Paramedics 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, paramedics rate their career happiness 3.3 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 45% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy paramedics 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Midwife | 3.7 | $59k |
| Nurse educator | 3.4 | $77k |
| Surgical assistant | 3.4 | $46k |
| Endoscopy technician | 3.4 | $38k |
| Phlebotomist | 3.3 | $37k |
| Paramedic | 3.3 | $35k |
| Radiation therapist | 3.2 | $83k |
| Medical assistant | 3.2 | $37k |
| Anesthesiologist assistant | 3.2 | $122k |
| Physical therapist assistant | 3.2 | $61k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are paramedics happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do paramedics find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as paramedics?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are paramedic’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are paramedics making the best use of their abilities?
Are paramedics happy with their salary?
Paramedics rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.6/5. Most paramedics do not feel that their salaries adequately reflect their work, and are actively unhappy with their income.
We asked paramedics how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.6 out of 5 stars
1699 paramedics
9% of paramedics rated their compensation 5 stars
14% of paramedics rated their compensation 4 stars
25% of paramedics rated their compensation 3 stars
27% of paramedics rated their compensation 2 stars
25% of paramedics rated their compensation 1 stars
Do paramedics find their jobs meaningful?
On average, paramedics rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.6/5. Unlike many careers, paramedics have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become paramedics.
We asked paramedics how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
1706 paramedics
30% of paramedics rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
30% of paramedics rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
20% of paramedics rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
11% of paramedics rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
9% of paramedics rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as paramedics?
Paramedics rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of paramedics find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked paramedics how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
1861 paramedics
36% of paramedics rated their career fit 5 stars
36% of paramedics rated their career fit 4 stars
17% of paramedics rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of paramedics rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of paramedics rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a paramedic’s work environment?
As a whole, paramedics rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.5/5. A solid majority of paramedics enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a paramedic.
We asked paramedics how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
1853 paramedics
27% of paramedics rated their work environment 5 stars
29% of paramedics rated their work environment 4 stars
23% of paramedics rated their work environment 3 stars
14% of paramedics rated their work environment 2 stars
8% of paramedics rated their work environment 1 stars
Are paramedics making the best use of their abilities?
Former paramedics on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.5/5. Most paramedics surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a paramedic, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked paramedics how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
1851 paramedics
25% of paramedics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
30% of paramedics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
23% of paramedics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
16% of paramedics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
7% of paramedics rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars