Welders 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, welders 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 welders 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
Rigger
3.3
$26k
Grain elevator worker
3.2
$7k
Wind turbine technician
3.2
$65k
Extraction worker
3.2
$51k
Radio mechanic
3.1
$50k
Welder
3.1
$23k
Pump operator
3.1
$32k
Locksmith
3.1
$50k
Building inspector
3.1
$37k
Solar thermal installer
3.1
$37k

So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:

Are welders happy with their salary?

Welders rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.1/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most welders having generally positive views of their salary.

We asked welders how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

3.1 out of 5 stars

868 welders

5 Star
18%

18% of welders rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of welders rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of welders rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
21%

21% of welders rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
12%

12% of welders rated their compensation 1 stars

Do welders find their jobs meaningful?

On average, welders rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most welders aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

We asked welders how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

2.9 out of 5 stars

872 welders

5 Star
17%

17% of welders rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
16%

16% of welders rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of welders rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of welders rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
22%

22% of welders rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as welders?

Welders rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of welders find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked welders how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

3.8 out of 5 stars

909 welders

5 Star
30%

30% of welders rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
36%

36% of welders rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
21%

21% of welders rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
7%

7% of welders rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
7%

7% of welders rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a welder’s work environment?

As a whole, welders rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.

We asked welders how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

3.4 out of 5 stars

908 welders

5 Star
23%

23% of welders rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
27%

27% of welders rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of welders rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
15%

15% of welders rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of welders rated their work environment 1 stars

Are welders making the best use of their abilities?

Former welders on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.2/5. Most welders are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

We asked welders how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

3.2 out of 5 stars

917 welders

5 Star
22%

22% of welders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of welders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
24%

24% of welders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
17%

17% of welders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
13%

13% of welders rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars