Are cost estimators happy?

Cost estimators 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, cost estimators rate their career happiness 2.7 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 10% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy cost estimators 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
Securities and commodities broker
2.7 		$62k
Financial analyst
2.7 		$80k
Compliance manager
2.7 		$107k
Advertising sales agent
2.7 		$52k
Financial advisor
2.7 		$81k
Cost estimator
2.7 		$59k
Revenue agent
2.7 		$54k
Investment banker
2.7 		$70k
Tax preparer
2.7 		$46k
Credit counselor
2.6 		$46k

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

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

Are cost estimators happy with their salary?