A new study by BMO found that almost half of us are working at our dream jobs 😀 My immediate reaction was “Poppycock! Who did they ask? Celebrities and CEOs?” The poll was conducted with a sample of 1005 Canadians and is considered accurate +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
47% of respondents say they have already found their dream jobs. And 70% feel they are valued at work. In terms of what determines job satisfaction it seems gender and income are noticeable factors. 51% of men say they’re employed in their dream jobs 🙂 but only 43% of women can say the same 🙁 For households with an annual income of $50,000 or more, 69% say they look forward to going to work each day :), but only 58% of those making below $50,000 said the same 😕
Being a little skeptical of these numbers I decided to conduct my own survey and put the scientific method to the test! I asked a friend who works at a local engineering firm. She replied no, she’s not working the dream job. Then I asked myself the same question. The answer is of course YES 😀 I get paid to sit in front of a computer in an air conditioned building and design logos and backgrounds in Photoshop all day. How can anyone not like my job? 
So let’s see… That means 50% of the respondents I surveyed said yes, they are working at their dream jobs. Wow, my own results matches that of BMO’s survey, especially if we factor in the margin of error. Hmm, so maybe it is true then 😯
Tip of the Day: To increase your job satisfaction be a man, and to make more than $50,000 in household income 😉
The more I think about it the more all of this makes sense. For example, I’m a dude who makes more than $50,000. So naturally I’m living the dream at work 🙂 Coincidence? Maybe.
But consider the following. The BMO study also breaks down the data into provinces. In BC, those who say they are working in their dream job is 44%. Well I just watched the evening news which had a story about BC Hydro, a crown corporation, and it claimed that 44% of workers who are employed by BC Hydro make six figure incomes!!! Coincidence? You decide 😉
————————————————————————
Random Useless Fact: I was recently interviewed at Financial Freedom Ideas.
I saw this article too and thought “no way!”… but then I thought about it a little more and I’d have to say I’d agree with the stats. Most guys I know that make more than $50k/year do seem to be happy with their jobs. It’s mostly my female friends that are looking for new opportunities or going back to school to upgrade.
It’s too soon for me to say if this new job of mine is my “dream job” or not, but it’s without a doubt a HUGE step-up from the last one, and it’s definitely getting me in the right direction (even if it does pay under $50k/year).
I was dubious at first and then realized I agree with the stats too. It’s amazing that I never really thought about it before. A lot of my friends with jobs seem pretty happy with their careers. I’m not sure why it seems to be harder for females to find their dream jobs than then though.
WOW! I think I have not found my dream job yet. Even though, I earn $50k/year. Still looking for the dream job, and I think I am on the right track of getting it.
Good for you Jon 🙂 If you are already making more than average and think you’re on the right track then that just means you’ll eventually be at their dream job with the a good income. Some dream jobs like roller coaster tester may sound good to some, but they don’t pay all that well.
Okay, so forgive me, but I totally had you in my head as a girl. My apologies!
I don’t know if either Mr PoP or I would describe our jobs as dream jobs, but they certainly work at helping us fulfill our goals for now, so we’re not complaining about them, either.
No problem. It’s hard to tell without reading my About page since I blog anonymously and use a bird for my avatar instead of a person haha. Maybe I should change my name to Mr. Liquid lol. Sounds like you and Mr. Pop are in a good place career wise 🙂 Maybe one day your current jobs will lead into your dream jobs.
I’m pretty close to working my dream job. I’m not sure what exactly would make it even better… maybe more money? 😀
More money is always good lol. It’s nice to also think that our current jobs are probably the envy of many others 🙂 especially our old high school friends.
Lots of people don’t like there jobs… I worked in a lot of places and less than 5 people seemed to like their job. I think people want to blame their jobs on why they are stressed. I think they are stress because they spend all their money without paying themselves first. I believe if people are less stressed they might like there job more and be able to do it better.
Yup, stress can be created and can turn otherwise great jobs into seemingly bad jobs. Sometimes dream jobs change as well, so the ultimate state of employment to me is financial independence.
I remember my favorite job was at a bank when I was in college. That job however didn’t pay anything. In my job now it pays well but highly stressful.
I’ve always wanted to work at a bank. If nothing else then just to give myself some street cred 🙂 Like oh I run a finance blog. What credentials do I have? I’ve worked in banking before. Can’t say that now though lol. Often we have to find a balance between money and work/life balance.
Not totally satisfied of what i do, i want to go higher in the food chain 😛 or it’s maybe because i do only 46k per year haha
I like your drive to climb the corporate ladder. If we only count the salary we make from work then our income levels are both under $50K. But I bet with my part time job and your side business we’re both doing much better 🙂 Hope you reach your net worth goal by end of this year!
I can honestly say I am happy with what I’m doing plus I have 5 side hustles that work great for me. But then the idea of a “dream job” that I’ve got to figure out.
5 side hustles? That’s crazy town lady 😯 It seems like people who like what they do for a living are also really good at it 😀 Maybe you’re already working at your dream job.
Well here is an interesting thought. If you are male over 35 making over 100K a year, I think you are more likely to be fooling yourself into believing that you are working at your dream job. I mean over 35, you probably have a family and a mortgage and cant really afford to make any drastic changes in your life, you need that income. So you keep telling yourself that you have the perfect job!
I know from my personal situation it is true…i make good money and am pretty good at what i do but by no means am i working my dream job. But would i be willing to take a 50% pay cut to work at my dream job….not sure….
That’s a pretty cool way to put it 🙂 I like the way you think. Once you have a family you take on a certain level of accountability and commitment that makes it harder make the kind of chances you want to your career.
Interesting. I thought the same thing, Poppycock! But after you added your thoughts, I will have to agree with the stats as well.
Karla Twomey
latest blog post Kids & Money:Plus 5 Awesome resources
http://nomorecreditcards.com/teaching-kids-about-money-bonus-5-awesome-resources-for-you-and-your-kids/
Haha, yeah it can be hard to believe at first. It’s a good thing that people can change. It means if we know what our dream job is then we can work towards it and make it happen one day.
Although I am not at my dream job, (like many, I have no idea what that is really), I do feel like I am valued at work. My bf makes more than 50k/year and he is a lot less satisfied than I am with his job. Then again, he’s been with in the same position and same company for about 7/8 years. So much for your tip…. hahahaha
I guess there’s always exceptions lol. Working in the same company for so long could get a little dull. At least he’s making good money. Dream jobs at the end of the day is still a job that requires responsibility and commitment. The best job to me is no job. Then you can do something new and interesting every day.
Well, its possible that almost half of the population have found their dream job, with all the growing awareness that work takes a huge chunk of our lives, maybe folks have taken that to heart and gone for jobs they enjoy.
For your poll, am yet to find mine!
Good point. And if they enjoy what they do then chances are they’ll be good at them too which would have the added benefit of making them more money.