Carpenters 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, carpenters rate their career happiness 3.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 36% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy carpenters 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
Crane operator
3.1
$62k
Upholsterer
3.1
$37k
Millwright
3.1
$60k
Shipmate
3.1
$82k
Freight and cargo inspector
3.1
$80k
Carpenter
3.0
$48k
Cabinetmaker
3.0
$38k
Avionics technician
3.0
$69k
Metal caster
3.0
$46k
Auto body repairer
3.0
$47k

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

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

Are carpenters happy with their salary?

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

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

3.1 out of 5 stars

1745 carpenters

5 Star
12%

12% of carpenters rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
25%

25% of carpenters rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
34%

34% of carpenters rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of carpenters rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
10%

10% of carpenters rated their compensation 1 stars

Do carpenters find their jobs meaningful?

On average, carpenters rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.8/5. While most carpenters aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

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

2.8 out of 5 stars

1753 carpenters

5 Star
11%

11% of carpenters rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
19%

19% of carpenters rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of carpenters rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
25%

25% of carpenters rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
18%

18% of carpenters rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Carpenters rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.7/5. The majority of carpenters find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

3.7 out of 5 stars

1875 carpenters

5 Star
25%

25% of carpenters rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
40%

40% of carpenters rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
22%

22% of carpenters rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
8%

8% of carpenters rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of carpenters rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a carpenter’s work environment?

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

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

3.5 out of 5 stars

1878 carpenters

5 Star
19%

19% of carpenters rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
35%

35% of carpenters rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of carpenters rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
13%

13% of carpenters rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
6%

6% of carpenters rated their work environment 1 stars

Are carpenters making the best use of their abilities?

Former carpenters on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.1/5. Most carpenters are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.

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

3.1 out of 5 stars

1885 carpenters

5 Star
15%

15% of carpenters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
23%

23% of carpenters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of carpenters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
22%

22% of carpenters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
12%

12% of carpenters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars