Underwriters 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, underwriters rate their career happiness 2.5 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 5% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy underwriters 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Customs broker | 2.6 | $67k |
| Accountant | 2.6 | $56k |
| Actuary | 2.5 | $121k |
| Financial clerk | 2.5 | $39k |
| Loan officer | 2.5 | $62k |
| Underwriter | 2.5 | $57k |
| Teller | 2.5 | $19k |
| Auditor | 2.5 | $54k |
| Insurance sales agent | 2.3 | $35k |
| Debt collector | 2.2 | $31k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are underwriters happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do underwriters find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as underwriters?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are underwriter’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are underwriters making the best use of their abilities?
Are underwriters happy with their salary?
Underwriters rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.1/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most underwriters having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked underwriters how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
561 underwriters
13% of underwriters rated their compensation 5 stars
30% of underwriters rated their compensation 4 stars
27% of underwriters rated their compensation 3 stars
19% of underwriters rated their compensation 2 stars
11% of underwriters rated their compensation 1 stars
Do underwriters find their jobs meaningful?
On average, underwriters rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.1/5. The majority of underwriters struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked underwriters how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.1 out of 5 stars
564 underwriters
4% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
9% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
16% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
31% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
39% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as underwriters?
Underwriters rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.3/5. The majority of underwriters don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.
We asked underwriters how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.3 out of 5 stars
600 underwriters
17% of underwriters rated their career fit 5 stars
32% of underwriters rated their career fit 4 stars
28% of underwriters rated their career fit 3 stars
14% of underwriters rated their career fit 2 stars
9% of underwriters rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a underwriter’s work environment?
As a whole, underwriters rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.1/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.
We asked underwriters how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
594 underwriters
12% of underwriters rated their work environment 5 stars
31% of underwriters rated their work environment 4 stars
26% of underwriters rated their work environment 3 stars
20% of underwriters rated their work environment 2 stars
11% of underwriters rated their work environment 1 stars
Are underwriters making the best use of their abilities?
Former underwriters on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.5/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a underwriter.
We asked underwriters how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
2.5 out of 5 stars
597 underwriters
7% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
16% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
25% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
30% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
23% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars