Shipmates 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, shipmates rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 37% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy shipmates 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
Irrigation technician
3.1
$15k
Logging worker
3.1
$33k
Pipefitter
3.1
$63k
Crane operator
3.1
$50k
Millwright
3.1
$66k
Shipmate
3.1
$84k
Freight and cargo inspector
3.1
$78k
Carpenter
3.0
$23k
Fire inspector
3.0
$62k
Avionics technician
3.0
$47k

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

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

Are shipmates happy with their salary?

Shipmates rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.5/5. The majority of shipmates are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

128 shipmates

5 Star
22%

22% of shipmates rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
31%

31% of shipmates rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
28%

28% of shipmates rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
15%

15% of shipmates rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of shipmates rated their compensation 1 stars

Do shipmates find their jobs meaningful?

On average, shipmates rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.8/5. While most shipmates aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

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

2.8 out of 5 stars

127 shipmates

5 Star
15%

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

4 Star
13%

13% of shipmates rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
31%

31% of shipmates rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
16%

16% of shipmates rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
25%

25% of shipmates rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

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

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

3.9 out of 5 stars

130 shipmates

5 Star
32%

32% of shipmates rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
37%

37% of shipmates rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
21%

21% of shipmates rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of shipmates rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of shipmates rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a shipmate’s work environment?

As a whole, shipmates rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.5/5. A solid majority of shipmates enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a shipmate.

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

132 shipmates

5 Star
23%

23% of shipmates rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
36%

36% of shipmates rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
18%

18% of shipmates rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
11%

11% of shipmates rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of shipmates rated their work environment 1 stars

Are shipmates making the best use of their abilities?

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

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

3.0 out of 5 stars

132 shipmates

5 Star
17%

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

4 Star
21%

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

3 Star
27%

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

2 Star
17%

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

1 Star
18%

18% of shipmates rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars