Pilots 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, pilots rate their career happiness 3.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 15% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy pilots 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pilot | 3.8 | $147k |
| Commercial pilot | 3.8 | $88k |
| Ship captain | 3.5 | $72k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are pilots happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do pilots find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as pilots?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are pilot’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are pilots making the best use of their abilities?