These careers make Americans happiest, based on 750K job reviews

Neither high pay nor a college education can guarantee job satisfaction. A new study reveals the careers that may make a person most happy and fulfilled.

The career services company Career.IO analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the 50 most popular jobs, along with 750,000 job reviews to determine which positions had the highest satisfaction levels. 

The company found that high pay didn’t guarantee happiness. The average rating among the ten lowest-rated high-paid jobs (3.33) was only 0.08 points higher than the rating among no-degree jobs (3.25).

Real estate career has highest level of satisfaction

The study found that a career as a a real estate agent was the most popular job with the highest satisfaction levels.

Agents gave their job an average 4.24 rating out of 5. Career.IO noted that this career was one of five top 10 roles that involves significant time away from the desk. 

“I do what I love by blending my personal passions with my work – whether it’s going to Pilates, being present at my children’s school, or meeting new people and clients,” Camille Dorflinger, a real estate agent at the Stephanie Younger Group in Los Angeles, told FOX Television Stations. “Connecting with others through my work brings me the same joy and fulfillment as the things I enjoy in my personal life.”

Top 10 jobs that make Americans happy

1. Real estate agent
2. Carpenter
3. Software developer
4. Designer
5. Fitness instructor
6. Firefighter
7. Secretary
8. Computer support
9. Logistics manager
10. Physician

In contrast, a mail carrier was the least satisfying popular job, with an average rating of only 2.83 out of 5. 

In 2021, many U.S. Postal Service workers reported a culture of disrespect and poor communication within the organization.

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Career.IO found that many positions with the lowest satisfaction, such as a mail carrier and baker, must endure significant physical exertion. Both positions also rise very early, and neither gets much of a break until their shift is through. 

Career.IO also noted that pharmacists work in intense environments, and earlier this year reported professional burnout at a growing rate.

Top 10 jobs that make Americans unhappy

1. Mail carrier
2. Pharmacist
3. Security guard
4. Parademic
5. Hairdresser
6. Baker
7. Secondary school teacher
8. Personal trainer
9. Barber
10. Hair stylist

The data also found that a data scientist was the most satisfying career among highly paid jobs, while the least satisfying, highly paid job was a pharmacist.

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Google had the highest-rated employer and the third and fourth most satisfying jobs: software developer and designer.

Here’s a look at the full report.

Last year, a survey by Pew Research found that 39% of workers said their job or career was a very important to their overall identity, with another 34% saying their job was a “somewhat” important factor. And while the survey found that highly paid workers were more likely to have job satisfaction and to link their identity to their work, money was no longer the priority it once was.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, research from Aviva found that work-life balance has overtaken salary as the primary attraction of the jobs that workers have.