Pediatricians 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, pediatricians rate their career happiness 4.0 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 9% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy pediatricians 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ophthalmologist | 4.1 | $201k |
| Neurosurgeon | 4.1 | N/A |
| Dermatologist | 4.1 | $201k |
| Pediatrician | 4.0 | $171k |
| Neurologist | 4.0 | $201k |
| Anesthesiologist | 4.0 | N/A |
| Orthopedic surgeon | 3.8 | N/A |
| Nurse anesthetist | 3.8 | $196k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are pediatricians happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do pediatricians find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as pediatricians?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are pediatrician’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are pediatricians making the best use of their abilities?
Are pediatricians happy with their salary?
Pediatricians rated their satisfaction with their salaries 4.0/5. The majority of pediatricians are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked pediatricians how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
4.0 out of 5 stars
50 pediatricians
42% of pediatricians rated their compensation 5 stars
30% of pediatricians rated their compensation 4 stars
20% of pediatricians rated their compensation 3 stars
2% of pediatricians rated their compensation 2 stars
6% of pediatricians rated their compensation 1 stars
Do pediatricians find their jobs meaningful?
On average, pediatricians rate the meaningfulness of their work a 4.3/5. Unlike many careers, pediatricians have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become pediatricians.
We asked pediatricians how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
4.3 out of 5 stars
53 pediatricians
62% of pediatricians rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
21% of pediatricians rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
8% of pediatricians rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
2% of pediatricians rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
8% of pediatricians rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as pediatricians?
Pediatricians rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.3/5. The majority of pediatricians find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked pediatricians how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
4.3 out of 5 stars
57 pediatricians
60% of pediatricians rated their career fit 5 stars
21% of pediatricians rated their career fit 4 stars
12% of pediatricians rated their career fit 3 stars
4% of pediatricians rated their career fit 2 stars
4% of pediatricians rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a pediatrician’s work environment?
As a whole, pediatricians rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.9/5. A solid majority of pediatricians enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a pediatrician.
We asked pediatricians how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
57 pediatricians
42% of pediatricians rated their work environment 5 stars
26% of pediatricians rated their work environment 4 stars
14% of pediatricians rated their work environment 3 stars
12% of pediatricians rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of pediatricians rated their work environment 1 stars
Are pediatricians making the best use of their abilities?
Former pediatricians on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 4.1/5. Most pediatricians surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a pediatrician, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked pediatricians how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
4.1 out of 5 stars
57 pediatricians
53% of pediatricians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
25% of pediatricians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
7% of pediatricians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
7% of pediatricians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
9% of pediatricians rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars