The Ten Happiest Occupations in America

Yahoo lists the 10 happiest occupations in America as follows:

1. Clergy
2. Firefighters
3. Transportation, ticket, and reservation agents such as travel agents
4. Architects
5. Special education teachers
6. Actors and directors
7. Science technicians
8. Miscellaneous mechanical and repairing occupations
9. Industrial engineers
10. Airline pilots and navigators

They tried to determine what made people in these occupations happier than most, but there's no clear-cut answer. Anyone out there want to venture a guess why people in these occupations are happier? Or maybe you're in one of them and can tell us first-hand what makes these so great.

Personally, I'm VERY happy in my job, though it's not on this list. My reasons for being happy:

• Good people to work with
• Challenging work
• Believe in the company mission
• Good compensation
• Controlled work hours (no longer working 55+ hours per week)

How about you? Do you like your job? Why or why not?

Comments

[Lauren]

I've been a teacher's assistant at a special-needs elementary school - slightly different from special ed in that it's more focused on behavioral and psychiatric problems rather than developmental disabilities. I'm now interning as a therapist at a similar special-needs high school. My husband is an assistant teacher at a true special ed school, working with autistic children.

I'd say it's certainly fulfilling because the kids really have to work hard to meet goals that seem simple. Can they master how to make change for a dollar, even at age 14? Can they manage to get through English class without breaking down and crying? It's really fulfilling to see these kids make progress because it's so much more challenging for them than for mainstreamed kids.

It should be noted that these jobs pay horribly, so if you're working in this field on a long-term basis, it means it's something you enjoy.

[Beatriz/Mindful Money]

I'm happy in my profession: university librarian.
The reasons:

I help people every day.
I'm surrounded by books that contain the best of humanity and stimulating information in all formats.
I work in a clean, smokefree, civilized environment.
The campus is full of artwork, beautiful landscaping and young people.
My colleagues are intelligent good people not overly concerned with material wealth.
I learn something new almost every day!

My husband is a college professor and he is very happy in his profession, too. In his youth, he worked for seven years in an auto parts factory, so he appreciates where he is now. He loves to share his knowledge of the universe (he's an astronomer) with young people. And he loves learning more about his field of study every day, via research and observations.

[Kaitlyn]

Science technicians? Really? Maybe because we don't have to deal with people and working in an organic lab makes you high all the time.

[guinness416]

My entirely uninformed guess is that what all of the jobs on that list have in common is that they're "doing/making things" professions, rather than stuck-in-a-cubicle jobs. Also they're not in customer service, which must increase the happiness quotient (well except the ticket agents - and that one is really surprising to me!)

The only job on that list I know well is architecture. I'm not an architect (although I studied it), but work closely alongside them every day. They always seem overworked, and spend much of their time herding the other cats on the design team. It's also a tough subject to study and it's hard to get a decent entry level job. I've interacted with dozens of architects over the last year along, and "happy" wouldn't be my overarching impression of them. But maybe that's just when they're around me :)

[tom]

I'm an Industrial Engineer and I agree! I love my job, I'm rarely at my desk, I'm always on the manufacturing floor working with the operators to make their jobs easier or doing random crazy assignments.

[Jim Kaminecki]

My personal take on this subject is that there seems to be a consistent theme not only with the listed occupations in the article, but with general happiness/enjoyment in regard to work: service to others and appreciation of your efforts.

The other subtle theme I see is 'measurable results on a personal level'. An example of this could be shown in an accounting career. An individual working for a large accounting firm and is able to save a large corporation $1,000,000 in taxes vs. a public accountant that is able to save 250 families $1,000 each in taxes. It is my opinion that individuals in similar careers will experience a higher level of satisfaction commensurate with the personal level of involvement. Although I am sure a large corporation creates jobs for many families, the work being done for the 250 families is on a much more personal level.

[Canadian]

It seems to me that many of the jobs on that list are "vocations", where the person may feel a sort of calling to contribute to the world in a special way. This means that although their work may be difficult, it is meaningful and fulfilling. e.g. clery, firefighters, special ed teachers.

The other jobs on the list are more "hands on", which is also fulfilling in its own way, as your accomplishment is more tangible than just putting in hours in a cubicle. e.g. flew plane from point A to point B, fixed transmission on car.