Bank managers 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, bank managers rate their career happiness 2.8 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 15% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy bank 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
Risk management specialist
2.8
$73k
Supply chain manager
2.8
$125k
Budget analyst
2.8
$80k
Sales manager
2.8
$127k
Executive assistant
2.8
$62k
Bank manager
2.8
$132k
Bookkeeper
2.7
$46k
Logistician
2.7
$77k
Compensation and benefits manager
2.7
$128k
Recruiter
2.7
$62k

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

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

Are bank managers happy with their salary?

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

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

3.1 out of 5 stars

535 bank managers

5 Star
13%

13% of bank managers rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
26%

26% of bank managers rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
29%

29% of bank managers rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of bank managers rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
13%

13% of bank managers rated their compensation 1 stars

Do bank managers find their jobs meaningful?

On average, bank managers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.6/5. While most bank managers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.

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

2.6 out of 5 stars

534 bank managers

5 Star
10%

10% of bank managers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
14%

14% of bank managers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of bank managers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
26%

26% of bank managers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
25%

25% of bank managers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Bank managers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of bank managers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

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

3.8 out of 5 stars

568 bank managers

5 Star
33%

33% of bank managers rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
32%

32% of bank managers rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
21%

21% of bank managers rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
9%

9% of bank managers rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
5%

5% of bank managers rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a bank manager’s work environment?

As a whole, bank managers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.4/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.

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

3.4 out of 5 stars

569 bank managers

5 Star
19%

19% of bank managers rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
29%

29% of bank managers rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
28%

28% of bank managers rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
16%

16% of bank managers rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
8%

8% of bank managers rated their work environment 1 stars

Are bank managers making the best use of their abilities?

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

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

3.0 out of 5 stars

573 bank managers

5 Star
13%

13% of bank managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
22%

22% of bank managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
29%

29% of bank managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
22%

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

1 Star
14%

14% of bank managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars