Dermatologists 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, dermatologists rate their career happiness 4.1 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 7% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy dermatologists 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

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

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

Are dermatologists happy with their salary?

Dermatologists rated their satisfaction with their salaries 4.3/5. The majority of dermatologists are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.

We asked dermatologists how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:

4.3 out of 5 stars

22 dermatologists

5 Star
55%

55% of dermatologists rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
27%

27% of dermatologists rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
14%

14% of dermatologists rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
5%

5% of dermatologists rated their compensation 2 stars

Do dermatologists find their jobs meaningful?

On average, dermatologists rate the meaningfulness of their work a 4.1/5. Unlike many careers, dermatologists have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become dermatologists.

We asked dermatologists how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:

4.1 out of 5 stars

23 dermatologists

5 Star
52%

52% of dermatologists rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
22%

22% of dermatologists rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
17%

17% of dermatologists rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
4%

4% of dermatologists rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of dermatologists rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as dermatologists?

Dermatologists rated their personality fit with their work an average of 4.4/5. The majority of dermatologists find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.

We asked dermatologists how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:

4.4 out of 5 stars

28 dermatologists

5 Star
61%

61% of dermatologists rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
25%

25% of dermatologists rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
11%

11% of dermatologists rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
4%

4% of dermatologists rated their career fit 2 stars

How enjoyable is a dermatologist’s work environment?

As a whole, dermatologists rated their enjoyment of their work environment 4.0/5. A solid majority of dermatologists enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a dermatologist.

We asked dermatologists how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:

4.0 out of 5 stars

26 dermatologists

5 Star
42%

42% of dermatologists rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
31%

31% of dermatologists rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
15%

15% of dermatologists rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
8%

8% of dermatologists rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
4%

4% of dermatologists rated their work environment 1 stars

Are dermatologists making the best use of their abilities?

Former dermatologists on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 4.2/5. Most dermatologists surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as a dermatologist, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.

We asked dermatologists how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:

4.2 out of 5 stars

25 dermatologists

5 Star
52%

52% of dermatologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
24%

24% of dermatologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
16%

16% of dermatologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
8%

8% of dermatologists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars