Telemarketers are one of the least happy careers in the United States.
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, telemarketers rate their career happiness 1.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the None.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy telemarketers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Retail salesperson | 2.3 | $29k |
| Insurance sales agent | 2.3 | $50k |
| Debt collector | 2.2 | $38k |
| Cashier | 2.2 | $27k |
| Insurance appraiser | 2.1 | $63k |
| Telemarketer | 1.8 | $29k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are telemarketers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do telemarketers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as telemarketers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are telemarketer’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are telemarketers making the best use of their abilities?
Are telemarketers happy with their salary?
Telemarketers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 2.5/5. Most telemarketers do not feel that their salaries adequately reflect their work, and are actively unhappy with their income.
We asked telemarketers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
2.5 out of 5 stars
2348 telemarketers
7% of telemarketers rated their compensation 5 stars
18% of telemarketers rated their compensation 4 stars
23% of telemarketers rated their compensation 3 stars
21% of telemarketers rated their compensation 2 stars
31% of telemarketers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do telemarketers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, telemarketers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 1.6/5. The majority of telemarketers struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.
We asked telemarketers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
1.6 out of 5 stars
2350 telemarketers
2% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
3% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
10% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
19% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
66% of telemarketers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as telemarketers?
Telemarketers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 2.7/5. Few telemarketers seem to find that their personalities work mesh well with their career.
We asked telemarketers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
2.7 out of 5 stars
2541 telemarketers
12% of telemarketers rated their career fit 5 stars
20% of telemarketers rated their career fit 4 stars
22% of telemarketers rated their career fit 3 stars
17% of telemarketers rated their career fit 2 stars
28% of telemarketers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a telemarketer’s work environment?
As a whole, telemarketers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 2.4/5. Few telemarketers enjoy their work environment, which helps contribute to a lower overall satisfaction in the career.
We asked telemarketers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
2.4 out of 5 stars
2538 telemarketers
7% of telemarketers rated their work environment 5 stars
15% of telemarketers rated their work environment 4 stars
20% of telemarketers rated their work environment 3 stars
23% of telemarketers rated their work environment 2 stars
35% of telemarketers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are telemarketers making the best use of their abilities?
Former telemarketers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 1.9/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a telemarketer.
We asked telemarketers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
1.9 out of 5 stars
2536 telemarketers
3% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
7% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
13% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
26% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
51% of telemarketers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars