Systems architects rate their happiness above average.

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, systems architects rate their career happiness 3.4 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 39% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy systems architects 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
App developer
3.5
$71k
Full stack developer
3.4
$70k
Back-End developer
3.4
$67k
Technical product manager
3.4
$78k
Systems architect
3.4
$102k
Systems engineer
3.4
$100k
Network architect
3.4
$109k
Database architect
3.3
$90k
Broadcast engineer
3.3
$45k

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

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

Are systems architects happy with their salary?

Systems architects rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.7/5. The majority of systems architects are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

92 systems architects

5 Star
24%

24% of systems architects rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
40%

40% of systems architects rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of systems architects rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
10%

10% of systems architects rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of systems architects rated their compensation 1 stars

Do systems architects find their jobs meaningful?

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

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

2.9 out of 5 stars

93 systems architects

5 Star
12%

12% of systems architects rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
19%

19% of systems architects rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
34%

34% of systems architects rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of systems architects rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
14%

14% of systems architects rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

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

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

3.9 out of 5 stars

95 systems architects

5 Star
35%

35% of systems architects rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
38%

38% of systems architects rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
17%

17% of systems architects rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
5%

5% of systems architects rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of systems architects rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a systems architect’s work environment?

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

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

94 systems architects

5 Star
29%

29% of systems architects rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
38%

38% of systems architects rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
13%

13% of systems architects rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
18%

18% of systems architects rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
2%

2% of systems architects rated their work environment 1 stars

Are systems architects making the best use of their abilities?

Former systems architects on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.7/5. Most systems architects surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a systems architect, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

92 systems architects

5 Star
27%

27% of systems architects rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
34%

34% of systems architects rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of systems architects rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of systems architects rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of systems architects rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars