Orthodontists 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, orthodontists rate their career happiness 3.6 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 24% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy orthodontists 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Neurologist | 4.0 | $201k |
| Anesthesiologist | 4.0 | N/A |
| Orthopedic surgeon | 3.8 | N/A |
| Nurse anesthetist | 3.8 | $196k |
| Radiologist | 3.7 | $201k |
| Orthodontist | 3.6 | N/A |
| Naturopathic physician | 3.5 | $74k |
| Doctor | 3.4 | $106k |
| Nurse educator | 3.4 | $77k |
| Surgical assistant | 3.4 | $46k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are orthodontists happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do orthodontists find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as orthodontists?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are orthodontist’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are orthodontists making the best use of their abilities?
Are orthodontists happy with their salary?
Orthodontists rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.4/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most orthodontists having generally positive views of their salary.
We asked orthodontists how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
27 orthodontists
30% of orthodontists rated their compensation 5 stars
11% of orthodontists rated their compensation 4 stars
37% of orthodontists rated their compensation 3 stars
15% of orthodontists rated their compensation 2 stars
7% of orthodontists rated their compensation 1 stars
Do orthodontists find their jobs meaningful?
On average, orthodontists rate the meaningfulness of their work a 3.6/5. Unlike many careers, orthodontists have little difficulty finding meaning in their work, and it likely constitutes one of the main reasons people become orthodontists.
We asked orthodontists how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
25 orthodontists
40% of orthodontists rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
12% of orthodontists rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
28% of orthodontists rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
4% of orthodontists rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
16% of orthodontists rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as orthodontists?
Orthodontists rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.8/5. The majority of orthodontists find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked orthodontists how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.8 out of 5 stars
29 orthodontists
34% of orthodontists rated their career fit 5 stars
21% of orthodontists rated their career fit 4 stars
34% of orthodontists rated their career fit 3 stars
10% of orthodontists rated their career fit 2 stars
How enjoyable is an orthodontist’s work environment?
As a whole, orthodontists rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.6/5. A solid majority of orthodontists enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as an orthodontist.
We asked orthodontists how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
28 orthodontists
25% of orthodontists rated their work environment 5 stars
36% of orthodontists rated their work environment 4 stars
25% of orthodontists rated their work environment 3 stars
7% of orthodontists rated their work environment 2 stars
7% of orthodontists rated their work environment 1 stars
Are orthodontists making the best use of their abilities?
Former orthodontists on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.6/5. Most orthodontists surveyed find that they manage to use their abilities to their fullest as an orthodontist, which helps contribute to higher career satisfaction in the long term.
We asked orthodontists how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
29 orthodontists
31% of orthodontists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
24% of orthodontists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
31% of orthodontists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
14% of orthodontists rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars