For Immediate Release
Three-Country Public Opinion Poll
Page 1 of 3
PROFESSIONS
Nurses, Doctors Are Most Respected
Jobs in Canada, U.S. and Britain
Less than three-in-ten respondents in the three countries express respect
for politicians.
[NEW YORK – Oct. 2, 2012] - Nurses and
doctors continue to be well regarded by people
in Canada, the United States and Britain, a new
Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of representative national
samples, respondents were asked about the
level of respect they hold for 25 different
professions.
In Britain, 93 per cent of respondents have “a
great deal of respect” or “a fair amount of
respect” for nurses—a view shared by 96 per
cent of Canadians and 92 per cent of Americans.
Doctors also fared well in the three countries
(96% in Canada, and 90% in both Britain and the
United States).
Farmers had a particularly high ranking in
Canada (95%) and the U.S. (93%), while
Canadians also gave good marks to scientists
(92%) veterinarians (92%) and dentists (90%).
In Britain, six professions did not manage to
garner the respect of at least half of
respondents: building contractors (43%),
business executives (28%), journalists (20%),
politicians (15%), bankers (15%) and car
salesmen (14%). In the United States, four
KEY FINDINGS
 Most Respected Professions in Canada:
Nurses, Doctors, Farmers, Scientists,
Veterinarians, Dentists
 Least Respected in Canada: Car
Salesmen, Politicians
 Most Respected Professions in the U.S.:
Farmers, Nurses, Doctors, Veterinarians,
Teachers
 Least Respected in the U.S.: Business
Executives, Lawyers, Car Salesmen,
Politicians
 Most Respected Professions in Britain:
Nurses, Doctors, Scientists, Veterinarians,
Engineers

Least Respected in Britain: Building
Contractors, Business Executives,
Journalists, Politicians, Bankers, Car
Salesmen
Full methodology details and topline results are at the end
of this release.
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Three-Country Public Opinion Poll
Page 2 of 3
professions ranked below 50 per cent: business executives (48%), lawyers (45%), car salesmen (30%)
and politicians (20%). In Canada, only two professions received overly negative ratings: car salesmen
(28%) and politicians (27%).
Britons are more likely to express respect for athletes (81%) than Canadians (73%) and Americans
(60%), while Americans are more likely to respect priests and ministers (76%) than Canadians (66%) or
Britons (54%).
Full Methodology Details:
Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among:
- 1,002 American adults who are Springboard America panelists, from September 4 to September 5,
2012.
- 2,010 British adults who are Springboard UK panelists, from August 30 to August 31, 2012.
- 1,510 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panelists, from August 30 to August 31, 2012.
The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/-2.2% for Great Britain, +/-2.5% for
Canada, and +/-3.1% for the United States. The results have been statistically weighted according to the
most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the
entire adult population of each country.
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About Angus Reid Public Opinion
Angus Reid Public Opinion is a public affairs practice headed by Dr. Angus Reid: an industry visionary who
has spent more than four decades asking questions to figure out what people feel, how they think and who
they will vote for. A team of talented and experienced practitioners with a unique and profound
understanding of global issues conduct high quality research throughout the world on a daily basis for
corporations, governments, academic researchers, and non-profit organizations.
About Vision Critical®
Vision Critical is a global research and technology firm that creates software and services solutions for
over 600 clients, including one third of the world’s top 100 brands. The company has offices across North
America, Europe and Australia as well as a Global Partner Program that provides other research
companies and consultants with access to top-of-the-line technology. Its Sparq™ product is the most
widely adopted community panel platform on the planet.
- 30 For more information, please contact
our spokesperson listed in the footnote.
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Three-Country Public Opinion Poll
Page 3 of 3
Professions
Now, we’d like to ask you some questions about work. Generally speaking, do you tend to have a great
deal of respect, a fair amount of respect, not much respect or very little respect for each of the following
professions? – “Great deal” and “Fair amount” listed
CANADA
UNITED STATES
BRITAIN
Accountants
78%
71%
46%
Actors / Artists
57%
52%
54%
Architects
85%
83%
72%
Athletes
73%
60%
81%
Auto mechanics
74%
69%
61%
Bankers
55%
53%
15%
Building contractors
61%
69%
43%
Business executives
55%
48%
28%
Car salesmen
28%
30%
14%
Dentists
90%
86%
80%
Doctors
96%
90%
90%
Engineers
87%
87%
86%
Farmers
95%
93%
84%
Journalists
63%
53%
20%
Judges
76%
70%
64%
Lawyers
56%
45%
53%
Military Officers
86%
85%
82%
Nurses
96%
92%
93%
Police Officers
85%
81%
78%
Politicians
27%
20%
15%
Priests / Ministers
66%
76%
54%
Psychiatrists
72%
67%
67%
Scientists
92%
87%
88%
Teachers
88%
88%
80%
Veterinarians
92%
89%
86%
CONTACT:
Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, [email protected]