Translators 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, translators rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 44% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy translators 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 |
|---|---|---|
| American sign language interpreter | 3.6 | $41k |
| Clergy member | 3.6 | $36k |
| Editor | 3.4 | $32k |
| Librarian | 3.3 | $55k |
| Funeral director | 3.2 | $31k |
| 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 translators happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do translators find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as translators?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are translator’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are translators making the best use of their abilities?
Are translators happy with their salary?
Translators rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.9/5. Translators tend to be quite unhappy with their salary, with very few reporting satisfaction with their pay.
We asked translators how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
1798 translators
11% of translators rated their compensation 5 stars
20% of translators rated their compensation 4 stars
30% of translators rated their compensation 3 stars
24% of translators rated their compensation 2 stars
15% of translators rated their compensation 1 stars
Do translators find their jobs meaningful?
On average, translators rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most translators aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked translators how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
1835 translators
13% of translators rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
18% of translators rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
29% of translators rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
24% of translators rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
17% of translators rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as translators?
Translators rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of translators find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked translators how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
2028 translators
28% of translators rated their career fit 5 stars
34% of translators rated their career fit 4 stars
25% of translators rated their career fit 3 stars
9% of translators rated their career fit 2 stars
4% of translators rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a translator’s work environment?
As a whole, translators rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.5/5. A solid majority of translators enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a translator.
We asked translators how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
2000 translators
23% of translators rated their work environment 5 stars
32% of translators rated their work environment 4 stars
27% of translators rated their work environment 3 stars
13% of translators rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of translators rated their work environment 1 stars
Are translators making the best use of their abilities?
Former translators on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.3/5. Most translators are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked translators how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.3 out of 5 stars
2025 translators
19% of translators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
27% of translators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
27% of translators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
18% of translators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
8% of translators rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars