Which Careers Are the Happiest?

A simple search online of the happiest careers produces some highly diverse results and includes teaching assistants, construction workers, dental hygienists, and physical therapists. Probably one reason so many different results can be found in the method happiness or job satisfaction is measured.

While it is probably debatable what careers are actually the happiest, there are a few points to consider. For one, we tend to be the happiest when we are appreciated in our jobs. Also, many people want to feel productive and that they are helping others or the community (all of the abovementioned careers serve people or the community, by the way). It is important that we find careers that allow us time and energy to spend time doing the things we love. We may also be more likely to be happy in a career when we can utilize our skills. If you are creative, does the career allow you to use your creative mind? If you are skilled in using your hands, are you able to do that in the career?

Psychologists such as Abraham Maslow have studied what makes people feel a sense of fulfillment (he called the highest level of fulfillment self-actualization). When people are able to do work that they find meaningful, rather than relying solely on their activities outside of work to find meaning, their career satisfaction will likely increase.

So how can you know if you will be happy in a career? One suggestion is to talk with people who are actually in that career, as many people’s concept of what a particular worker’s day looks like may be vastly different than what is depicted in the media. You could also ask yourself if there is an opportunity to grow within the career. Would you need to achieve a certain level of education to obtain that career, and if so, is doing so worth the time, money, and energy that will require? It can also be helpful to determine if the career you are considering is likely to be in demand in the future.

Finally, we change, and so do careers and work environments. We may initially be satisfied in a career but no longer find the work enjoyable. We can get burnt out even in the best careers. Being able to recognize when we are no longer happy in a career, and being willing and brave enough to make career changes, can help us to find a new career that will bring us joy.