Jockeys are one of the happiest 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, jockeys rate their career happiness 4.4 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 1% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy jockeys 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wildlife rehabilitator | 4.2 | $28k |
| Animal trainer | 4.2 | $31k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are jockeys happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do jockeys find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as jockeys?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are jockey’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are jockeys making the best use of their abilities?
Are jockeys happy with their salary?
Jockeys rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. The majority of jockeys are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked jockeys how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
20 jockeys
15% of jockeys rated their compensation 5 stars
40% of jockeys rated their compensation 4 stars
20% of jockeys rated their compensation 3 stars
15% of jockeys rated their compensation 2 stars
10% of jockeys rated their compensation 1 stars
Do jockeys find their jobs meaningful?
On average, jockeys rate the meaningfulness of their work a 4.4/5. Unlike many careers, jockeys have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become jockeys.
We asked jockeys how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
4.4 out of 5 stars
20 jockeys
70% of jockeys rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
5% of jockeys rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
20% of jockeys rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
5% of jockeys rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as jockeys?
Jockeys rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.0/5. The majority of jockeys find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked jockeys how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
4.0 out of 5 stars
21 jockeys
48% of jockeys rated their career fit 5 stars
29% of jockeys rated their career fit 4 stars
10% of jockeys rated their career fit 3 stars
10% of jockeys rated their career fit 2 stars
5% of jockeys rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a jockey’s work environment?
As a whole, jockeys rated their enjoyment of their work environment 4.1/5. A solid majority of jockeys enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a jockey.
We asked jockeys how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
4.1 out of 5 stars
22 jockeys
50% of jockeys rated their work environment 5 stars
27% of jockeys rated their work environment 4 stars
14% of jockeys rated their work environment 3 stars
5% of jockeys rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of jockeys rated their work environment 1 stars
Are jockeys making the best use of their abilities?
Former jockeys on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 4.2/5. Most jockeys surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a jockey, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked jockeys how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
4.2 out of 5 stars
22 jockeys
55% of jockeys rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
23% of jockeys rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
14% of jockeys rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
9% of jockeys rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars