Underwriters are one of the least happy 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, underwriters rate their career happiness 2.5 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 5% of careers.

To put this into perspective, we compared how happy underwriters 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
Customs broker
2.6
$75k
Accountant
2.6
$77k
Actuary
2.5
$106k
Financial clerk
2.5
$46k
Loan officer
2.5
$63k
Underwriter
2.5
$76k
Teller
2.5
$36k
Auditor
2.5
$77k
Insurance sales agent
2.3
$50k
Debt collector
2.2
$38k

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

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

Are underwriters happy with their salary?

Underwriters rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.1/5. Few are explicitly unhappy with their salaries, with most underwriters having generally positive views of their salary.

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

3.1 out of 5 stars

562 underwriters

5 Star
13%

13% of underwriters rated their compensation 5 stars

4 Star
30%

30% of underwriters rated their compensation 4 stars

3 Star
27%

27% of underwriters rated their compensation 3 stars

2 Star
19%

19% of underwriters rated their compensation 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of underwriters rated their compensation 1 stars

Do underwriters find their jobs meaningful?

On average, underwriters rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.1/5. The majority of underwriters struggle to find any sort of meaning in their work, likely resulting in less satisfaction with the career overall.

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

2.1 out of 5 stars

565 underwriters

5 Star
4%

4% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars

4 Star
9%

9% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars

3 Star
16%

16% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars

2 Star
31%

31% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars

1 Star
39%

39% of underwriters rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars

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

Underwriters rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.3/5. The majority of underwriters don’t see personality fit as a hinderence in their career.

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

3.3 out of 5 stars

601 underwriters

5 Star
17%

17% of underwriters rated their career fit 5 stars

4 Star
32%

32% of underwriters rated their career fit 4 stars

3 Star
28%

28% of underwriters rated their career fit 3 stars

2 Star
14%

14% of underwriters rated their career fit 2 stars

1 Star
9%

9% of underwriters rated their career fit 1 stars

How enjoyable is a underwriter’s work environment?

As a whole, underwriters rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.1/5. Most of them tend to enjoy, or at least not be actively bothered by, their work environment.

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

3.1 out of 5 stars

595 underwriters

5 Star
12%

12% of underwriters rated their work environment 5 stars

4 Star
31%

31% of underwriters rated their work environment 4 stars

3 Star
26%

26% of underwriters rated their work environment 3 stars

2 Star
20%

20% of underwriters rated their work environment 2 stars

1 Star
11%

11% of underwriters rated their work environment 1 stars

Are underwriters making the best use of their abilities?

Former underwriters on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 2.5/5. Most feel that their skills are being underutilized in the career, probably leading to more general dissatisfaction with being a underwriter.

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

2.5 out of 5 stars

598 underwriters

5 Star
7%

7% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars

4 Star
16%

16% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars

3 Star
25%

25% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars

2 Star
30%

30% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars

1 Star
23%

23% of underwriters rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars