Front-End developers 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, front-end developers rate their career happiness 3.3 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 45% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy front-end developers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Computer and information research scientist | 3.3 | $118k |
| Web designer | 3.3 | $37k |
| Data scientist | 3.3 | $88k |
| Web developer | 3.3 | $69k |
| Computer repair technician | 3.3 | $47k |
| Front-End developer | 3.3 | $51k |
| Computer programmer | 3.2 | $85k |
| Network administrator | 3.2 | $47k |
| IT security consultant | 3.2 | $60k |
| Security engineer | 3.2 | $74k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are front-end developers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do front-end developers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as front-end developers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are front-end developer’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are front-end developers making the best use of their abilities?
Are front-end developers happy with their salary?
Front-End developers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.3/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most front-end developers having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked front-end developers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.3 out of 5 stars
506 front-end developers
19% of front-end developers rated their compensation 5 stars
29% of front-end developers rated their compensation 4 stars
28% of front-end developers rated their compensation 3 stars
15% of front-end developers rated their compensation 2 stars
9% of front-end developers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do front-end developers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, front-end developers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.8/5. While most front-end developers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked front-end developers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.8 out of 5 stars
514 front-end developers
12% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
19% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
26% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
25% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
17% of front-end developers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as front-end developers?
Front-End developers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of front-end developers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked front-end developers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
519 front-end developers
25% of front-end developers rated their career fit 5 stars
41% of front-end developers rated their career fit 4 stars
23% of front-end developers rated their career fit 3 stars
9% of front-end developers rated their career fit 2 stars
2% of front-end developers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a front-end developer’s work environment?
As a whole, front-end developers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.7/5. A solid majority of front-end developers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a front-end developer.
We asked front-end developers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
517 front-end developers
23% of front-end developers rated their work environment 5 stars
38% of front-end developers rated their work environment 4 stars
23% of front-end developers rated their work environment 3 stars
12% of front-end developers rated their work environment 2 stars
4% of front-end developers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are front-end developers making the best use of their abilities?
Former front-end developers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.3/5. Most front-end developers are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked front-end developers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.3 out of 5 stars
518 front-end developers
17% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
28% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
27% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
21% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
7% of front-end developers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars