Forklift operators 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, forklift operators rate their career happiness 2.5 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 5% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy forklift operators 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Derrick operator | 2.6 | $65k |
| Roofer | 2.6 | $12k |
| Butcher | 2.6 | $13k |
| Glazier | 2.6 | $29k |
| Exterminator | 2.5 | $43k |
| Forklift operator | 2.5 | $25k |
| Metal worker | 2.5 | $15k |
| Machine assembler | 2.4 | $26k |
| Postal service worker | 2.4 | $27k |
| Garbage collector | 2.4 | $15k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are forklift operators happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do forklift operators find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as forklift operators?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are forklift operator’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are forklift operators making the best use of their abilities?
Are forklift operators happy with their salary?
Forklift operators rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.8/5. Forklift operators tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked forklift operators how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
513 forklift operators
8% of forklift operators rated their compensation 5 stars
23% of forklift operators rated their compensation 4 stars
30% of forklift operators rated their compensation 3 stars
23% of forklift operators rated their compensation 2 stars
16% of forklift operators rated their compensation 1 stars
Do forklift operators find their jobs meaningful?
On average, forklift operators rate the meaningfulness of their work a 1.9/5. The majority of forklift operators struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked forklift operators how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
1.9 out of 5 stars
511 forklift operators
3% of forklift operators rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
6% of forklift operators rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
14% of forklift operators rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
30% of forklift operators rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
47% of forklift operators rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as forklift operators?
Forklift operators rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.5/5. The majority of forklift operators find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked forklift operators how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
544 forklift operators
22% of forklift operators rated their career fit 5 stars
30% of forklift operators rated their career fit 4 stars
30% of forklift operators rated their career fit 3 stars
12% of forklift operators rated their career fit 2 stars
6% of forklift operators rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a forklift operator’s work environment?
As a whole, forklift operators rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.1/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.
We asked forklift operators how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
540 forklift operators
13% of forklift operators rated their work environment 5 stars
27% of forklift operators rated their work environment 4 stars
29% of forklift operators rated their work environment 3 stars
20% of forklift operators rated their work environment 2 stars
12% of forklift operators rated their work environment 1 stars
Are forklift operators making the best use of their abilities?
Former forklift operators on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.2/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a forklift operator.
We asked forklift operators how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.2 out of 5 stars
543 forklift operators
8% of forklift operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
10% of forklift operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
17% of forklift operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
31% of forklift operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
34% of forklift operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars