Last week’s issue of Time (November 26th) breaks down American happiness by job.
According to Time, we work more than we sleep and take fewer vacation days than any other Western nation. But for the most part, we’re happy: 9 out of 10 Americans rank themselves as moderately to very satisfied with the way they earn their bread & butter.
Salary is not the determining factor for job-related happiness. Clergy, with a median income of about $37,000, are the happiest workers in America followed by firefighters, ticket agents, and architects.
Telephone-line repairmen are happier than athletes; waiters more content than designers or photographers; bus drivers rank higher than musicians.
This isn’t to say that a bus driver wouldn’t want to trade jobs with Keith Richards, although the bus driver might be in better health. The survey reflects the median of each profession, not the sliver of mega-successful athletes, musicians and artists.
Gas-station attendants are the least happy people, after roofers and molding-machine operators. While this may seem predictable, remember that Brett Easton Ellis was working at a gas station when he published Less Than Zero; Diddy did his time at the pump too.
Even in the happiest profession (clergy) only %67 said they were “very happy” with their job. That’s a D.
Whether you’re a priest, steelworker, or librarian, you will only be happy with your profession if it allows you to exercise who you are. It’s essential to know not only your professional strengths, but limitations.
The longer you try to work a job because you think it “looks good” or is the job you’re supposed to have, the longer you will be unhappy at work.
Using this model it’s easy to see why dog walkers could be happier than investment bankers, pre-school teachers more content than Harvard Law grads.
You cannot put a price on happiness. Your sanity depends on it.
See the complete rankings of happiness by profession at Time.com.
