Proofreaders 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, proofreaders rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 43% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy proofreaders 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
Librarian
3.3
$55k
Content manager
3.2
$70k
News reporter
3.2
$27k
Translator
3.1
$35k
Proofreader
3.1
$28k
Copywriter
3.1
$54k
Technical writer
2.8
$72k

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

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

Are proofreaders happy with their salary?

Proofreaders rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.8/5. Proofreaders tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.

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

2.8 out of 5 stars

548 proofreaders

5 Star
9%

9% of proofreaders rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of proofreaders rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of proofreaders rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
22%

22% of proofreaders rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
19%

19% of proofreaders rated their compensation 1 stars

Do proofreaders find their jobs meaningful?

On average, proofreaders rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.7/5. While most proofreaders aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

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

2.7 out of 5 stars

555 proofreaders

5 Star
11%

11% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
14%

14% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
28%

28% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
21%

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

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

Proofreaders rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of proofreaders find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

3.9 out of 5 stars

608 proofreaders

5 Star
33%

33% of proofreaders rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
37%

37% of proofreaders rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of proofreaders rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of proofreaders rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of proofreaders rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a proofreader’s work environment?

As a whole, proofreaders rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of proofreaders enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a proofreader.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

610 proofreaders

5 Star
29%

29% of proofreaders rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
31%

31% of proofreaders rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of proofreaders rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of proofreaders rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of proofreaders rated their work environment 1 stars

Are proofreaders making the best use of their abilities?

Former proofreaders on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.1/5. Most proofreaders are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

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

3.1 out of 5 stars

608 proofreaders

5 Star
17%

17% of proofreaders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
21%

21% of proofreaders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

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

2 Star
23%

23% of proofreaders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
13%

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