Is it the money that matters most or the good that you do? Who decides?
The people at Harris Poll have taken a stab at these questions every year for the past three decades, and some of the answers from their most recent survey may surprise you.
Fifty-seven percent of those polled said that firefighter was a job that carried great prestige, just ahead of scientist with 56 percent, doctor with 53 percent and nurse and teacher with 52 percent each.
In an age when the popular culture seems obsessed with the ups and downs of Britney and the bed-hopping of celluloid luminaries, it’s reassuring to know that so many Americans value the service of professions dedicated to helping others.
At the same time, you have to wonder — if teaching and fighting fires are such “prestigious” occupations, why do they tend to earn less than so many professions that were held in relatively low esteem? Entertainers, accountants and bankers, for example, all scored 15 percent on the prestige scale.
But maybe we should keep money out of the equation when we’re thinking about the value of how we spend our time.
And in the end, it isn’t our neighbors or some pollster who should tell us what work matters.
We need to decide for ourselves.