Disliked Professions

Many professions are favourably looked at such as doctors saving lives, fire fighters running into burning buildings and a nurse providing dedicated healthcare.

Intriguingly some professions are looked down upon for reasons that are certainly not credible. Whether it is an unfair stereotype or misconceptions due to negative media influence, there are many professions that people just seem to dislike and it is very interesting to talk about them.

Lawyers are much-maligned but highly sought-after and lucrative career is one of the most disliked professions in the world. Lawyers are often perceived as arrogant and have a reputation for caring about money more than their clients. Many people believed that lawyers contributed little or nothing to society. It is a wrong perception as people often go to lawyers under the worst circumstances in their lives and probably that might colour perceptions just a bit.

Politicians have a love-hate relationship with their constituents and this perception spreads over to the general public. In most countries, people holding public office are elected into their career by voters so it is no wonder that voters are critical of politicians, who earn large salaries and lucrative perks. Public perception tends to see elected officials as power-hungry, inept, or corrupt. Most people believe that politicians care more about being re-elected than they do about making sound decisions.

CEOs tend to get negative impression. There has been an increasingly negative view of corporations in society and the amount of money that the leaders of these businesses make is a big factor in that. It is often shown that many people believe it is not justifiable for CEOs to make tens of millions of dollars a year.

Journalists are often viewed as untrustworthy. In fact, only a minority trusts mass media to report the news in an accurate and unbiased way. Despite this lack of appreciation from the general public, many journalists say they would choose their careers all over again. In fact that 70% said that they are satisfied with their jobs and 75% said they are proud of the work they do.

Salespeople are the stereotype of the sleazy salesperson pushing a sale no matter what lives on in society’s collective memory. Indeed, many salespeople, whether they are selling mattresses, audio equipment or a new set of wheels, are looked upon negatively by many people. However, despite the cold shoulder, many salespeople actually do not care if they are liked with 89% showing that the best-performing salespeople said they do not need to be liked.

Real estate agents are trusted by people to sell their home and help them through the process of buying a new one, and yet, many home buyers dislike realtors. Many cite ignoring the client’s best interests, over- or undervaluing tactics, and lack of communication as main reasons why they distrust real estate agents. Despite such view the public may hold, there was a record number of real estate agents working in many countries and their number keeps on increasing.

Construction workers are blamed for traffic headaches and ear-splitting noises in residential areas, so it is no wonder that construction workers are one of the most disliked professions. This dislike for the trade unfortunately has negative consequences, as more and more construction companies struggle to fill vacancies. Many companies find it difficult in hiring and some of that is due to an overall stigma attached to manual labour jobs, even though the trades can be a lucrative career track.