Paleontologists 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, paleontologists rate their career happiness 3.9 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 11% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy paleontologists 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zoologist | 4.1 | $49k |
| Marine biologist | 4.1 | $32k |
| Cytotechnologist | 4.0 | $61k |
| Beekeeper | 3.9 | $29k |
| Aquarist | 3.8 | $28k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as paleontologists?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are paleontologist’s work environments?
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as paleontologists?
Paleontologists rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.5/5. The majority of paleontologists find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked paleontologists how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
4.5 out of 5 stars
10 paleontologists
60% of paleontologists rated their career fit 5 stars
30% of paleontologists rated their career fit 4 stars
10% of paleontologists rated their career fit 3 stars
How enjoyable is a paleontologist’s work environment?
As a whole, paleontologists rated their enjoyment of their work environment 4.2/5. A solid majority of paleontologists enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a paleontologist.
We asked paleontologists how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
4.2 out of 5 stars
10 paleontologists
50% of paleontologists rated their work environment 5 stars
20% of paleontologists rated their work environment 4 stars
30% of paleontologists rated their work environment 3 stars