Building inspectors 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, building inspectors rate their career happiness 3.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 42% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy building inspectors 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
Radio mechanic
3.1
$60k
Welder
3.1
$47k
Pump operator
3.1
$50k
Locksmith
3.1
$47k
Building inspector
3.1
$62k
Petroleum engineer
3.1
$131k
Solar thermal installer
3.1
$37k
Locomotive engineer
3.1
$80k
Irrigation technician
3.1
$34k
Logging worker
3.1
$48k

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

  • Salary: Are building inspectors happy with their salary?
  • Meaning: Do building inspectors find their jobs meaningful?
  • Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as building inspectors?
  • Work environment: How enjoyable are building inspector’s work environments?
  • Skills utilization: Are building inspectors making the best use of their abilities?

Are building inspectors happy with their salary?

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

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

3.1 out of 5 stars

115 building inspectors

5 Star
17%

17% of building inspectors rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
22%

22% of building inspectors rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
30%

30% of building inspectors rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
16%

16% of building inspectors rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
15%

15% of building inspectors rated their compensation 1 stars

Do building inspectors find their jobs meaningful?

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

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

2.9 out of 5 stars

115 building inspectors

5 Star
19%

19% of building inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
17%

17% of building inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of building inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of building inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
24%

24% of building inspectors rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Building inspectors rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.6/5. The majority of building inspectors find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

3.6 out of 5 stars

128 building inspectors

5 Star
30%

30% of building inspectors rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
31%

31% of building inspectors rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of building inspectors rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
12%

12% of building inspectors rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
8%

8% of building inspectors rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a building inspector’s work environment?

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

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

128 building inspectors

5 Star
23%

23% of building inspectors rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
35%

35% of building inspectors rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
20%

20% of building inspectors rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
11%

11% of building inspectors rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
10%

10% of building inspectors rated their work environment 1 stars

Are building inspectors making the best use of their abilities?

Former building inspectors on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.0/5. Building inspectors tend to feel that they don’t manage to use their abilities to their fullest, when compared to other careers.

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

3.0 out of 5 stars

129 building inspectors

5 Star
17%

17% of building inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
21%

21% of building inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
23%

23% of building inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of building inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
19%

19% of building inspectors rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars