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Job Prestige - Learn Which Jobs are Considered "Prestigious..."
Do They Command Higher Salaries?
Beth Kniss, Insala Consultant
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Wonder which jobs are considered most prestigious?
A recent
Harris Interactive Poll
of over
1,000 U.S.
adults posed that very question. Of the 22 occupations
studied, doctors
and scientists share the top spot, with firemen and teachers
coming in a close
second. At the bottom of the list are accountants, stock
brokers and real estate
agents. Below is the detailed listing.
|
|
Very Great Prestige |
Consider-able Prestige |
Some Prestige |
Hardly Any Prestige At All |
Not
Sure/ Refused |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
Doctor |
52 |
32 |
14 |
1 |
1 |
|
Scientist |
52 |
29 |
15 |
3 |
2 |
|
Fireman |
48 |
32 |
17 |
2 |
1 |
|
Teacher |
48 |
22 |
21 |
7 |
1 |
|
Military Officer |
47 |
31 |
18 |
2 |
2 |
|
Nurse |
44 |
30 |
20 |
6 |
1 |
|
Police Officer |
40 |
28 |
26 |
5 |
1 |
|
Priest/Minister/ Clergyman |
32 |
25 |
31 |
10 |
2 |
|
Member of Congress |
31 |
29 |
29 |
8 |
3 |
|
Engineer |
29 |
38 |
27 |
3 |
3 |
|
Athlete |
21 |
25 |
37 |
16 |
1 |
|
Architect |
20 |
35 |
34 |
7 |
3 |
|
Business Executive |
19 |
29 |
38 |
10 |
4 |
|
Lawyer |
17 |
30 |
37 |
15 |
2 |
|
Entertainer |
16 |
25 |
38 |
19 |
2 |
|
Union Leader |
16 |
24 |
34 |
23 |
2 |
|
Actor |
16 |
21 |
37 |
23 |
3 |
|
Banker |
15 |
26 |
45 |
13 |
1 |
|
Journalist |
14 |
30 |
39 |
14 |
2 |
|
Accountant |
10 |
32 |
43 |
14 |
2 |
|
Stockbroker |
10 |
23 |
44 |
21 |
2 |
|
Real estate broker/ agent |
5 |
18 |
45 |
30 |
2 |
»
Do prestigious jobs offer higher salaries?
Not always.
Although firemen and teachers rank extremely
high in terms of prestige, their salaries are low in comparison to many of the
less respected jobs on the list. The average fire fighter’s salary in the U.S.
is $36,944 while the average Business Banking Manager earns an average of
$92,747. On the other hand, some jobs ranked high in prestige, do command
higher salaries. Doctors, members of congress, and scientists are at the top of
the salary earnings list, pulling in average salaries nearing $100,000 or higher.
Below is a detailed listing.
|
|
Median
Salary Expected in the United States |
|
Member of Congress |
$162,100 (www.senate.gov) |
|
Physician -Generalist |
*$144,623 |
|
Engineering Director |
*$140,870 |
|
Lawyer (intermediate level)
|
*$104,719 |
|
Senior Scientist |
*$ 98,615 |
|
Banker (Business Banking Manager) |
*$ 92,747 |
|
Military Officer |
$ 64,836 (www.military.com)
|
|
Staff Nurse – RN |
*$ 57,139 |
|
Stockbroker |
*$ 49270 |
|
Teacher – High School |
*$ 47,979 |
|
Accountant (intermediate level) |
*$ 47,001 |
|
Actor |
*$ 44,673 |
|
Police Patrol Officer |
*$ 44,547 |
|
Chaplain |
*$ 39,956 |
|
Intermediate Level Architect |
*$ 39,305 |
|
Fire Fighter |
*$ 36,944 |
|
Real Estate Sales Agent |
*$ 32,460 |
|
Entertainer
|
*$ 27,115 |
|
Professional Athlete |
*$ 26,797
|
|
Business Executive |
No data available – too general |
|
Union Leader |
No data available |
|
Journalist |
No data available |
*Source: Salary.com
From this research, one could assert that job
prestige is strongly connected to public service oriented roles,
and not necessarily to roles which offer greater opportunities to reap
higher salaries.
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Has the public perception of job prestige
changed in the past 25 years?
The answer is yes, and below are some
highlights.
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Teacher prestige has risen from 29% to 48%.
-
Lawyer prestige has dropped from 36% to
17%.
-
Although doctors and scientists have the
highest prestige, both have
fallen. Doctor prestige has dropped from 61% to 52% and
scientist prestige has dropped from 66%
to 52%.
For full details, view Harris’s report
“Doctors,
Scientists, Firemen, Teachers and Military Officers Top List as "Most Prestigious Occupations"
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