Judges 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, judges rate their career happiness 4.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 9% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy judges 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
Judge
4.0
$152k
Special agent
3.6
$96k
Legislator
3.5
$40k

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

Are judges happy with their salary?

Judges rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.8/5. The majority of judges are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

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

3.8 out of 5 stars

30 judges

5 Star
40%

40% of judges rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
20%

20% of judges rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of judges rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
10%

10% of judges rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
7%

7% of judges rated their compensation 1 stars

Do judges find their jobs meaningful?

On average, judges rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.5/5. Unlike many careers, judges have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become judges.

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

30 judges

5 Star
40%

40% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
13%

13% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
3%

3% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
20%

20% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Judges rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.2/5. The majority of judges find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

4.2 out of 5 stars

33 judges

5 Star
55%

55% of judges rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of judges rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
12%

12% of judges rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
6%

6% of judges rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of judges rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a judge’s work environment?

As a whole, judges rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.8/5. A solid majority of judges enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a judge.

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

3.8 out of 5 stars

33 judges

5 Star
45%

45% of judges rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
15%

15% of judges rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
21%

21% of judges rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of judges rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of judges rated their work environment 1 stars

Are judges making the best use of their abilities?

Former judges on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most judges surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a judge, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

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

3.6 out of 5 stars

32 judges

5 Star
34%

34% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
22%

22% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
16%

16% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars