Pipelayers are one of the least happy 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, pipelayers rate their career happiness 2.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 18% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy pipelayers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cement mason | 2.9 | $18k |
| Surveyor | 2.8 | $46k |
| Marine electrician | 2.8 | $73k |
| Highway maintenance worker | 2.8 | $39k |
| Plumber | 2.8 | $24k |
| Pipelayer | 2.8 | $50k |
| Lawn care specialist | 2.8 | $2k |
| Rail transportation worker | 2.8 | $60k |
| Tile and marble setter | 2.8 | $24k |
| Product safety engineer | 2.7 | $99k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are pipelayers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do pipelayers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as pipelayers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are pipelayer’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are pipelayers making the best use of their abilities?
Are pipelayers happy with their salary?
Pipelayers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most pipelayers having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked pipelayers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
27 pipelayers
15% of pipelayers rated their compensation 5 stars
33% of pipelayers rated their compensation 4 stars
37% of pipelayers rated their compensation 3 stars
4% of pipelayers rated their compensation 2 stars
11% of pipelayers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do pipelayers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, pipelayers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.6/5. Unlike many careers, pipelayers have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become pipelayers.
We asked pipelayers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.6 out of 5 stars
27 pipelayers
15% of pipelayers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
41% of pipelayers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
19% of pipelayers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
26% of pipelayers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as pipelayers?
Pipelayers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.6/5. The majority of pipelayers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked pipelayers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
29 pipelayers
31% of pipelayers rated their career fit 5 stars
24% of pipelayers rated their career fit 4 stars
24% of pipelayers rated their career fit 3 stars
17% of pipelayers rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of pipelayers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a pipelayer’s work environment?
As a whole, pipelayers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.3/5. A solid majority of pipelayers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a pipelayer.
We asked pipelayers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.3 out of 5 stars
30 pipelayers
17% of pipelayers rated their work environment 5 stars
40% of pipelayers rated their work environment 4 stars
13% of pipelayers rated their work environment 3 stars
13% of pipelayers rated their work environment 2 stars
17% of pipelayers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are pipelayers making the best use of their abilities?
Former pipelayers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.9/5. Pipelayers tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.
We asked pipelayers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
30 pipelayers
10% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
23% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
23% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
30% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
13% of pipelayers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars