Intelligence analysts rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most intelligence analysts having generally positive views of their salary.

We asked intelligence analysts how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

3.4 out of 5 stars

743 intelligence analysts

5 Star
20%

20% of intelligence analysts rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
30%

30% of intelligence analysts rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of intelligence analysts rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
16%

16% of intelligence analysts rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
8%

8% of intelligence analysts rated their compensation 1 stars

Do intelligence analysts find their jobs meaningful?

On average, intelligence analysts rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.2/5. Most tend to be satisified with the level of meaning they find in their careers.

We asked intelligence analysts how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

3.2 out of 5 stars

743 intelligence analysts

5 Star
19%

19% of intelligence analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of intelligence analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of intelligence analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of intelligence analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
12%

12% of intelligence analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as intelligence analysts?

Intelligence analysts rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of intelligence analysts find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked intelligence analysts how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.9 out of 5 stars

825 intelligence analysts

5 Star
33%

33% of intelligence analysts rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
39%

39% of intelligence analysts rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
19%

19% of intelligence analysts rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of intelligence analysts rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
2%

2% of intelligence analysts rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is an intelligence analyst’s work environment?

As a whole, intelligence analysts rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.6/5. A solid majority of intelligence analysts enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as an intelligence analyst.

We asked intelligence analysts how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.6 out of 5 stars

822 intelligence analysts

5 Star
22%

22% of intelligence analysts rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
35%

35% of intelligence analysts rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of intelligence analysts rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of intelligence analysts rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of intelligence analysts rated their work environment 1 stars

Are intelligence analysts making the best use of their abilities?

Former intelligence analysts on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.4/5. Most intelligence analysts are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

We asked intelligence analysts how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

3.4 out of 5 stars

818 intelligence analysts

5 Star
21%

21% of intelligence analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
30%

30% of intelligence analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of intelligence analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
17%

17% of intelligence analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
7%

7% of intelligence analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars