Here are the Top 10 most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job:
- Clergy?87 percent percent
- Firefighters?80 percent percent
- Physical therapists?78 percent percent
- Authors?74 percent
- Special education teachers?70 percent
- Teachers?69 percent
- Education administrators?68 percent
- Painters and sculptors?67 percent
- Psychologists?67 percent
- Security and financial services salespersons?65 percent
- Operating engineers?64 percent
- Office supervisors?61 percent
A few common jobs in which about 50 percent of participants reported high satisfaction included: police and detectives, registered nurses, accountants, and editors and reporters.
The perceived prestige surrounding an occupation also had an effect on job satisfaction and
general happiness. Not all jobs linked with prestige topped these charts, however, including doctors and lawyers. Smith attributes this to the high degree of responsibility and
stress associated with such jobs.
?The least satisfying dozen jobs are mostly low-skill, manual and service occupations, especially involving customer service and food/beverage preparation and serving,? Smith said.
Here are the 10 least gratifying jobs, where few participants reported being very satisfied:
- Laborers, except construction?21 percent
- Apparel clothing salespersons?24 percent
- Handpackers and packagers?24 percent
- Food preparers?24 percent
- Roofers?25 percent
- Cashiers?25 percent
- Furniture and home-furnishing salespersons?25 percent
- Bartenders?26 percent
- Freight, stock and material handlers?26 percent
- Waiters and servers?27 percent
