Telemarketers 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, telemarketers rate their career happiness 1.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the None.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy telemarketers 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
Retail salesperson
2.3
$6k
Insurance sales agent
2.3
$35k
Debt collector
2.2
$31k
Cashier
2.2
$2k
Insurance appraiser
2.1
$61k
Telemarketer
1.8
$20k

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

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

Are telemarketers happy with their salary?

Telemarketers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.5/5. Most telemarketers do not feel that their salaries adequately reflect their work, and are actively unhappy with their income.

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

2.5 out of 5 stars

2348 telemarketers

5 Star
7%

7% of telemarketers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
18%

18% of telemarketers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of telemarketers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of telemarketers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
31%

31% of telemarketers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do telemarketers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, telemarketers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 1.6/5. The majority of telemarketers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.

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

1.6 out of 5 stars

2350 telemarketers

5 Star
2%

2% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
3%

3% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
10%

10% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
66%

66% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Telemarketers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 2.7/5. Few telemarketers seem to find that their personalities work mesh well with their career.

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

2.7 out of 5 stars

2541 telemarketers

5 Star
12%

12% of telemarketers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
20%

20% of telemarketers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of telemarketers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
17%

17% of telemarketers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
28%

28% of telemarketers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a telemarketer’s work environment?

As a whole, telemarketers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 2.4/5. Few telemarketers enjoy their work environment, which helps contribute to a lower overall satisfaction in the career.

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

2.4 out of 5 stars

2538 telemarketers

5 Star
7%

7% of telemarketers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
15%

15% of telemarketers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of telemarketers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
23%

23% of telemarketers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
35%

35% of telemarketers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are telemarketers making the best use of their abilities?

Former telemarketers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 1.9/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a telemarketer.

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

1.9 out of 5 stars

2536 telemarketers

5 Star
3%

3% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
7%

7% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
13%

13% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
26%

26% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
51%

51% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars