The Happiest Jobs in America
The improving housing market is just one of the reasons why real estate agents have been able to smile recently. Those smiles have translated into something much bigger for real estate professionals as CareerBliss recently ranked Realtors tops in job happiness.
That poll examined data from 65,000 independent company reviews and had Realtors beating out quality assurance engineers, sales representatives and construction superintendants as the happiest jobs of the year.
"Real estate agents have definitely weathered quite a financial storm over the past few years, but right now, rates are between 2 to 3 percent and inventory is low, making it a real estate agent’s dream as new homes hit the market and are getting multiple offers in the first week," said Heidi Golledge, CEO and co-founder of CareerBliss, which conducted the research. "Realtors say that the way they work, and the rewards they are seeing with a growing market, has helped boost overall happiness for those in this career."
Other careers in growing fields made the list for the top happy jobs, including application developers, logistics managers and construction managers. Not surprisingly, many of the workers at jobs on the happiest list reported positive work-life balance and good relationships with co-workers.
"We know that the improving economy has an impact on the responses from people in the construction industry, but it is important to understand that what drives happiness for these types of jobs relates to one's relationship with co-workers and the way one works each and every day," Golledge said.
Associate attorneys were on the other end of the spectrum, topping the unhappiest jobs list. Overall, associate attorneys and legal assistants were rated as two of the top 10 unhappiest jobs. Customer service associates, clerks, registered nurses and teachers all followed associate attorneys in the unhappy jobs category. Pharmacy technicians, technical support specialists and case managers rounded out the top 10.
"It was clear from CareerBliss data that people in this position felt most unhappy with their company culture," Golledge said. "In many cases, law firms are conducted in a structured environment that is heavily centered on billable hours. It may take several years for an attorney to rise to the rank of partner. People in this position rated the way they work and the rewards they receive lower than any other industry."
This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Email David Mielach or follow him @D_M89. Follow us @bndarticles, Facebook or Google+.
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