IT managers 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, IT managers rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 43% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy IT managers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Software engineer | 3.2 | $123k |
| Audio visual technician | 3.2 | $26k |
| Search marketing strategist | 3.2 | $90k |
| Statistician | 3.2 | $101k |
| IT manager | 3.1 | $100k |
| Electrical engineer | 3.1 | $69k |
| Digital marketing specialist | 3.1 | $57k |
| Systems administrator | 3.1 | $82k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are IT managers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do IT managers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as IT managers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are IT manager’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are IT managers making the best use of their abilities?
Are IT managers happy with their salary?
IT managers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. The majority of IT managers are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked IT managers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
1893 IT managers
19% of IT managers rated their compensation 5 stars
32% of IT managers rated their compensation 4 stars
26% of IT managers rated their compensation 3 stars
13% of IT managers rated their compensation 2 stars
9% of IT managers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do IT managers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, IT managers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.8/5. While most IT managers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked IT managers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
1899 IT managers
13% of IT managers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
18% of IT managers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
26% of IT managers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
24% of IT managers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
19% of IT managers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as IT managers?
IT managers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of IT managers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked IT managers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
2063 IT managers
28% of IT managers rated their career fit 5 stars
40% of IT managers rated their career fit 4 stars
21% of IT managers rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of IT managers rated their career fit 2 stars
4% of IT managers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is an IT manager’s work environment?
As a whole, IT managers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.6/5. A solid majority of IT managers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as an IT manager.
We asked IT managers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
2060 IT managers
22% of IT managers rated their work environment 5 stars
35% of IT managers rated their work environment 4 stars
25% of IT managers rated their work environment 3 stars
12% of IT managers rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of IT managers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are IT managers making the best use of their abilities?
Former IT managers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.3/5. Most IT managers are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked IT managers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.3 out of 5 stars
2068 IT managers
16% of IT managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
30% of IT managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
27% of IT managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
18% of IT managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
9% of IT managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars