Stock clerks 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, stock clerks rate their career happiness 2.2 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 1% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy stock clerks 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Postal service clerk | 2.3 | $29k |
| Customer service representative | 2.3 | $18k |
| Retail salesperson | 2.3 | $6k |
| Housekeeper | 2.3 | $4k |
| Dyeing machine operator | 2.2 | $13k |
| Stock clerk | 2.2 | $23k |
| Janitor | 2.2 | $4k |
| Cashier | 2.2 | $2k |
| Machine feeder | 2.1 | $8k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are stock clerks happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do stock clerks find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as stock clerks?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are stock clerk’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are stock clerks making the best use of their abilities?
Are stock clerks happy with their salary?
Stock clerks rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.4/5. Most stock clerks do not feel that their salaries adequately reflect their work, and are actively unhappy with their income.
We asked stock clerks how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.4 out of 5 stars
1782 stock clerks
5% of stock clerks rated their compensation 5 stars
14% of stock clerks rated their compensation 4 stars
27% of stock clerks rated their compensation 3 stars
25% of stock clerks rated their compensation 2 stars
29% of stock clerks rated their compensation 1 stars
Do stock clerks find their jobs meaningful?
On average, stock clerks rate the meaningfulness of their work a 1.7/5. The majority of stock clerks struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked stock clerks how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
1.7 out of 5 stars
1788 stock clerks
2% of stock clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
4% of stock clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
11% of stock clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
25% of stock clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
58% of stock clerks rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as stock clerks?
Stock clerks rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.1/5. The majority of stock clerks don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.
We asked stock clerks how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
1905 stock clerks
14% of stock clerks rated their career fit 5 stars
25% of stock clerks rated their career fit 4 stars
30% of stock clerks rated their career fit 3 stars
17% of stock clerks rated their career fit 2 stars
15% of stock clerks rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a stock clerk’s work environment?
As a whole, stock clerks rated their enjoyment of their work environment 2.7/5. Some stock clerks are happy with their work environment, but it does not seem to be a meaningful contributer to career satisfaction for most.
We asked stock clerks how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
2.7 out of 5 stars
1919 stock clerks
9% of stock clerks rated their work environment 5 stars
20% of stock clerks rated their work environment 4 stars
29% of stock clerks rated their work environment 3 stars
22% of stock clerks rated their work environment 2 stars
20% of stock clerks rated their work environment 1 stars
Are stock clerks making the best use of their abilities?
Former stock clerks on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 1.9/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a stock clerk.
We asked stock clerks how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
1.9 out of 5 stars
1917 stock clerks
5% of stock clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
7% of stock clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
13% of stock clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
28% of stock clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
48% of stock clerks rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars