Substance abuse social workers 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, substance abuse social workers rate their career happiness 2.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 12% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy substance abuse social workers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare social worker | 2.8 | $57k |
| Printing worker | 2.8 | $35k |
| Mail superintendent | 2.7 | $77k |
| Recruiter | 2.7 | $55k |
| Meter reader | 2.7 | $42k |
| Substance abuse social worker | 2.7 | $47k |
| Switchboard operator | 2.7 | $31k |
| Courier | 2.7 | $32k |
| Delivery service driver | 2.6 | $31k |
| Hazardous materials removal worker | 2.6 | $44k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are substance abuse social workers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do substance abuse social workers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as substance abuse social workers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are substance abuse social worker’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are substance abuse social workers making the best use of their abilities?