Financial analysts 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, financial analysts rate their career happiness 2.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 11% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy financial analysts 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeper | 2.7 | $25k |
| Logistician | 2.7 | $45k |
| Compensation and benefits manager | 2.7 | $73k |
| Account manager | 2.7 | $67k |
| Securities and commodities broker | 2.7 | $73k |
| Financial analyst | 2.7 | $69k |
| Compliance manager | 2.7 | $83k |
| Financial advisor | 2.7 | $49k |
| Cost estimator | 2.7 | $62k |
| Revenue agent | 2.7 | $52k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are financial analysts happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do financial analysts find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as financial analysts?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are financial analyst’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are financial analysts making the best use of their abilities?
Are financial analysts happy with their salary?
Financial analysts rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most financial analysts having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked financial analysts how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
1240 financial analysts
16% of financial analysts rated their compensation 5 stars
35% of financial analysts rated their compensation 4 stars
28% of financial analysts rated their compensation 3 stars
15% of financial analysts rated their compensation 2 stars
7% of financial analysts rated their compensation 1 stars
Do financial analysts find their jobs meaningful?
On average, financial analysts rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.3/5. The majority of financial analysts struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked financial analysts how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.3 out of 5 stars
1250 financial analysts
6% of financial analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
11% of financial analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
19% of financial analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
32% of financial analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
32% of financial analysts rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as financial analysts?
Financial analysts rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.5/5. The majority of financial analysts find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked financial analysts how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
1365 financial analysts
17% of financial analysts rated their career fit 5 stars
36% of financial analysts rated their career fit 4 stars
27% of financial analysts rated their career fit 3 stars
14% of financial analysts rated their career fit 2 stars
6% of financial analysts rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a financial analyst’s work environment?
As a whole, financial analysts rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.2/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.
We asked financial analysts how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.2 out of 5 stars
1373 financial analysts
14% of financial analysts rated their work environment 5 stars
30% of financial analysts rated their work environment 4 stars
26% of financial analysts rated their work environment 3 stars
20% of financial analysts rated their work environment 2 stars
10% of financial analysts rated their work environment 1 stars
Are financial analysts making the best use of their abilities?
Former financial analysts on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.8/5. Financial analysts tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.
We asked financial analysts how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
1374 financial analysts
9% of financial analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
19% of financial analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
30% of financial analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
27% of financial analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
15% of financial analysts rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars