Are These The Least Worthwhile Jobs Out There?

According to a 2011 study from the College Advisory Board, millennials consider meaningful work the number-one indicator of career success, just squeaking past high pay. Today PayScale, the world’s largest crowdsourced salary database, released findings from its comprehensive study on the most and least meaningful careers. The list includes more than 500 job titles. At the top, members of the clergy (98%) and English-language and literature teachers (96%) believe their work is important to the greater good (and they report high job satisfaction as well). At the bottom: gaming supervisors (20%) and parking lot attendants (5%). More than 2 million people answered PayScale's question, "Does your work make the world a better place?" between June 2013 and June 2015. They also answered questions about job satisfaction and their annual compensation. The highest-paying, most meaningful job on the list was surgeon: An impressive 96% find their jobs meaningful, and the median income is $304,000. They came in at number three, tying with directors of religious activities and education, who only have a median income of $37,600. Unfortunately, a good deal of low-paid workers found their work to be meaningless. Parking lot attendants make a median salary of $19,000. And then there are fast-food workers, who don't just think their jobs are meaningless, but a whopping 25% actually think their work makes the world a worse place to live. Click here to explore the full results and see where your job falls on the list.