Credit counselors 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, credit counselors rate their career happiness 2.6 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 8% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy credit counselors 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Financial advisor | 2.7 | $49k |
| Cost estimator | 2.7 | $62k |
| Revenue agent | 2.7 | $52k |
| Investment banker | 2.7 | $79k |
| Tax preparer | 2.7 | $43k |
| Credit counselor | 2.6 | $6k |
| Credit analyst | 2.6 | $67k |
| Customs broker | 2.6 | $67k |
| Retail manager | 2.6 | $35k |
| Accountant | 2.6 | $56k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are credit counselors happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do credit counselors find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as credit counselors?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are credit counselor’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are credit counselors making the best use of their abilities?
Are credit counselors happy with their salary?
Credit counselors rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.9/5. Credit counselors tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked credit counselors how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
64 credit counselors
6% of credit counselors rated their compensation 5 stars
25% of credit counselors rated their compensation 4 stars
36% of credit counselors rated their compensation 3 stars
17% of credit counselors rated their compensation 2 stars
16% of credit counselors rated their compensation 1 stars
Do credit counselors find their jobs meaningful?
On average, credit counselors rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.6/5. While most credit counselors aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked credit counselors how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.6 out of 5 stars
64 credit counselors
8% of credit counselors rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
16% of credit counselors rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
30% of credit counselors rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
19% of credit counselors rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
28% of credit counselors rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as credit counselors?
Credit counselors rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of credit counselors find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked credit counselors how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
64 credit counselors
31% of credit counselors rated their career fit 5 stars
30% of credit counselors rated their career fit 4 stars
23% of credit counselors rated their career fit 3 stars
11% of credit counselors rated their career fit 2 stars
5% of credit counselors rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a credit counselor’s work environment?
As a whole, credit counselors rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.0/5. Some credit counselors are happy with their work environment, but it does not seem to be a meaningful contributer to career satisfaction for most.
We asked credit counselors how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.0 out of 5 stars
64 credit counselors
14% of credit counselors rated their work environment 5 stars
19% of credit counselors rated their work environment 4 stars
27% of credit counselors rated their work environment 3 stars
31% of credit counselors rated their work environment 2 stars
9% of credit counselors rated their work environment 1 stars
Are credit counselors making the best use of their abilities?
Former credit counselors on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.8/5. Credit counselors tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.
We asked credit counselors how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
64 credit counselors
13% of credit counselors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
19% of credit counselors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
27% of credit counselors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
25% of credit counselors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
17% of credit counselors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars