Proofreaders are about average in terms of 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, proofreaders rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 43% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy proofreaders 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Librarian | 3.3 | $55k |
| Content manager | 3.2 | $70k |
| News reporter | 3.2 | $27k |
| Translator | 3.1 | $35k |
| Proofreader | 3.1 | $28k |
| Copywriter | 3.1 | $54k |
| Technical writer | 2.8 | $72k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are proofreaders happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do proofreaders find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as proofreaders?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are proofreader’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are proofreaders making the best use of their abilities?
Are proofreaders happy with their salary?
Proofreaders rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.8/5. Proofreaders tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked proofreaders how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
548 proofreaders
9% of proofreaders rated their compensation 5 stars
24% of proofreaders rated their compensation 4 stars
26% of proofreaders rated their compensation 3 stars
22% of proofreaders rated their compensation 2 stars
19% of proofreaders rated their compensation 1 stars
Do proofreaders find their jobs meaningful?
On average, proofreaders rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.7/5. While most proofreaders aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked proofreaders how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.7 out of 5 stars
555 proofreaders
11% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
14% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
26% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
28% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
21% of proofreaders rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as proofreaders?
Proofreaders rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of proofreaders find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked proofreaders how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
608 proofreaders
33% of proofreaders rated their career fit 5 stars
37% of proofreaders rated their career fit 4 stars
20% of proofreaders rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of proofreaders rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of proofreaders rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a proofreader’s work environment?
As a whole, proofreaders rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of proofreaders enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a proofreader.
We asked proofreaders how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
610 proofreaders
29% of proofreaders rated their work environment 5 stars
31% of proofreaders rated their work environment 4 stars
23% of proofreaders rated their work environment 3 stars
12% of proofreaders rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of proofreaders rated their work environment 1 stars
Are proofreaders making the best use of their abilities?
Former proofreaders on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.1/5. Most proofreaders are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked proofreaders how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
608 proofreaders
17% of proofreaders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
21% of proofreaders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
26% of proofreaders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
23% of proofreaders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
13% of proofreaders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars