Locomotive engineers 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, locomotive engineers rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 41% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy locomotive engineers 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
Pump operator
3.1
$32k
Locksmith
3.1
$50k
Building inspector
3.1
$37k
Petroleum engineer
3.1
$123k
Solar thermal installer
3.1
$37k
Locomotive engineer
3.1
$73k
Commercial fisherman
3.1
$37k
Irrigation technician
3.1
$15k
Engineer
3.1
$73k
Electrical engineer
3.1
$69k

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

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

Are locomotive engineers happy with their salary?

Locomotive engineers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 4.0/5. The majority of locomotive engineers are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

We asked locomotive engineers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

4.0 out of 5 stars

31 locomotive engineers

5 Star
42%

42% of locomotive engineers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
32%

32% of locomotive engineers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
16%

16% of locomotive engineers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
6%

6% of locomotive engineers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
3%

3% of locomotive engineers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do locomotive engineers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, locomotive engineers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.7/5. While most locomotive engineers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

We asked locomotive engineers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.7 out of 5 stars

31 locomotive engineers

5 Star
10%

10% of locomotive engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
13%

13% of locomotive engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
29%

29% of locomotive engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
35%

35% of locomotive engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
13%

13% of locomotive engineers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as locomotive engineers?

Locomotive engineers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.1/5. The majority of locomotive engineers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked locomotive engineers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

4.1 out of 5 stars

35 locomotive engineers

5 Star
51%

51% of locomotive engineers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of locomotive engineers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
11%

11% of locomotive engineers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
9%

9% of locomotive engineers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of locomotive engineers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a locomotive engineer’s work environment?

As a whole, locomotive engineers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.3/5. A solid majority of locomotive engineers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a locomotive engineer.

We asked locomotive engineers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.3 out of 5 stars

35 locomotive engineers

5 Star
20%

20% of locomotive engineers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
31%

31% of locomotive engineers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of locomotive engineers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of locomotive engineers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of locomotive engineers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are locomotive engineers making the best use of their abilities?

Former locomotive engineers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.9/5. Locomotive engineers tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.

We asked locomotive engineers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

35 locomotive engineers

5 Star
20%

20% of locomotive engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
11%

11% of locomotive engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of locomotive engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
37%

37% of locomotive engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of locomotive engineers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars