Years ago, Bobby McFerrin told us all to “don’t worry, be happy.” Clearly he wasn’t working in one of the careers on this list.
The work website Careerbliss has come out with a survey detailing which careers feature workers who are the unhappiest. After analyzing more than 25,000 independent company reviews, these 10 jobs are the ones which feature the largest amounts of employee discontent. In order to compile these rankings, CareerBliss data evaluates the key factors that affect work happiness including: bosses, support and incentives, growth opportunities, company culture, and how people work and handle their daily tasks.
Here are the nine jobs that ranked the most unhappy.
Machine Operator
Median annual salary: $30,351
Machine operators, otherwise known as machinists, can work in a variety of settings in a number of industries. Most people tend to think of tool and die makers, who set up and operate heavy machinery and ensure best practices and that everything is running smoothly. These machines could be manually controlled, or computer controlled, and machinists need to be part builder, fabricator, mechanic, craftsmen, and quality assurance all rolled into one job.
This position requires a high school diploma and possibly several years of apprenticeships.
Sales Manager
Median annual salary: $100,362
This job has a solid salary, but apparently comes with a lot of frustration as well. Sales managers oversee a sales force to achieve sales and profit goals. They design and recommend sales programs and set short- and long-term strategies. Sales managers are nonstop as they implement new sales techniques to increase volume, while also recommending product or service enhancements to improve customer satisfaction and sales potential.
The job normally requires a bachlor’s degree and at least seven years of experience.
Marketing Manager
Median annual salary: $86,153
Marketing managers are highly paid, but also stressed out. They spend their days developing and implementing strategic marketing plans for an organization. While staying abreast of changes in the marketing environment to best serving the objectives of the organization and adjusting plans accordingly, marketing managers are tasked with researching and developing pricing policies and recommendations for appropriate sales channels.
The position requires a bachelor's degree with at least 7 years of experience in the field.
Technical Support Representative
Median annual salary: $32,656
Technical support representatives provide basic technical support to clients via email, phone, or other methods. TSRs possess a basic understanding of the organization's products and services, but escalate more complex inquiries. This position usually requires a high school diploma and very little experience.
Sales Representative
Median annual salary: $56,850
People either love or hate sales, but it is what it is. And often it’s very stressful. Whatever you’re selling, your job is to sell as much of it as possible and that takes hustle and perseverance. It takes an ability to never succumb to rejection, and stand fast in the face of many, many people saying no. Your ability to stay employed and earn enough money is completely dependent on how much you sell, making this job not one for the faint of heart.
This position sometimes requires a bachelor’s degree or several years of experience.
Customer Service Representative
Median annual salary: $31,547
Inclusion of this job on the unhappy list probably won’t surprise many people. Working as a customer service representative means you’re the first contact angry and annoyed customers have with the public when a product or service they’re using goes wrong. You bear the brunt of their frustration, and that frustration is multiplied exponentially if you don’t have the means to help them. Some clerical duties might also be involved.
This position generally requires a high school diploma and little to no experience.
Accountant
Median annual salary: $46,990
Maybe it’s tiring of numbers or the crunch leading up to the April 15 tax deadline, but whatever the reason, accountants seem to be pretty displeased with their job. This position requires preparing balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and other financial reports. Responsibilities also include analyzing trends, costs, revenues, financial commitments, and obligations incurred to predict future revenues and expenses.
Usually accountants must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, at least a few years of experience.
Bank Branch Manager
Median annual salary: $52,233
Noticing a trend yet? It seems customer-facing jobs are topping this list, and bank manager is no exception. Or maybe it’s just that branches are closing and being replaced largely by online banking. Anyway, a bank branch manager oversees all aspects of a branch office that handles loans/deposits up to $25 million. They are accountable for financial performance, customer satisfaction, and branch policies and procedures, while ensuring the branch adheres to policies, objectives, and practices of the parent company.
This position usually requires a bachelor's degree and 2-4 years of experience in the field or related area.
Security Guard
Median annual salary: $28,247
Topping the list of the unhappiest professions? Security guard. Maybe it’s because of the work environments, the routine of all the patrols, or the sometimes dangerous nature of the work. But it could also be because of a lack of growth potential, incentives, and the low pay the job entails. They also have to deal with many of the same things as police officers, but get nowhere near the same respect and compensation.
This job generally requires a high school diploma and little to no experience for an entry level position.
Whether you have one of these "unhappy" jobs or you're going for your dream job, you'll have to negotiate salary at some point. And Salary.com can help you get paid fairly what you do.
The first thing you should do is research, so you're able to come to the table armed with the knowledge of what your job is worth. Use our free Salary Wizard below to find out what's a fair salary for your position. You can enter your location, education level, years of experience and more to find out an appropriate salary range before you negotiate.
Good luck.