Officer Good Firefighter Police Grow Common Young Opinion

A common question we ask young children is, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" meaning "What job or occupation do you want when you are an adult?" Sometimes we use this phrase as a joke when talking among ourselves as adults, to suggest that we are not yet mature or very old.

The most common responses from young boys are often things like "fireman" or "policeman" or perhaps "baseball player." (We usually say firefighter and police officer nowadays, since it could be a man or a woman.)

A 2008 national survey of American adults asked which professions they thought had "very great prestige." "Prestige" means that you have a good opinion of it, that it is very desirable. Here were the top answers, with the percentage of people indicating that profession in parentheses:

Firefighter (57%)

Scientist (56%)

Doctor (53%)

Nurse (52%)

Teacher (52%)

Military officer (46%)

Police officer (43%)

Clergy (leader of a church, such as a priest, minister) (40%)

Congressman (a U.S. government representative) (28%)

Lawyer (24%)

Athlete (such as a football, soccer, or baseball player) (20%)

Journalist (18%)

Actor (16%)

Business executives (11%)

Real estate brokers (people who sell houses and buildings) (6%)

As you can see, firefighter and police officer are still "held in high esteem" (people have a good opinion of them), but athletes are not considered so prestigious. It is also interesting to "note" (notice; see) that "business executive" (bosses in a company or business) is among the lowest ranked professions, almost as low as real estate brokers, although there are certainly a lot more businesspeople than there are doctors or firefighters.