Referees 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, referees rate their career happiness 3.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 49% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy referees 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Golf pro | 3.5 | $36k |
| Personal trainer | 3.5 | $30k |
| Physical education teacher | 3.5 | $26k |
| Fitness coordinator | 3.5 | $66k |
| Athletic trainer | 3.3 | $21k |
| Referee | 3.2 | $1k |
| Golf course superintendent | 3.2 | $34k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are referees happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do referees find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as referees?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are referee’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are referees making the best use of their abilities?
Are referees happy with their salary?
Referees rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.6/5. The majority of referees are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked referees how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
433 referees
26% of referees rated their compensation 5 stars
34% of referees rated their compensation 4 stars
21% of referees rated their compensation 3 stars
10% of referees rated their compensation 2 stars
8% of referees rated their compensation 1 stars
Do referees find their jobs meaningful?
On average, referees rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.6/5. While most referees aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked referees how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.6 out of 5 stars
429 referees
8% of referees rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
14% of referees rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
27% of referees rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
28% of referees rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
23% of referees rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as referees?
Referees rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of referees find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked referees how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
463 referees
33% of referees rated their career fit 5 stars
38% of referees rated their career fit 4 stars
18% of referees rated their career fit 3 stars
7% of referees rated their career fit 2 stars
5% of referees rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a referee’s work environment?
As a whole, referees rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.8/5. A solid majority of referees enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a referee.
We asked referees how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
463 referees
28% of referees rated their work environment 5 stars
37% of referees rated their work environment 4 stars
22% of referees rated their work environment 3 stars
10% of referees rated their work environment 2 stars
3% of referees rated their work environment 1 stars
Are referees making the best use of their abilities?
Former referees on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.1/5. Most referees are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked referees how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
462 referees
17% of referees rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
23% of referees rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
22% of referees rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
25% of referees rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
13% of referees rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars