Private detectives rate their happiness above average.
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, private detectives rate their career happiness 3.5 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 29% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy private detectives 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Special agent | 3.6 | $96k |
| Detective | 3.6 | $55k |
| Private detective | 3.5 | $58k |
| Hearing officer | 3.5 | $108k |
| Forensic science technician | 3.4 | $33k |
| Transit police officer | 3.2 | $38k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are private detectives happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do private detectives find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as private detectives?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are private detective’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are private detectives making the best use of their abilities?
Are private detectives happy with their salary?
Private detectives rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.9/5. Private detectives tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked private detectives how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
76 private detectives
11% of private detectives rated their compensation 5 stars
22% of private detectives rated their compensation 4 stars
26% of private detectives rated their compensation 3 stars
28% of private detectives rated their compensation 2 stars
13% of private detectives rated their compensation 1 stars
Do private detectives find their jobs meaningful?
On average, private detectives rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.2/5. Most tend to be satisified with the level of meaning they find in their careers.
We asked private detectives how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.2 out of 5 stars
78 private detectives
24% of private detectives rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
24% of private detectives rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
19% of private detectives rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
15% of private detectives rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
17% of private detectives rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as private detectives?
Private detectives rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.0/5. The majority of private detectives find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked private detectives how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
4.0 out of 5 stars
83 private detectives
45% of private detectives rated their career fit 5 stars
31% of private detectives rated their career fit 4 stars
12% of private detectives rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of private detectives rated their career fit 2 stars
5% of private detectives rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a private detective’s work environment?
As a whole, private detectives rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.8/5. A solid majority of private detectives enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a private detective.
We asked private detectives how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
83 private detectives
31% of private detectives rated their work environment 5 stars
31% of private detectives rated their work environment 4 stars
20% of private detectives rated their work environment 3 stars
16% of private detectives rated their work environment 2 stars
1% of private detectives rated their work environment 1 stars
Are private detectives making the best use of their abilities?
Former private detectives on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most private detectives surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a private detective, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked private detectives how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
84 private detectives
29% of private detectives rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
25% of private detectives rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
26% of private detectives rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
17% of private detectives rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
4% of private detectives rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars