A just-released annual poll conducted by Roy Morgan ranks 30 professions in order of the respect they have from the general public:

Nurses are in first place for the 17th year in a row. Used-car salesmen are on the bottom of the list, where they have been for over thirty years!

http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2012/4777/

So I’m wondering what OLO contributors would make of this and with which parts they agree or disagree.

My first thought was that the police are positioned way too high (unchanged this year but with a big increase last year). They should be somewhere well down the list!

I note that my profession – botanist / ecologist / environmentalist / biologist / geomorphologist / geologist / is not mentioned, nor any part of it, nor anything of the sort, which I consider to be a major omission!

So where do professionals in the biological and earth sciences, or any sciences, rank on this list?

Ludwig,
Such a poll reflects more the public perception, more so than reality. Not that the perception does aline with the reality, it or it may not. Yes, Florence Nighingale is a wonderful nurse and therefore all nurses are wonderful people, that's perception. Sleazy Sam the used car man, out to rip you off, that's the perception, Honest John Real Estate,good old John will do all he can to pull the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting buyers, only out for number one. We are all guilty of stereo typing other people to a certain extent.
How are our perceptions arrived at, one through personal experience, deal with one solicitor and to some degree will develop a perception of all solicitors. Others help form our perceptions, the media, very much so, other people relating their own experiences, some with an axe to grind. Those in the 'helping' professions will always be seen as having a better profile, than others such as council traffic rangers. Not that council rangers are necessarily good or bad, but their job does little to help their persona.
I see that poll as no more than a poll of some peoples perceptions, which tends to go up and down as determined by various professions standing in the media at a particular time, up 3 down 6 what ever.

Some shocking numbers here, Ludwig, for sure.

The one that rocked me to my bootstraps was the result that one in ten of those polled actually considered that politicians have any ethical or moral standards at all.

My first thought was that this might correlate to the percentage of the population that is clinically insane. Or that were on holiday here from Ulan Bator when the poll was taken. Or misunderstood the question.

Any other explanation eludes me.

I'm sorry to break the bad news to you, Pericles… But it is worse than:

"The one that rocked me to my bootstraps was the result that one in ten of those polled actually considered that politicians have any ethical or moral standards at all."

My understanding of the poll results is that 10% of the respondents regarded Federal and State politicians as having not merely extant but 'high' or 'very high' ethics and honesty!

But maybe we can infer that politicians have a huge number of relatives who are likely to be polled?

Ludwig,
Way more interesting would be figures of the earning of these various professions.

<< Such a poll reflects more the public perception, more so than reality >>

Agreed Paul. I think that is inherent in the title; ‘IMAGE of professions survey’.

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<< Way more interesting would be figures of the earning of these various professions >>

Don’t if it would be more interesting Indi, but certainly something well worth knowing about.

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Crikey Pericles and WmTrevor, thank goodness not everyone thinks as poorly of our poor pollies as you two do!

They only have the very lowly real estate agents, advertising people and car salesmen below them and you still reckon they’re positioned too high on the list!

Yeah, I know….you make light of this survey and enjoy a bit of gratuitous polly-bashing. You’d really put them up at about….um….spot 8 I reckon, right where the police are.

In fact, they should simply change places with the cops!