Consultants are about average in terms of 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, consultants rate their career happiness 3.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 50% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy consultants 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Product manager | 3.3 | $119k |
| Financial quantitative analyst | 3.3 | $98k |
| Money manager | 3.2 | $69k |
| Content manager | 3.2 | $70k |
| Network administrator | 3.2 | $65k |
| Consultant | 3.2 | $87k |
| Management consultant | 3.2 | $115k |
| Investment fund manager | 3.2 | $114k |
| IT security consultant | 3.2 | $60k |
| Distance learning coordinator | 3.2 | $79k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are consultants happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do consultants find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as consultants?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are consultant’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are consultants making the best use of their abilities?
Are consultants happy with their salary?
Consultants rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. The majority of consultants are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked consultants how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
4083 consultants
19% of consultants rated their compensation 5 stars
32% of consultants rated their compensation 4 stars
26% of consultants rated their compensation 3 stars
15% of consultants rated their compensation 2 stars
8% of consultants rated their compensation 1 stars
Do consultants find their jobs meaningful?
On average, consultants rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most consultants aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked consultants how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
4108 consultants
14% of consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
20% of consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
27% of consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
23% of consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
17% of consultants rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as consultants?
Consultants rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of consultants find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked consultants how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
4486 consultants
31% of consultants rated their career fit 5 stars
39% of consultants rated their career fit 4 stars
19% of consultants rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of consultants rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of consultants rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a consultant’s work environment?
As a whole, consultants rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.6/5. A solid majority of consultants enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a consultant.
We asked consultants how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
4471 consultants
24% of consultants rated their work environment 5 stars
35% of consultants rated their work environment 4 stars
24% of consultants rated their work environment 3 stars
13% of consultants rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of consultants rated their work environment 1 stars
Are consultants making the best use of their abilities?
Former consultants on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.4/5. Most consultants are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked consultants how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
4479 consultants
20% of consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
30% of consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
26% of consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
17% of consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
7% of consultants rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars