Particle physicists 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, particle physicists rate their career happiness 3.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 14% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy particle physicists 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cytotechnologist | 4.0 | $61k |
| Astronomer | 4.0 | $117k |
| Nanotechnology engineer | 3.9 | $120k |
| Photonics engineer | 3.8 | $112k |
| Climate change analyst | 3.6 | $73k |
| Mathematician | 3.6 | $75k |
| Physicist | 3.5 | $126k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are particle physicists happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do particle physicists find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as particle physicists?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are particle physicist’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are particle physicists making the best use of their abilities?
Are particle physicists happy with their salary?
Particle physicists rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. The majority of particle physicists are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked particle physicists how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
16 particle physicists
25% of particle physicists rated their compensation 5 stars
25% of particle physicists rated their compensation 4 stars
31% of particle physicists rated their compensation 3 stars
19% of particle physicists rated their compensation 2 stars
Do particle physicists find their jobs meaningful?
On average, particle physicists rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.7/5. Unlike many careers, particle physicists have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become particle physicists.
We asked particle physicists how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
17 particle physicists
35% of particle physicists rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
29% of particle physicists rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
18% of particle physicists rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
6% of particle physicists rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
12% of particle physicists rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as particle physicists?
Particle physicists rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of particle physicists find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked particle physicists how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
18 particle physicists
33% of particle physicists rated their career fit 5 stars
39% of particle physicists rated their career fit 4 stars
11% of particle physicists rated their career fit 3 stars
6% of particle physicists rated their career fit 2 stars
11% of particle physicists rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a particle physicist’s work environment?
As a whole, particle physicists rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of particle physicists enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a particle physicist.
We asked particle physicists how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
17 particle physicists
29% of particle physicists rated their work environment 5 stars
41% of particle physicists rated their work environment 4 stars
6% of particle physicists rated their work environment 3 stars
18% of particle physicists rated their work environment 2 stars
6% of particle physicists rated their work environment 1 stars
Are particle physicists making the best use of their abilities?
Former particle physicists on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.9/5. Most particle physicists surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a particle physicist, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked particle physicists how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
17 particle physicists
41% of particle physicists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
35% of particle physicists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
12% of particle physicists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
12% of particle physicists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars