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The least-trusted professions in the UK

Rebecca Rutt
by Lovemoney Staff Rebecca Rutt on 25 September 2012  |  Comments 23 comments

Bankers, journalists and politicians all come in above estate agents as the least trusted professionals in the UK. But is that a fair assessment?

The least-trusted professions in the UK

Whenever I meet someone new, before long we talk about our careers and I routinely get a slightly nervous glance when I mention I’m a journalist.

This is the kind of look which I reserve for estate agents, but after a run of hacking scandals I now seem to have joined the category of ‘least trusted professionals’ along with bankers and politicians.

Now, while I don’t agree with this title, I can see how people would classify certain professions in this way.

Top and bottom of the list

Which? asked 2,060 adults their views on trusting people in different professions. Looking at the least-trusted professions, top - or rather bottom - of the list with 72% of the votes are politicians. Journalists came in second with 67%, while bankers placed as the third worst with 65%.

Unsurprisingly 82% of people said nurses were most trusted, with 80% choosing doctors and 69% putting teachers into third place. However, the results also show that people in these top positions are also more likely to be sacked if they fail to comply with industry codes or receive complaints from consumers.

At the other end of the scale people in the least trusted professions are much more likely to get away with bad behaviour and not face the risk of losing their jobs. 

The least trusted professions in the UK

Profession

Trust

Don’t trust

Politicians

7%

 72%

Journalists

7%

 67%

Bankers

11%

65%

Estate agents

11%

51%

Builders

19%

35%

Civil servants

25%

27%

Accountants

29%

28%

Lawyers

35%

30%

Engineers

56%

6%

Teachers

69%

7%

Doctors

80%

6%

Nurses

82%

4%

Do you agree with the list? Is it right that politicians, journalists and bankers take the top three spots or are there other professions which should be included? Let  me know in the comment box below.

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Comments (23)

  • Iamcoldsteve
    Love rating 311
    Iamcoldsteve said

    I am an Engineer, and I wonder what the definition means in this case?

    Does the average public know what an Engineer is? Or do they mean mechanic, technician, gas man, plumber, etc?

    The title 'Engineer' needs to be protected, like in some other countries, as in UK it gets used inappropriately. The guy who fixes your car IS NOT an Engineer, the chap who comes to fix your heating IS NOT an Engineer, etc. They may well be technicians, trades-men, mechanic etc. but they are NOT Engineers. (notice capital E).

    Report on 25 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  2 loves
  • oldhenry
    Love rating 265
    oldhenry said

    I am very sad to see accountants so lowly placed. I am a Chartered Accountant and have been for 40 years. I would never do anything that was fraudulent, unfair, untruthful or dishonest. The Institute would throw you out on any of those accounts, quite right too. My profession is well self -regulated. Of course you may say, what about Enron? Northern Rock? Who was auditing those gits? Well , not me and whoever it was wants chucking out.

    But I do believe that the society today has changed to one that just exploits whoever, and whatever it can. That is what Cameron calls 'growth'. It is not honest work and endeavour and the latter counts for zero in today's society. I am sad.

    Report on 25 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • electricblue
    Love rating 643
    electricblue said

    I agree with Steve, it's hard to gain insight from a question which does not correctly define what the profession is. How would you not trust a profession which is responsible for every manufactured item around you?

    It's a very true anecdote that in Germany, when visiting or at a party, if you say you are an engineer you will have your hand shaken and perhaps then be addressed as Herr Engineer. In the UK you'll probably be asked if you can have a quick look at the washing machine. I certainly don't trust accountants when they have any interaction with manufacturing. Explaining cost affectiveness of improved materials and quality to an accountant, you may as well talk to the wall. Idiots who only think about the bottom line have been parasites on UK quality manufacturing for years. In Japan they set the quality standards then figure out how they can engineer the price down.

    Report on 25 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • fenemore
    Love rating 205
    fenemore said

    Commenting on oldhenry's remarks, I think in this context the term "Accountant" is not referring to those who have to audit company accounts.

    There was a time when Company's main board would call the chief accountant into their meeting to present the state of the company's books. Once done he or she would leave the meeting.

    These days, as family run businesses are taken over, the Chairman is more likely to BE an Accountant - this completely distorts the business. Now the company is going to be focused on the bottom-line for the current FY. There is no vision, no entrepreneurial skills, no investment unless payback is within 12 months. Whatever product or service the company makes or provides is so far down the pecking-order as to be incidental, and worse still, employees are just a cost, valued no higher than a box of paper-clips.

    In this respect, Accountants are the ruination if this country.

    Report on 25 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • CuNNaXXa
    Love rating 362
    CuNNaXXa said

    I am gobsmacked that politicians are not at 100% mistrust.

    As for journalists, I suppose they are relatively trustworthy, as long as they don't work for the Sun. I still remember Hillsborough, and that famous Sun front page. They SHOULD HAVE checked the facts before defaming an entire city.

    Actually, journalists have an extremely responsible job, because one wrong word from them can make or break a reputation, which is dangerous considering how many gullible people read the tabloids (there are some who still think the stories in The Daily Sport are real).

    Estate agents should be grouped generally with all salesmen who sell to earn commission. The incentive to sell makes them biased. This doesn't just include estate agents and double glazing salesmen, but commission based Financial Advisers as well.

    Report on 25 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • g0nqk
    Love rating 7
    g0nqk said

    Why is there no category for IFAs? Are they included in Accountants and Bankers? I wouldn't trust our IFA an inch; unfortunately, as a trustee the law says I have to have one! If we had taken notice of every IFA we have had there would be some very wealthy IFAs and no money left for us!

    Report on 25 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Arblaster
    Love rating 41
    Arblaster said

    Does the average public know what an Engineer is?

    Yes, an Engineer is a Train Driver.

    Report on 25 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • Iamcoldsteve
    Love rating 311
    Iamcoldsteve said

    Arblaster, almost. But Wiki describes an Engineer as:-

    "a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical, social and economic problems. Engineers design materials, structures and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality, safety and cost.[1][2] The word engineer is derived from the Latin roots ingeniare ("to contrive, devise") and ingenium ("cleverness")."

    Report on 25 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • killick_becki
    Love rating 58
    killick_becki said

    There appears to be an interesting split here; those who work for themselves (or are incentivised) are more likely to be in the hated end and those who work for others are more likely to be in the trusted end.

    Report on 26 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • sodit
    Love rating 127
    sodit said

    Oldhenry, you wrote "just exploits whoever, and whatever it can. That is what Cameron calls 'growth'."

    I take it that you are relieved that there hasn't been any since he became prime minister.

    Report on 26 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • LaurenceSt
    Love rating 3
    LaurenceSt said

    @Arblaster: you just proofed the point.....

    Report on 26 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • Trevor D
    Love rating 9
    Trevor D said

    I have to agree with 'Iamcoldsteve' I too am an Engineer!

    A man that I know used to repair photocopy/fax machines in shops. He did a one day 'course' where he was shown how to change the fuse, the bulb & the toner cartridge. If anything else went wrong, he changed the machine! He had no previous experience, knowledge, or for that matter, interest! He was then an engineer, fully qualified, just like me and thee. And we wonder why things go wrong!

    "Everybody is an engineer in Britain" - a sarcastic quote from a Portuguese friend.

    Report on 26 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • Aitken B
    Love rating 109
    Aitken B said

    Not too many surprises in the list – however it is dangerous to “tar” all members of an employment group with the same brush.

    E.g. No way would I trust the Police or our legal system; I have seen too many examples of deliberate perjury by police witnesses eagerly and knowingly accepted by Magistrates and Judges in summary trials but most individual police officers bring a lot of honour and integrity to their job.

    Much discussion about who is and who is not an "Engineer".

    One of the major problems we have in this country is that we do not value people who can do things. We are still stuck in the "Lords & Serfs" mentality.

    Bliar's "education education education" concentrated on getting large numbers of people to university thereby placing that achievement at the pinnacle of educational achievement and consigning all those who chose a different path to be labelled failures. We do need to improve education in the UK but trashing all those who are not particularly “academic” is about as unproductive as it gets.

    The absolute pinnacle appears to be Public School, classics at Oxbridge, perhaps dally for a day or so in the "City" then into the corridors of power having had absolutely no experience of real life. OK that might be an extreme model but you get the idea.

    Is the Engineer who designed the car more important than the engineer who has to fix it on a regular basis?

    If we properly recognised the contribution of, for example, our vehicle mechanics and stopped our collective sneering at the job title we would be in a much better position.

    Report on 26 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • elcadobes
    Love rating 9
    elcadobes said

    I am surprised that Police were not on the list or are they counted as civil servants? I think the whole thing is very generalised and people's perceptions are possibly not related to their actual dealings with those categories anyway. Probably a total waste of Which's money doing the survey.

    Report on 26 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Iamcoldsteve
    Love rating 311
    Iamcoldsteve said

    Aitken B,

    I was not sneering at job titles, I just wondered what the definition means in this case. The discussion about job titles in that a Mechanic, technician etc is not an Engineer is an aside. But it is an important one. To understand the 'trustworthiness' of an Engineer (for example) you have to know how that has been defined.

    My problem with the mis-use of the title Engineer is a long standing one. Engineer in the UK seems to be a dirty word and is used to describe a lot of poeple who are clearly not Engineers. Even the guy who fills the coke machine is now termed an engineer - how ludicrous. It totally detracts from what an Engineer does and the years of work needed to gain such a title.

    I also agree that the obsession with sending everyone to Uni is completely flawed. Doing 'underwater basket weaving' courses do not increase opportunities, but do saddle them with debt and they may have wasted several years of their life. This is totally pointless to me.

    We all can contribute to society, and in many different ways. This is a good thing for individuals and for society generally. We need designers, developers, installers, repairers, buildings, manufacturing, etc etc and we also need people to maintain and clean. We also need people to manage all this activity. In short, we need people from all walks of life with different perspectives, values and character. We need everyone who can and does contribute.

    Report on 26 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  2 loves
  • Oxygenate
    Love rating 3
    Oxygenate said

    Engineer? In many countries especially in Europe a 'proper' engineer is referred to as Dr. Eng and he carries this title as a prefix in any written or spoken communication e.g if introducing him I would refer to Dr Engineer Schmidt.

    and may I pass comment on Old henry's glowing comment on accountants - they have caused immense damage - you can't just wave off Enron, Worldcom etc. These very substantial companies collapsed ruined many people and it was not just incompetent accounting, it was blatant fraud & corruption.

    And for Fenemore, when the company/economy is buoyant then sales people make it to the top. This leads often to over expansion and cash flow problems. When the company/economy is down then accountants are promoted which explains why recessions last so long.

    And does ANYONE really trust a banker, estate agent or lawyer? If there are so many suckers out there wanting to be taken for a ride........................!

    Report on 26 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • CuNNaXXa
    Love rating 362
    CuNNaXXa said

    I am also surprised that the Police, as an individual profession, wasn't listed.

    I know of an officer who was eventually drummed out of the Police force because he used his status as an officer to beat up anyone who crossed him.

    Then again, Michael Shirley spent 16 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, simply because the Police wanted a conviction.

    More recently, Ian Tomlinson died after being hit by a Police officer, for no apparent reason.

    Then we have Hillsborough. Everyone knows about the corruption behind this debacle.

    Report on 27 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • electricblue
    Love rating 643
    electricblue said

    I think it was just a 'given' that we didn't trust the Police any more, hence omission from the list!

    Report on 27 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Arblaster
    Love rating 41
    Arblaster said

    @lawrenceSt

    You said: you just proofed the point.....

    I have done nothing of the kind. The train drivers' union is the Amalgamated Society of Locomotive ENGINEERS and Firemen. (My capitals)

    The only thing I got wrong was in thinking that everybody knew this.

    Report on 28 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Iamcoldsteve
    Love rating 311
    Iamcoldsteve said

    @Arblaster.

    It is a historical thing, and they are not Engineers. It does prove the point that the name ENGINEER has been bastardised and used inappropriately for a long time.

    Report on 29 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • The Bank Manager
    Love rating 72
    The Bank Manager said

    Here we go again, generalising.

    I accept that people fall within categories, but it’s only the minority of slime that have made the rest of the other hard-working individual appear to be a collective of pariahs. This is not fair, as there are good and bad people in all professions.

    Would you say that all Nuns are good, simply because of their faith? Perhaps if you'd gone to a convent as a child and had been brought up by Nuns, you may think that some were not so good...who knows?

    But this is my point. Some Bank staff are brilliant and 100% trustworthy, but the slime within my profession have tarred us all and now when you ask the public what they think of Bank staff, we are all apparently greedy, blood-sucking, money grabbing, big bonus riddled rubbish. That could not be more further from the truth.

    Terrorists are part of the general public. As we are all part of the general public, does that make us all terrorists?

    When will everyone stop generalising, or state that there are those Bankers, Accountants, Politicians....(insert any more professions of your choice here), in the world who are bad and thus we are all the same. Because we are NOT.

    Sorry folks...just HAD to state this. Thanks.

    Report on 30 September 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • Iamcoldsteve
    Love rating 311
    Iamcoldsteve said

    @TBM

    When 'people' say 'Bankers', I don't think they mean the average worker in the local branch etc, or the frontline staff. I think the term has been used to describe only the 'slime' in the banking industry, those who do get insane bonuses etc.... Just like 'Bob' and his ilk.

    Personally, I would love to punch 'Bob' in the face.

    Report on 01 October 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • The Bank Manager
    Love rating 72
    The Bank Manager said

    Sorry 'Iamcoldsteve', but you'd need to take provisions and a pack of cards with you, since the queue for punching such persons in the face would be pretty long in my opinion.....take your ticket and kindly wait patiently!

    Report on 06 October 2012  |  Love thisLove  2 loves

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