Pipelayers are one of the least happy 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, pipelayers rate their career happiness 2.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 18% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy pipelayers 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
Cement mason
2.9
$18k
Surveyor
2.8
$46k
Marine electrician
2.8
$73k
Highway maintenance worker
2.8
$39k
Plumber
2.8
$24k
Pipelayer
2.8
$50k
Lawn care specialist
2.8
$2k
Rail transportation worker
2.8
$60k
Tile and marble setter
2.8
$24k
Product safety engineer
2.7
$99k

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

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

Are pipelayers happy with their salary?

Pipelayers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most pipelayers having generally positive views of their salary.

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

3.4 out of 5 stars

27 pipelayers

5 Star
15%

15% of pipelayers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
33%

33% of pipelayers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
37%

37% of pipelayers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
4%

4% of pipelayers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of pipelayers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do pipelayers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, pipelayers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.6/5. Unlike many careers, pipelayers have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become pipelayers.

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

2.6 out of 5 stars

27 pipelayers

5 Star
15%

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

4 Star
41%

41% of pipelayers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
19%

19% of pipelayers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
26%

26% of pipelayers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

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

Pipelayers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.6/5. The majority of pipelayers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

3.6 out of 5 stars

29 pipelayers

5 Star
31%

31% of pipelayers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of pipelayers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of pipelayers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
17%

17% of pipelayers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of pipelayers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a pipelayer’s work environment?

As a whole, pipelayers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.3/5. A solid majority of pipelayers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a pipelayer.

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

3.3 out of 5 stars

30 pipelayers

5 Star
17%

17% of pipelayers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
40%

40% of pipelayers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
13%

13% of pipelayers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
13%

13% of pipelayers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
17%

17% of pipelayers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are pipelayers making the best use of their abilities?

Former pipelayers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.9/5. Pipelayers tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.

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

2.9 out of 5 stars

30 pipelayers

5 Star
10%

10% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
30%

30% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
13%

13% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars