Public rates job prestige

Parent Cafe
1

<p>These are some of the results of a nationwide telephone survey conducted by Harris Interactive among 1,010 U.S. adults between July 8 and 13, 2008.</p>

<p>Most Prestigious Occupations
The occupations at the top of the list are:
 Firefighter (62% say “very great prestige”),
 Scientist (57%),
 Doctor (56%),
 Nurse (54%),
 Teacher (51%), and
 Military officer (51%).
Least Prestigious Occupations
Looking at the other side of the list, only 15% or fewer adults regard the following occupations as having very great prestige:
 Real estate agent/broker (5%),
 Accountant (11%),
 Stock broker (13%),
 Actor (15%).</p>

2

<p>perception, perception. never let it sway your own occupational choice.</p>

<p>A Firefighter job is INCREDIBLY boring. You could sit around for weeks doing nothing, and when you do get deployed, a large percentage of calls are false alarms. It’s not for everyone.</p>

<p>Accounting is one of the best jobs out there. The quality of life is excellent, and it reflects in the actuarial tables.</p>

3

<p>Pretty cool to see scientist and teacher high on the list!</p>

4

<p>I was a Medical Technologist for 5 years. That’s a profession that will most likely never end up on any survey considering most people I met had no idea what it was or that a degree was needed to sit for the registry exam. I went back to school, became an accountant and never looked back. </p>

<p>I really don’t care how “prestigious” my profession is, I love what I do. That said, I am curious as to how a “telephone survey” rating job prestige works.</p>

5

<p>I’d like to see where the job of “telephone surveyor” would rate - somewhere near the bottom I’d guess.</p>

6

<p>I think caring about what others think of one’s career choice is the very definition of “non-prestigious.” There’s nothing “prestigious” about constantly taking everyone else’s pulse or worrying about what others think of you! </p>

<p>I couldn’t care less what my kids major in or what fields they pursue; as long as they are self-sufficient and happy, it’s all good.</p>

7

<p>I’d always heard(perception of) lawyer was a half-step above used car salesman. But if there’s trouble, they are the ones to call. p.s. there is a lawyer in the family, he’s heard all the lawyer jokes.</p>

8

<p>^As the saying goes, everyone hates lawyers . . . until you need one. But having done it once, I would have to say that being a law associate (or an accounting associate, or an investment banking associate, etc.) at any large firm is a miserable existence.</p>

9

<p>When D1 was 5, she thought it would be great to be a gardner someday, a waitress (free food at her favorite restaurant), a beggar(we lived in NYC, free money, it was a time when we wouldn’t raise her allowance). I think it all depends who they interviewed.</p>

10

<p>Long ago, I asked my then 5 year old daughter what she wanted to be when she grew up. She thought about it for a moment, her eyes brightened, and with a big smile she blurted out “a toy store owner!” That memory still makes me laugh. She’s getting ready to go to vet school soon and I couldn’t be prouder – but I’ll always remember that little girl.</p>

11

<p>I wish I could turn back the clock…</p>

12

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<p>I sure am glad to find out my job is prestigious, because it certainly isn’t a way to get rich.</p>

13

<p>coureur, high-five! We are not exactly rolling in dough, but we’ve got the prestige ;)</p>

14

<p>But the thing I find interesting is that the public consistently rates science as a prestigious career, but I seem to recall that the overall public trust of scientists is fairly low.</p>

15

<p>As a physicist, I’m somewhat surprised that science is considered a prestigious career. Perhaps things are changing for the better.</p>