Mathematicians rate their happiness above average.
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, mathematicians rate their career happiness 3.6 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 27% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy mathematicians 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Astronomer | 4.0 | $128k |
| Nanotechnology engineer | 3.9 | $101k |
| Mathematician | 3.6 | $108k |
| Physicist | 3.5 | $152k |
| Biostatistician | 3.3 | $96k |
| Geospatial information scientist | 3.3 | $90k |
| Scientist | 3.3 | $87k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are mathematicians happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do mathematicians find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as mathematicians?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are mathematician’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are mathematicians making the best use of their abilities?
Are mathematicians happy with their salary?
Mathematicians rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.2/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most mathematicians having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked mathematicians how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.2 out of 5 stars
221 mathematicians
21% of mathematicians rated their compensation 5 stars
22% of mathematicians rated their compensation 4 stars
28% of mathematicians rated their compensation 3 stars
15% of mathematicians rated their compensation 2 stars
14% of mathematicians rated their compensation 1 stars
Do mathematicians find their jobs meaningful?
On average, mathematicians rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.5/5. Unlike many careers, mathematicians have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become mathematicians.
We asked mathematicians how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
232 mathematicians
31% of mathematicians rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
24% of mathematicians rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
21% of mathematicians rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
11% of mathematicians rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
13% of mathematicians rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as mathematicians?
Mathematicians rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of mathematicians find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked mathematicians how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
270 mathematicians
33% of mathematicians rated their career fit 5 stars
39% of mathematicians rated their career fit 4 stars
15% of mathematicians rated their career fit 3 stars
9% of mathematicians rated their career fit 2 stars
4% of mathematicians rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a mathematician’s work environment?
As a whole, mathematicians rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of mathematicians enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a mathematician.
We asked mathematicians how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
267 mathematicians
28% of mathematicians rated their work environment 5 stars
37% of mathematicians rated their work environment 4 stars
18% of mathematicians rated their work environment 3 stars
10% of mathematicians rated their work environment 2 stars
6% of mathematicians rated their work environment 1 stars
Are mathematicians making the best use of their abilities?
Former mathematicians on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most mathematicians surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a mathematician, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked mathematicians how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
264 mathematicians
34% of mathematicians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
25% of mathematicians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
19% of mathematicians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
12% of mathematicians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
10% of mathematicians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars