The Most Meaningful and Satisfying Jobs are in Healthcare. They Pay Well Too!
Not everyone is looking to make a six-figured paycheck. Many dream of applying their talents in an effort to make a difference and leave the world a little better place. They want a job that is meaningful. But let’s face facts. Bills still have to be paid. Therefore, everyone who wants a job filled with meaning also wants a job that pays well.
According to Payscale, neurosurgeons hold the most meaningful jobs. Typically they earn almost $400,000 a year and 97% of them believe their jobs are highly meaningful. Six figures and high meaning …all rolled up into one job.
But not everyone can be a neurosurgeon, and the good news is that you do not have to spend years and years in school, working to become a neurosurgeon to find a meaningful job. But you should stay in the healthcare industry.
PayScale, a leading data warehousing firm that specializes in employee compensation, found that when it comes to having a meaningful career, many of the top jobs on the list are medical jobs.
Whereas clergy and those in the educational field found a lot of meaning in their work, as a group, healthcare professionals were the happiest overall. Survey respondents gave their jobs (on average) extremely high marks in 3 categories:
- Median pay ($83,500)
- Job meaning (82%)
- Job satisfaction (74%)
In fact, many of these healthcare jobs contained higher levels of satisfaction than that of a CEO. These include:
- Radiation therapists
- Chiropractors
- Occupational therapists (and assistants)
- Physical therapists (and assistants and aides)
- General practitioners and internists
- Surgical technologists
- Physician assistants
- Respiratory Therapists
- Registered nurses
- Diagnostic Medical Sonographers
- Personal and Home care aides
- Home health aides
- Dental hygienists
- Radiologic Technologists and Technicians
- Medical assistants
The average satisfaction for these jobs is 75%, higher than the national average of 72%. However, these jobs also topped the charts in terms of meaningfulness with (on average) 85%.
As you can see from the results, there are both healthcare professionals and healthcare support professionals on this list. This bodes well for the variety of people looking for highly satisfying jobs. Despite earning less than what healthcare professionals do, support professionals find nearly the same levels of high satisfaction and meaning in their jobs.
It is not surprising that healthcare workers, at all levels, find their work very meaningful. They are saving lives and healing the sick and injured. What does not have more meaning than that? At Snelling Medical Professionals, we find meaning in helping our clients find their best fit job. If you are looking for meaningful job to go to every day, consider the medical field. If you are looking for assistance in finding your next best-fit medical job, locate your local Snelling office and contact us today.
