Prestige Paradox: High Pay Doesn't Equal High Prestige, Poll Says
A new Harris Poll released this week indicates that while the nation appears “celebrity-obsessed,” actors and entertainers aren’t viewed in high regard compared with a number of other professions, including firefighters and teachers.
Somewhere in the middle and continuing to lose ground on the prestige scale are lawyers. Since Harris began asking questions about prestige in 1977, lawyers have fallen 12 points to 24 percent indicating that they are prestigious. Doctors and scientists are also losing considerable ground.
Reading into the poll, Harris notes that, “Some of the occupations that are widely seen as prestigious (firefighters, teachers, nurses and police officers) are not particularly highly paid, while some of the least prestigious occupations tend to be very highly paid (actors, bankers, entertainers and stockbrokers). Prestige is clearly not just a question of money or celebrity.”
The Harris Interactive Poll measured 23 professions by calling 1,010 adults in July.
Topping the list were firefighter (57 percent say “very great prestige”); scientist (56 percent); doctor (53 percent); nurse (52 percent); and teacher (52 percent).
Others gaining ground this year include journalists and actors. Losing the most ground were military officers and doctors.
Rounding out the bottom were real estate agent/broker (6 percent); stockbroker (10 percent); banker (15 percent); accountant (15 percent); and entertainer (15 percent).
