Security guards 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, security guards rate their career happiness 2.6 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 7% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy security guards 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Courier | 2.7 | $32k |
| Delivery service driver | 2.6 | $31k |
| Hazardous materials removal worker | 2.6 | $44k |
| Administrative assistant | 2.6 | $32k |
| Lawyer | 2.6 | $120k |
| Security guard | 2.6 | $27k |
| Receptionist | 2.6 | $26k |
| Office clerk | 2.6 | $29k |
| Exterminator | 2.5 | $38k |
| Financial clerk | 2.5 | $39k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are security guards happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do security guards find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as security guards?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are security guard’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are security guards making the best use of their abilities?