Front-End developers 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, front-end developers rate their career happiness 3.3 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 45% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy front-end developers 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
Computer and information research scientist
3.3
$118k
Web designer
3.3
$52k
Data scientist
3.3
$120k
Web developer
3.3
$65k
Computer repair technician
3.3
$38k
Front-End developer
3.3
$51k
Computer programmer
3.2
$68k
Network administrator
3.2
$65k
IT security consultant
3.2
$60k
Security engineer
3.2
$74k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

  • Salary: Are front-end developers happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do front-end developers find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as front-end developers?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are front-end developer’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are front-end developers making the best use of their abilities?

Are front-end developers happy with their salary?

Front-End developers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.3/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most front-end developers having generally positive views of their salary.

We asked front-end developers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

3.3 out of 5 stars

505 front-end developers

5 Star
19%

19% of front-end developers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
29%

29% of front-end developers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
29%

29% of front-end developers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
15%

15% of front-end developers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of front-end developers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do front-end developers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, front-end developers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.8/5. While most front-end developers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

We asked front-end developers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.8 out of 5 stars

513 front-end developers

5 Star
12%

12% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
19%

19% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
26%

26% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
17%

17% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as front-end developers?

Front-End developers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of front-end developers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked front-end developers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.8 out of 5 stars

518 front-end developers

5 Star
25%

25% of front-end developers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
41%

41% of front-end developers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of front-end developers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
9%

9% of front-end developers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
2%

2% of front-end developers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a front-end developer’s work environment?

As a whole, front-end developers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of front-end developers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a front-end developer.

We asked front-end developers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.7 out of 5 stars

516 front-end developers

5 Star
23%

23% of front-end developers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
38%

38% of front-end developers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of front-end developers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of front-end developers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of front-end developers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are front-end developers making the best use of their abilities?

Former front-end developers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.3/5. Most front-end developers are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

We asked front-end developers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

3.3 out of 5 stars

517 front-end developers

5 Star
17%

17% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
28%

28% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
7%

7% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars