Veterinarians rate their happiness above average.
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, veterinarians rate their career happiness 3.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 20% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy veterinarians 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dog trainer | 3.9 | $26k |
| Aquarist | 3.8 | $28k |
| Animal caretaker | 3.7 | $3k |
| Zoo educator | 3.7 | $25k |
| Veterinarian | 3.7 | $61k |
| Dog walker | 3.7 | $2k |
| Animal scientist | 3.5 | $58k |
| Veterinary assistant | 3.5 | $10k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are veterinarians happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do veterinarians find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as veterinarians?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are veterinarian’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are veterinarians making the best use of their abilities?
Are veterinarians happy with their salary?
Veterinarians rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most veterinarians having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked veterinarians how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
374 veterinarians
30% of veterinarians rated their compensation 5 stars
17% of veterinarians rated their compensation 4 stars
26% of veterinarians rated their compensation 3 stars
17% of veterinarians rated their compensation 2 stars
11% of veterinarians rated their compensation 1 stars
Do veterinarians find their jobs meaningful?
On average, veterinarians rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.7/5. Unlike many careers, veterinarians have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become veterinarians.
We asked veterinarians how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
378 veterinarians
40% of veterinarians rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
22% of veterinarians rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
19% of veterinarians rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
11% of veterinarians rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
8% of veterinarians rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as veterinarians?
Veterinarians rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.0/5. The majority of veterinarians find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked veterinarians how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
4.0 out of 5 stars
425 veterinarians
41% of veterinarians rated their career fit 5 stars
27% of veterinarians rated their career fit 4 stars
23% of veterinarians rated their career fit 3 stars
5% of veterinarians rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of veterinarians rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a veterinarian’s work environment?
As a whole, veterinarians rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.6/5. A solid majority of veterinarians enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a veterinarian.
We asked veterinarians how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
421 veterinarians
32% of veterinarians rated their work environment 5 stars
25% of veterinarians rated their work environment 4 stars
24% of veterinarians rated their work environment 3 stars
11% of veterinarians rated their work environment 2 stars
8% of veterinarians rated their work environment 1 stars
Are veterinarians making the best use of their abilities?
Former veterinarians on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.8/5. Most veterinarians surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a veterinarian, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked veterinarians how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
421 veterinarians
39% of veterinarians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
23% of veterinarians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
22% of veterinarians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
9% of veterinarians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
7% of veterinarians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars