Pipefitters 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, pipefitters rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 39% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy pipefitters 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
Solar thermal installer
3.1
$37k
Locomotive engineer
3.1
$73k
Commercial fisherman
3.1
$37k
Irrigation technician
3.1
$15k
Logging worker
3.1
$33k
Pipefitter
3.1
$63k
Crane operator
3.1
$50k
Upholsterer
3.1
$18k
Millwright
3.1
$66k
Shipmate
3.1
$84k

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

  • Salary: Are pipefitters happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do pipefitters find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as pipefitters?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are pipefitter’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are pipefitters making the best use of their abilities?

Are pipefitters happy with their salary?

Pipefitters rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.7/5. The majority of pipefitters are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

113 pipefitters

5 Star
26%

26% of pipefitters rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
36%

36% of pipefitters rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of pipefitters rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
8%

8% of pipefitters rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of pipefitters rated their compensation 1 stars

Do pipefitters find their jobs meaningful?

On average, pipefitters rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most pipefitters aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

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

2.9 out of 5 stars

113 pipefitters

5 Star
15%

15% of pipefitters rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
18%

18% of pipefitters rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of pipefitters rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of pipefitters rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
21%

21% of pipefitters rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Pipefitters rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of pipefitters find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

124 pipefitters

5 Star
30%

30% of pipefitters rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
31%

31% of pipefitters rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of pipefitters rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
10%

10% of pipefitters rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of pipefitters rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a pipefitter’s work environment?

As a whole, pipefitters rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. A solid majority of pipefitters enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a pipefitter.

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

3.4 out of 5 stars

123 pipefitters

5 Star
21%

21% of pipefitters rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
30%

30% of pipefitters rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of pipefitters rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of pipefitters rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
10%

10% of pipefitters rated their work environment 1 stars

Are pipefitters making the best use of their abilities?

Former pipefitters on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.3/5. Most pipefitters are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

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

3.3 out of 5 stars

124 pipefitters

5 Star
21%

21% of pipefitters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of pipefitters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of pipefitters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
17%

17% of pipefitters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of pipefitters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars