Work is an inseparable part of human life. Professional satisfaction, to a large extent, determines life satisfaction. The current study presents the professional satisfaction of university lecturers in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Data collection was carried out electronically between April 15 – May 30, 2025. The questionnaire used is standardized and validated, and developed by Maria Radoslavova and colleagues. It was partially modified by our research team. International experience in similar studies as well as some national specifics have been taken into account.
The respondents are 1783 lecturers, working on a primary employment contract in all fields of higher education, both in public and private universities, which makes the study representative for Bulgaria.

The studied aspects of satisfaction are several: satisfaction with the working environment, which includes the following components: satisfaction with the job characteristics (the tasks performed); with the immediate supervisor; with the colleagues. The study also covers some external factors of satisfaction, like satisfaction with the payment and the stress levels, as a result of workload.

Statistical methods of research were used: descriptive statistics; cross tabulations, one-way analysis of variance; correlation analysis. Throughout processing non-parametric data, the Kruskal-Wallis test and the Mann-Whitney U test were applied.

Statistically significant differences in the responses were reported in two of the factors of demographic characteristic of the respondents: field of higher education and age of respondents. Relatively high levels of satisfaction were discovered, yet it must not be overlooked that when determining their satisfaction with the working environment, the lecturers must consider the conditions, dictated by the socio-economic situation in the country.
Given the participation of professors from all universities in Bulgaria, upon observation the given responses are diverse. In the course of analysis they can be unified on the basis of various factors. Unifying markers, in relation to which the responses can be put into groups, regard: 1) the remuneration; 2) the national and institutional policy for higher education 3) the learning process and 4) the research activity.
An increase of opportunities in the field of pedagogy and teaching methodology would contribute to the quality of higher education; for the implementation of interdisciplinary projects, and respectively a connection between different researchers and professors in various faculties. In this way the objective of XXI century education and in particular the competency-based approach and STEM education will be achieved.
Based on the analysed results, it can absolutely be stated that there is a need for a reform in higher education – a reform, governed by a national policy, the institutional support of which can only result in an improvement of the working environment, the prestige of the profession and the high quality of the scientific research and teaching activities.

Keywords: Education, statistical representative survey, university lecturers, Bulgaria.