Nurses again rate, for the 21st year in a row, the highest in esteem amongst the professions. Fully 92% of Australians over the age of 14 rated them either high or very high when asked the following question in the Roy Morgan Image of Professions Survey 2015:

“As I say different occupations, could you please say – from what you know or have heard – which rating best describes how you, yourself, would rate or score people in various occupations for honesty and ethical standards (Very High, High, Average, Low, Very Low)?”

Bumping along the bottom are car salesmen at 4%.

The top 10 in descending order are Nurses 92% (up 1%), Pharmacists 84% (down 2%), Doctors 84% (down 2%), School Teachers 78% (up 6%), Engineers 74% (up2%), Dentists 71% (down 3%), State Supreme Court Judges 69% (down 1%), Police 69% (down 2%) High Court Judges 68% (down 6%) and University Lecturers 61% (down 5%).

Then you skip right down to Accountants 45% (down 7%).

Descending further you have Ministers of Religion on 39% and Public Servants on 35%. That’s before you get to Newspaper Journalists on 18%, slightly better than their electronic comrades, but all ahead of State MPs on 14% and their Federal mates on 13%.

Esteem seems to have no relationship to earnings. Company Directors are on 22%, Business Executives on 18% and Lawyers on 31%.

The biggest losers were were Bank Managers 34% (down 9%), Accountants 45%, Lawyers 31% (down 7%) and University Lecturers 61% (down 5%). One can only wonder why, although scandals in the financial industry could be part of it.

The only significant gainers were School Teachers 78% (up 6%). Good to see! Perhaps Christopher Pyne’s attempts to blame them for the state of schooling had something to do with it.