Operations managers are below average when it comes to 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, operations managers rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 40% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy operations 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Content manager | 3.2 | $40k |
| Consultant | 3.2 | $77k |
| Management consultant | 3.2 | $87k |
| Investment fund manager | 3.2 | $125k |
| Search marketing strategist | 3.2 | $90k |
| Operations manager | 3.1 | $98k |
| Marketing manager | 3.1 | $135k |
| Advertising manager | 3.1 | $127k |
| Human resources manager | 3.1 | $126k |
| Economist | 3.1 | $106k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are operations managers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do operations managers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as operations managers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are operations manager’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are operations managers making the best use of their abilities?
Are operations managers happy with their salary?
Operations managers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.2/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most operations managers having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked operations managers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.2 out of 5 stars
3220 operations managers
15% of operations managers rated their compensation 5 stars
28% of operations managers rated their compensation 4 stars
27% of operations managers rated their compensation 3 stars
19% of operations managers rated their compensation 2 stars
11% of operations managers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do operations managers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, operations managers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.8/5. While most operations managers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked operations managers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
3226 operations managers
11% of operations managers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
18% of operations managers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
26% of operations managers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
26% of operations managers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
19% of operations managers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as operations managers?
Operations managers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of operations managers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked operations managers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
3516 operations managers
33% of operations managers rated their career fit 5 stars
38% of operations managers rated their career fit 4 stars
19% of operations managers rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of operations managers rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of operations managers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is an operations manager’s work environment?
As a whole, operations managers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.6/5. A solid majority of operations managers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as an operations manager.
We asked operations managers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
3494 operations managers
22% of operations managers rated their work environment 5 stars
36% of operations managers rated their work environment 4 stars
24% of operations managers rated their work environment 3 stars
13% of operations managers rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of operations managers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are operations managers making the best use of their abilities?
Former operations managers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.2/5. Most operations managers are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked operations managers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.2 out of 5 stars
3511 operations managers
17% of operations managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
28% of operations managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
26% of operations managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
19% of operations managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
10% of operations managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars