Probation officers 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, probation officers rate their career happiness 2.9 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 24% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy probation officers 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
Bailiff
3.1
$48k
Court reporter
3.0
$57k
Fire inspector
3.0
$65k
Judicial law clerk
3.0
$51k
Ambulance dispatcher
2.9
$47k
Probation officer
2.9
$60k
Social worker
2.9
$61k
Customs inspector
2.9
$84k
Legal secretary
2.7
$48k
Paralegal
2.7
$56k

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

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

Are probation officers happy with their salary?

Probation officers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.6/5. Most probation officers do not feel that their salaries adequately reflect their work, and are actively unhappy with their income.

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

2.6 out of 5 stars

128 probation officers

5 Star
12%

12% of probation officers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
18%

18% of probation officers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
17%

17% of probation officers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
26%

26% of probation officers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
27%

27% of probation officers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do probation officers find their jobs meaningful?

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

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

2.9 out of 5 stars

129 probation officers

5 Star
12%

12% of probation officers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
22%

22% of probation officers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of probation officers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
26%

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

1 Star
16%

16% of probation officers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

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

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

134 probation officers

5 Star
29%

29% of probation officers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
31%

31% of probation officers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of probation officers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
8%

8% of probation officers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of probation officers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a probation officer’s work environment?

As a whole, probation officers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.3/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.

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

3.3 out of 5 stars

136 probation officers

5 Star
17%

17% of probation officers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
34%

34% of probation officers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
21%

21% of probation officers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of probation officers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of probation officers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are probation officers making the best use of their abilities?

Former probation officers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.0/5. Most probation officers are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

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

3.0 out of 5 stars

136 probation officers

5 Star
13%

13% of probation officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
25%

25% of probation officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of probation officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of probation officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
15%

15% of probation officers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars