Member of Parliament Scores Highest with 4.16 Points
Firefighters Rank First in Both the US and Germany
A survey found that South Korea, China, and Japan selected members of the National Assembly as the occupations with the highest social status, while the United States and Germany chose firefighters. Additionally, South Korea showed the strongest perception of hierarchical distinctions among occupations compared to other countries.
On the 17th, the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET) released a report titled "International Comparative Study on Occupational Awareness and Work Ethics," based on a survey conducted from July to August last year targeting 1,500 employed individuals aged 18 to 64 in five countries. The research team selected 15 representative occupations across categories such as production, service, office management, and professional jobs, and asked respondents to rate the "social status of each occupation in our society" on a 5-point scale (1 point for very low to 5 points for very high).
The 15 selected occupations were members of the National Assembly, pharmacists, middle and high school teachers, mid-sized company executives, mechanical engineering engineers, software developers, bank clerks, factory workers, restaurant employees, construction day laborers, social workers, firefighters, artificial intelligence experts, film directors, and digital content creators. The survey results revealed significant differences in perceptions of occupational social status across countries.
In South Korea, members of the National Assembly scored the highest with 4.16 points, followed by pharmacists (3.83 points) and artificial intelligence experts (3.67 points). Construction day laborers, restaurant employees, and factory workers ranked at the bottom, with firefighters placed 11th. Similarly, in Japan and China, members of the National Assembly ranked first. Pharmacists were second in Japan, while film directors were second in China. In contrast, both the United States and Germany ranked firefighters first. In both countries, software developers were second. Members of the National Assembly ranked 12th in the United States and 10th in Germany, placing them in the lower tier.
National Ranking of Occupational Prestige Perception by Country[Image Source=Report by Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training, Yonhap News]
A notable feature in South Korea was the large gap in scores between occupations. The difference between the top-ranked members of the National Assembly and the lowest-ranked construction day laborers (1.86 points) was 2.30 points. In the United States and Japan, the gap between the first and fifteenth ranks was 0.92 points and 0.93 points, respectively. The report explained, "The occupational prestige gap is small in the United States, Japan, and Germany, moderate in China, and notably large in South Korea," suggesting that "the perception of occupational hierarchy operates more strongly in Korean society compared to other countries."
Regarding the question about how individuals perceive the social status of their own occupation, the scores were highest in the United States at 3.37 points, followed by Germany at 3.31 points, China at 3.08 points, South Korea at 2.79 points, and Japan at 2.68 points. The report interpreted this as reflecting the low occupational self-esteem among employed individuals in South Korea and Japan.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
