WHICH CAREERS ARE THE MOST SATISFYING?

Dear Career Doctor:

I am having trouble finding the careers that report the highest job satisfaction. Do you know which careers would top this list? Thanks for your help.?

Carrie M.

Dear Carrie:

Here's the bad news: Even if I could find a study that compares all the different fields and says which has the highest rate of job satisfaction, it wouldn't predict the field that would make YOU the happiest. For example, I can quote a study of Federal employees that found 78% of NASA employees are satisfied, while only 45% of Immigration and Naturalization Service employees are. But you might really enjoy the work of an INS agent, and hate being a NASA engineer.

Here's the good news: Contrary to the Puritan ethic, the best way to predict job satisfaction is to find a field where the work itself seems fun and interesting. That is different for each person. If you don't know what that might be, vocational interest tests can help you figure it out. Then, if you enter a field where the basic work seems good to you, and you find a boss you like who will give you the kind of responsibility, advancement, pay and working hours you want, you will probably be a satisfied person – at least on the job.

The Career Doctor