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!

So, where does my profession rank on this list?

I know all you huuuundreds of contributors to this thread are just DYING to know where I would put myself!

So grab a beer and make sure you are comfortably seated, coz here’s the answer…..

Right at the bottom. Bottos and geos and other scientists of their filthy ilk are dirty rotten sleazy money-grabbing rip-off merchants who don’t do anything useful for the economy or society and should be right on the bum-end of the list!

And as for environmentalists….. well…. they should be exactly where Roy Morgan has put them - out of sight off the bottom end of the page!!

A botanist who is a flagellate – or at least a self flagellator.

Now that's funny, Ludwig!

Isn't it quality not quantity that is important in these threads? And it's not important where you place yourself but where others want to stick you…

Of course the poll was rating ethics and honesty not usefulness. So does your 'sincerely held opinion' create the paradox of rating youself very high for honesty?

I always find this poll interesting. What's particularly interesting to me is that we're talking about ethics and honesty in the context of work. Some groups are always going to poll higher than others because they have nothing to gain from dishonesty, and they tend to come unstuck if they behave unethically. Some probably rate better because of our limited contact with them and, consequently, our limited exposure to the 'bad' ones.

I suspect, for example, that nurses outrank doctors for two reasons:
1) We tend to have more exposure to doctors, so are more likely to have bad experiences
2) Nurses' work tends to focus on care rather than advice. It's hard for a nurse to be dishonest because it's a nurse's job to DO rather than SAY. Of course, a nurse might pretend to have done some duties, which would be dishonest, but how would we know this happened? When we're in hospital, we expect our doctors to be accountable for our wellbeing. The nurses are there to help.

Professions that involve advocacy - lawyers, salespeople (including financial planners and stockbrokers), politicians and so on - have jobs that require a different set of ethics and different standards of honesty. A salesman who told the whole truth would be out of a job pretty quickly, as would an advertiser and a lawyer. That's not to say that dishonesty is necessarily acceptable or justified - simply that it's to be expected from an effective practitioner.

The sad part of this is our leaders are near the bottom of the list and is the most accurate measure of the level of democracy in this country you will find (i.e 10%).

The "level of democracy" is a very accurate description of the problem, phooey

>>The sad part of this is our leaders are near the bottom of the list and is the most accurate measure of the level of democracy in this country you will find (i.e 10%).<<

We have a vote at election time, which is supposed to be the hallmark of a fair democratic process. At least, we are told, it is preferable to the alternative.

But that system has been totally perverted by the political system (not to be confused with democracy) in which politicians are permitted to tell the electorate bare-faced lies, in order to "win their business".

Much as we come to expect, it would appear, from used-car salesmen.

Except that...

Used-car salesmen are at least bound by the normal rules of commerce, in which an outraged buyer can drive back onto the lot, and make a scene until he gets his money back.

We poor voters, on the other hand, are required to sit back and see our precious, democratic vote trashed beyond recognition by a bunch of venal, self-obsessed sleazebags, whose idea of a successful political career has nothing to do with looking after our interests, and everything to do with a featherbedded life of superannuated splendour.

At our - and democracy's - cost.

Do we sometimes create a myth about certain profession/jobs. Do we view certain people through 'rose coloured glasses'. Our general perception of farmers for example, as we view these people through our minds eye, as most likely the average farmer is unknown to the average Australian. Is the perception of the farmer as a roughed individual, battling drought and flood, fighting natures elements at every turn to bring in the harvest, 'The Man from Snowy River' type, or are they akin to the Little House on the Prairie and the Ingalis family, is this reality or is this a myth.
I only give this as an example, I find nothing wrong with farmers. could this be how a persona may be developed about certain sections of society which may well be some distance from reality. Is it possible the used car salesman in reality is a nice guy who suffers from a bad press thus a somewhat tarnished image.
Has Florence Nightingale given nursing too much of a good name? Are not bankers in reality philanthropic persons who have devoted their lives to humanitarianism, giving away any thought of profit to bring joy and comfort to their fellow citizens.
In a recent survey conducted amongst businesses along Parramatta Road Sydney from about Croydon to Parramatta it was fond that used car salesmen were judged to be the number one profession for honesty and integrity when it come to dealings with the general public.

<< In a recent survey conducted amongst businesses along Parramatta Road … used car salesmen were judged to be the number one profession for honesty and integrity … >>

Interesting Paul.

I also note from the spiel at the top of the Images of Professions Poll, that the police scored very differently in different states. They were very highly rated in South Australia (84%), but rated lowly in Victoria (64%), West Australia (58%) and Tasmania (53%).

And I’m sure that for some professions if not all, there would be a very wide deviation in views and that the figure presented is only the average and not really much of an indication at all of what people think.

Then there is the omission of important professions such scientists, environmentalists, and cleaners and garbos, etc, etc.

So…. Its not much of a meaningful survey at all, all-considered!

"In a recent survey conducted amongst businesses along Parramatta Road Sydney from about Croydon to Parramatta it was fond that used car salesmen were judged to be the number one profession for honesty and integrity when it come to dealings with the general public."

Ludwig If your not from Sydney you may not get the joke. That stretch of Parramatta Rd in Sydney is all used car yards. LOL.

Posted by Pericles, Thursday, 17 May 2012 7:46:44 AM

" ... We poor voters, on the other hand, are required to sit back and see our precious, democratic vote trashed beyond recognition by a bunch of venal, self-obsessed sleazebags, whose idea of a successful political career has nothing to do with looking after our interests, and everything to do with a featherbedded life of superannuated splendor. ... "

My thanks for much mirth *Pericles* provided by your insightful comments.

;-)

..

Of course, it begs the question as to why the majority of us do not choose to give our vote to other than the 2 mainstream political parties?

Always happy to bring a little mirth into people's lives, DreamOn.

I am a little puzzled by your question, though.

>>Of course, it begs the question as to why the majority of us do not choose to give our vote to other than the 2 mainstream political parties?<<

My observation was in no sense confined to political parties, mainstream or otherwise. As voters, we have absolutely no confidence that anyone we elect, of any political hue, will perform in line with the commitments they made while seeking our support at the ballot box.

And the reason we have no confidence is that is is a very long time since any Party met those commitments. The poison in the tank is that we are actually resigned to the fact that they will do exactly as they please, once they have their glossy, gym-toned, callipygous buttocks on the green leather. We actually *expect* to be short-changed.

Anyone who believes that a member from a minor party will behave any differently, has either been asleep or suffers from a serious Polyanna complex. Look what happened to the Democrats; from high ideals in 1977 to internecine mayhem in 1997. Or, to put it another way, from Don Chipp to Cheryl Kernot.

'Nuff said.

The only possibility we have to change all this, is to insist that an elected member is required to fulfil the agenda that they placed before their voters. If a Bill is presented that they opposed in the run-up to the election, they either oppose it in Parliament, or resign. If a Bill is presented, the substance of which was endorsed in their manifesto, they would be obliged to support it in Parliament, or resign.

Code of conduct? Pshaw.

Make them answerable to us for a change. That would be democracy.

Another thing with this survey is that it doesn't show which profession is actually selling their expertise due to demand & which are employed via the public purse apart from public servants.
Consultants & lawyers etc are not public servants yet huge sums are being forked out for their supposed "services". It's a massive sort bandwagon with no brakes. That's what surveys should be done on.

Individual, on the score of 'consultants' the Liberal Party is as guilty as the Labor Party. The O'Farrell government here in NSW, loves a consultant, Barry refers everything to a committee.

Liberal Party is as guilty as the Labor Party.
Paul145,
Gawd ! That's all we need. Let's hope they'll wake up unlike their counterparts.