Astronomers are one of the happiest 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, astronomers rate their career happiness 4.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 11% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy astronomers 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
Cytotechnologist
4.0
$61k
Astronomer
4.0
$115k
Nanotechnology engineer
3.9
$99k
Climate change analyst
3.6
$71k

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

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

Are astronomers happy with their salary?