Judges are one of the happiest 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, judges rate their career happiness 4.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 9% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy judges 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Judge | 4.0 | $148k |
| Special agent | 3.6 | $84k |
| Legislator | 3.5 | $37k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are judges happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do judges find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as judges?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are judge’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are judges making the best use of their abilities?
Are judges happy with their salary?
Judges rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.8/5. The majority of judges are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked judges how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
30 judges
40% of judges rated their compensation 5 stars
20% of judges rated their compensation 4 stars
23% of judges rated their compensation 3 stars
10% of judges rated their compensation 2 stars
7% of judges rated their compensation 1 stars
Do judges find their jobs meaningful?
On average, judges rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.5/5. Unlike many careers, judges have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become judges.
We asked judges how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
30 judges
40% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
13% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
23% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
3% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
20% of judges rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as judges?
Judges rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.2/5. The majority of judges find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked judges how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
4.2 out of 5 stars
33 judges
55% of judges rated their career fit 5 stars
24% of judges rated their career fit 4 stars
12% of judges rated their career fit 3 stars
6% of judges rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of judges rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a judge’s work environment?
As a whole, judges rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.8/5. A solid majority of judges enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a judge.
We asked judges how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
33 judges
45% of judges rated their work environment 5 stars
15% of judges rated their work environment 4 stars
21% of judges rated their work environment 3 stars
12% of judges rated their work environment 2 stars
6% of judges rated their work environment 1 stars
Are judges making the best use of their abilities?
Former judges on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most judges surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a judge, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked judges how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
32 judges
34% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
22% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
22% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
16% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
6% of judges rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars