Construction managers are below average when it comes to 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, construction managers rate their career happiness 3.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 30% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy construction managers 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Auto body repairer | 3.0 | $47k |
| Ship engineer | 3.0 | $82k |
| Power plant operator | 3.0 | $81k |
| Auto mechanic | 3.0 | $47k |
| Financial manager | 3.0 | $132k |
| Construction manager | 3.0 | $99k |
| HVAC technician | 3.0 | $49k |
| Industrial machinery mechanic | 3.0 | $60k |
| Electrician | 3.0 | $60k |
| Elevator mechanic | 2.9 | $98k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are construction managers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do construction managers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as construction managers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are construction manager’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are construction managers making the best use of their abilities?
Are construction managers happy with their salary?
Construction managers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most construction managers having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked construction managers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
991 construction managers
15% of construction managers rated their compensation 5 stars
35% of construction managers rated their compensation 4 stars
29% of construction managers rated their compensation 3 stars
15% of construction managers rated their compensation 2 stars
6% of construction managers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do construction managers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, construction managers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.7/5. While most construction managers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked construction managers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.7 out of 5 stars
986 construction managers
12% of construction managers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
19% of construction managers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
23% of construction managers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
26% of construction managers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
21% of construction managers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as construction managers?
Construction managers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of construction managers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked construction managers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.7 out of 5 stars
1055 construction managers
27% of construction managers rated their career fit 5 stars
36% of construction managers rated their career fit 4 stars
23% of construction managers rated their career fit 3 stars
10% of construction managers rated their career fit 2 stars
4% of construction managers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a construction manager’s work environment?
As a whole, construction managers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. A solid majority of construction managers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a construction manager.
We asked construction managers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
1053 construction managers
21% of construction managers rated their work environment 5 stars
29% of construction managers rated their work environment 4 stars
26% of construction managers rated their work environment 3 stars
16% of construction managers rated their work environment 2 stars
7% of construction managers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are construction managers making the best use of their abilities?
Former construction managers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.1/5. Most construction managers are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked construction managers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.1 out of 5 stars
1061 construction managers
16% of construction managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
25% of construction managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
27% of construction managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
20% of construction managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
12% of construction managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars