Power plant operators are below average when it comes to 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, power plant operators rate their career happiness 3.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 31% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy power plant operators 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
Freight and cargo inspector
3.1
$78k
Avionics technician
3.0
$47k
Metal caster
3.0
$50k
Auto body repairer
3.0
$9k
Ship engineer
3.0
$59k
Power plant operator
3.0
$92k
Auto mechanic
3.0
$21k
Water engineer
3.0
$95k
Construction manager
3.0
$65k
HVAC technician
3.0
$17k

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

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

Are power plant operators happy with their salary?

Power plant operators rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.9/5. The majority of power plant operators are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

We asked power plant operators how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

3.9 out of 5 stars

72 power plant operators

5 Star
40%

40% of power plant operators rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of power plant operators rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of power plant operators rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
13%

13% of power plant operators rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
1%

1% of power plant operators rated their compensation 1 stars

Do power plant operators find their jobs meaningful?

On average, power plant operators rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most power plant operators aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

We asked power plant operators how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

73 power plant operators

5 Star
18%

18% of power plant operators rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
19%

19% of power plant operators rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of power plant operators rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
22%

22% of power plant operators rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
19%

19% of power plant operators rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as power plant operators?

Power plant operators rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of power plant operators find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked power plant operators how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.8 out of 5 stars

79 power plant operators

5 Star
34%

34% of power plant operators rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
30%

30% of power plant operators rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of power plant operators rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
10%

10% of power plant operators rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of power plant operators rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a power plant operator’s work environment?

As a whole, power plant operators rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. A solid majority of power plant operators enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a power plant operator.

We asked power plant operators how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.4 out of 5 stars

78 power plant operators

5 Star
26%

26% of power plant operators rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
28%

28% of power plant operators rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
18%

18% of power plant operators rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
18%

18% of power plant operators rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
10%

10% of power plant operators rated their work environment 1 stars

Are power plant operators making the best use of their abilities?

Former power plant operators on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.2/5. Most power plant operators are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

We asked power plant operators how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

3.2 out of 5 stars

78 power plant operators

5 Star
18%

18% of power plant operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
28%

28% of power plant operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of power plant operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of power plant operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
15%

15% of power plant operators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars