Doctors 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, doctors rate their career happiness 3.4 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 34% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy doctors 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
Neurologist
4.0
$201k
Anesthesiologist
4.0
N/A
Orthopaedic surgeon
3.8
N/A
Radiologist
3.7
$201k
Orthodontist
3.6
N/A
Doctor
3.4
$106k
Surgical assistant
3.4
$46k
Internist
3.3
$194k

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

Are doctors happy with their salary?

Doctors rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. The majority of doctors are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

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

3.4 out of 5 stars

1956 doctors

5 Star
28%

28% of doctors rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of doctors rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of doctors rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of doctors rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of doctors rated their compensation 1 stars

Do doctors find their jobs meaningful?

On average, doctors rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.7/5. Unlike many careers, doctors have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become doctors.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

1998 doctors

5 Star
36%

36% of doctors rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
26%

26% of doctors rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
17%

17% of doctors rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
10%

10% of doctors rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
10%

10% of doctors rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

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

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

3.8 out of 5 stars

2182 doctors

5 Star
37%

37% of doctors rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
30%

30% of doctors rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
19%

19% of doctors rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
9%

9% of doctors rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of doctors rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a doctor’s work environment?

As a whole, doctors rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.5/5. A solid majority of doctors enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a doctor.

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

2178 doctors

5 Star
26%

26% of doctors rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
27%

27% of doctors rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of doctors rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
16%

16% of doctors rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of doctors rated their work environment 1 stars

Are doctors making the best use of their abilities?

Former doctors on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most doctors surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a doctor, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

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

3.6 out of 5 stars

2180 doctors

5 Star
31%

31% of doctors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
25%

25% of doctors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
21%

21% of doctors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of doctors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
8%

8% of doctors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars