Definitely a car designer (Picture: Getty Images)
If you can’t relate to the ‘Sunday scaries’ crowd, and instead spring out of bed on Monday morning excited to start the working week, you might just be a car designer – which according to new research, is officially the UK’s happiest job.
Bubblegum Search analysed over 2,000 Reddit comments in relevant threads to create the ranking, also looking at factors like average wages and hours worked.
With a salary range of £40,000 to £60,000, car designers came out victorious,with employees saying they’re passionate about what they do and love the creative freedom they get at work.
This was followed by animator and game developer, while tech-based jobs in IT support and cybersecurity – all roles with 40 or more hours a week but higher than national average wages – made up the top five
While there’s certainly a correlation between high pay and happy staff, it appears money isn’t everything when it comes to loving a job. Dog photographer and librarian, for example, placed sixth and 13th on the list respectively, despite the fact they earn less than the UK median of £34,963.
In these professions, people said they loved the work itself, from spending time with animals to sharing their interest in books and engaging with the local community.
The UK’s happiest jobs
Car designer
Average salary: £40,000 – £60,000
Average hours per week: 40+
Satisfaction level: Very high
Key factors: Passion for automotive design, creative freedom
Animator
Average salary: £30,000 – £45,000
Average hours per week: 40
Satisfaction level: Very high
Key factors: Creative work, fun work environment with peers
Game developer
Average salary: £35,000 – £50,000
Average hours per week: 40+
Satisfaction level: Very high
Key factors: Fulfilling childhood dreams, creative projects
IT support specialist
Average salary: £30,000 – £50,000
Average hours per week: 40
Satisfaction level: Very high
Key factors: Solving technical issues, autonomy, working with close friends
Cybersecurity specialist
Average salary: £50,000 – £70,000
Average hours per week: 40+
Satisfaction level: Very high
Key factors: Developing policy, autonomy, problem-solving
Dog photographer
Average salary: £20,000 – £35,000
Average hours per week: Variable
Satisfaction level: Very high
Key factors: Flexible hours, working with animals, creative freedom
Developmental biologist
Average salary: £35,000 – £50,000
Average hours per week: 40
Satisfaction level: High
Key factors: Passionate about research, fulfilling scientific exploration
Occupational therapist
Average salary: £30,000 – £40,000
Average hours per week: 37.5
Satisfaction level: High
Key factors: Helping people, fulfilling work, autonomy
UX designer
Average salary: £30,000 – £50,000
Average hours per week: 40
Satisfaction level: High
Key factors: Solving user problems, creative freedom
System administrator
Average salary: £30,000 – £45,000
Average hours per week: 40
Satisfaction level: High
Key factors: Problem-solving, creative technical challenges
Unfortunately, however, it’s not quite as rosy a picture for electricians, ranked lowest on the list.
Part of the reason for claiming the title of unhappiest is the job’s physically demanding nature, which didn’t seem to make up for the ‘decent’ £25,000 to £40,000 pay on offer.
It’s not much better to be a psychiatric aide either, as although the work itself (physically and emotionally caring for patients and with mental health disorders in hospitals) was described as low stress, many found it to be ’emotionally draining’.
In general, the healthcare industry scored poorly, with the likes of ER workers and …read more
Source:: Metro
