Park naturalists 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, park naturalists rate their career happiness 4.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 10% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy park naturalists 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Park naturalist | 4.0 | $19k |
| Forest and conservation worker | 3.7 | $21k |
| Wildlife enforcement officer | 3.6 | $56k |
| Park ranger | 3.6 | $28k |
| Horticulturist | 3.6 | $43k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are park naturalists happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do park naturalists find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as park naturalists?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are park naturalist’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are park naturalists making the best use of their abilities?
Are park naturalists happy with their salary?
Park naturalists rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.8/5. Park naturalists tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked park naturalists how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
142 park naturalists
11% of park naturalists rated their compensation 5 stars
20% of park naturalists rated their compensation 4 stars
28% of park naturalists rated their compensation 3 stars
27% of park naturalists rated their compensation 2 stars
15% of park naturalists rated their compensation 1 stars
Do park naturalists find their jobs meaningful?
On average, park naturalists rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.9/5. Unlike many careers, park naturalists have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become park naturalists.
We asked park naturalists how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
145 park naturalists
39% of park naturalists rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
26% of park naturalists rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
22% of park naturalists rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
10% of park naturalists rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
3% of park naturalists rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as park naturalists?
Park naturalists rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.2/5. The majority of park naturalists find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked park naturalists how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
4.2 out of 5 stars
151 park naturalists
52% of park naturalists rated their career fit 5 stars
26% of park naturalists rated their career fit 4 stars
17% of park naturalists rated their career fit 3 stars
3% of park naturalists rated their career fit 2 stars
2% of park naturalists rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a park naturalist’s work environment?
As a whole, park naturalists rated their enjoyment of their work environment 4.4/5. A solid majority of park naturalists enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a park naturalist.
We asked park naturalists how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
4.4 out of 5 stars
153 park naturalists
54% of park naturalists rated their work environment 5 stars
37% of park naturalists rated their work environment 4 stars
5% of park naturalists rated their work environment 3 stars
3% of park naturalists rated their work environment 2 stars
1% of park naturalists rated their work environment 1 stars
Are park naturalists making the best use of their abilities?
Former park naturalists on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most park naturalists surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a park naturalist, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked park naturalists how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
152 park naturalists
26% of park naturalists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
33% of park naturalists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
27% of park naturalists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
10% of park naturalists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
5% of park naturalists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars