Principals rate their happiness above average.
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, principals rate their career happiness 3.5 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 28% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy principals 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Career counselor | 3.8 | $42k |
| Professor | 3.6 | $65k |
| Clergy | 3.6 | $51k |
| Principal | 3.5 | $92k |
| Health educator | 3.5 | $53k |
| Physical education teacher | 3.5 | $63k |
| School counselor | 3.5 | $55k |
| Graduate teaching assistant | 3.4 | $33k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are principals happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do principals find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as principals?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are principal’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are principals making the best use of their abilities?
Are principals happy with their salary?
Principals rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. The majority of principals are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked principals how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
379 principals
25% of principals rated their compensation 5 stars
30% of principals rated their compensation 4 stars
22% of principals rated their compensation 3 stars
13% of principals rated their compensation 2 stars
11% of principals rated their compensation 1 stars
Do principals find their jobs meaningful?
On average, principals rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.8/5. Unlike many careers, principals have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become principals.
We asked principals how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
378 principals
36% of principals rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
32% of principals rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
17% of principals rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
8% of principals rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
7% of principals rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as principals?
Principals rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.0/5. The majority of principals find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked principals how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
4.0 out of 5 stars
404 principals
38% of principals rated their career fit 5 stars
37% of principals rated their career fit 4 stars
17% of principals rated their career fit 3 stars
5% of principals rated their career fit 2 stars
3% of principals rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a principal’s work environment?
As a whole, principals rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.8/5. A solid majority of principals enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a principal.
We asked principals how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
402 principals
32% of principals rated their work environment 5 stars
35% of principals rated their work environment 4 stars
22% of principals rated their work environment 3 stars
8% of principals rated their work environment 2 stars
3% of principals rated their work environment 1 stars
Are principals making the best use of their abilities?
Former principals on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.8/5. Most principals surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a principal, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked principals how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
405 principals
34% of principals rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
33% of principals rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
14% of principals rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
14% of principals rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
4% of principals rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars