The No. 1 Job With No Respect

October 03, 2009, 08:00 PM Post Comments

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It's not about money or celebrity. And it's not even about getting your hands dirty. The job with the least prestige is that of a real estate agent or broker. That's the word from an annual nationwide Harris Poll of 1,010 randomly selected adults that measures Americans' perception of the most and least prestigious professions. It's easy to see that money and celebrity do not necessarily equal prestige. If they did, real estate agents, accountants and actors wouldn't be on the bottom of the list and firefighters, scientists and teachers wouldn't be near the top. Rather, prestige is strongly associated with respect and helping others. Professions with high prestige are those that benefit both society at large and the specific people who are served.

The top 10 occupations with the percentage of people who think this occupation has the greatest prestige:
1. Firefighters: 62 percent
2. Scientists: 57 percent
3. Doctors: 56 percent
4. Nurses: 54 percent
5. Teachers and military officers (tie): 51 percent
7. Police officers: 44 percent
8. Priests/ministers/clergy: 41 percent
9. Engineers: 39 percent
10. Farmers: 36 percent

The top 10 occupations with the least prestige:
1. Real estate agents/brokers: 5 percent
2. Accountants: 11 percent
3. Stock brokers: 13 percent
4. Actors: 15 percent
5. Bankers: 16 percent
6. Entertainers, union leaders and journalists (tie): 17 percent
9. Athletes: 21 percent
10. Business executives: 23 percent

Fun facts to know and tell about this poll since it was first conducted in 1977:
-- The biggest change has been a 22 point increase from 29 percent to 51 percent in those who believe teachers have very great prestige.
-- Two occupations have lost substantial ground since 1977: scientists, down 9 points to 57 percent and lawyers, down 10 points to 26 percent.
-- Two occupations have remained unchanged: priests/ministers/clergy at 41 percent and journalists at 17 percent.
-- Two occupations have remained very stable: entertainers, down 1 point to 17 percent, and bankers, down 1 point to 16 percent.