Surrealist Occupational Index

Twenty years ago, 3000 people rated the “prestige value” of ninety insipid occupations. A sample of the results (the Hatt-North Occupational Prestige Ratings) appears below at the left. One wintry evening we devised our own scale of occupational ratings, intending to exceed the colorless array of occupations with which Hatt and North provided their respondents. It should be noted that the Surrealist Occupational Index (below, at right) is only a fraction of the 200 jobs which we rated; space limitations alone kept toymaker, weight-lifter, bee-keeper and many others off the list.

Hatt-North Scale Surrealist Occupational Index
96 U.S. Supreme Court Justice 99 Copkiller 93 Physician 98 Werewolf 90 Mayor of large city 98 Assassin of Pope 89 College professor 95 Arsonist 89 Scientist 90 Headhunter 88 Banker 88 Bankrobber 87 County Judge 85 Blues-singer 87 Minister 76 Voodoo 86 Lawyer 73 Pirate 86 Priest 70 Hobo 83 Airline Pirate 69 Sword-swallower 82 Sociologist 66 Second-story man 81 Biologist 65 Ohio Hegelian 80 Novelist 64 Rain dancer 79 Economist 60 Pony Express rider 77 Railroad engineer 58 Lighthouse keeper 75 Radio announcer 54 Clown 73 Electrician 53 Snake charmer 72 Undertaker 50 Water-carrier for elephants 68 Insurance agent 48 Skyscraper window-washer 68 Tenant farmer 41 Goblin 67 Policeman 37 Tree-tapper 66 Mail carrier 29 Ventriloquist 65 Carpenter 23 Lemonade vendor 63 Plumber 20 Swineherd 59 Barber 19 Pickpocket 58 Clerk In store 14 Lawsonomist 54 Milkman 4 Ecologist 64 Truckdriver 2 Art critic 49 Coal miner 0 Cop, Priest 49 Taxi Driver 0 Gestalt therapist 48 Railroad Section Hand 0 Politician, Banker 47 Night Watchman 0 President of the U.S. 44 Bartender 0 Capitalist, Military Official 44 Janitor 0 Judge, Scientologist, Scab 40 Sharecropper -5 Pope 34 Street sweeper 33 Shoe Shiner

The inescapable conclusion is that most imaginative occupations, or those which partake ineluctably of the marvellous, are found today only in the circus or in the world of crime. The forces of desire can only rarely be satisfied even remotely by the activities classified as jobs. It is true that the Surrealist Occupational Index inevitably reflects the dominant strains of this epoch. Quite possibly, for example, in a future society, the Hatt North job of electrician would take on a new meaning and rise higher on the scale. On the other hand, such vocations as copkiller, cop or pope, will disappear from the scale as the jobs themselves become obsolete. Moreover, the entire notion of “occupation” is destined to be overthrown, or to wither away, as the proletariat reconstructs society on communist foundations, elaborating a social organization in accordance with the laws of Passional Attraction, announced by Fourier. Then it will be possible to be “cobbler in the morning, gardener in the afternoon, actor in the evening” (Karl Marx), and infinitely more. (from SURREALIST SUBVERSIONS Rants, Writings & Images by the Surrealist Movement in the United States, edittor Ron Sakolsky, published by Autonomedia 2002)



Doing a little bit more research on the prestige rating of occupations, I came across a report by Donald J. Treiman published by Academic Press in 1977 entitled Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective, which was a rating of averages between the United States and 60 other Countries in the world and their respective jobs – I think you’ll find this interesting.

Occupation 60 Country Average US
University Professor or Dean 86 82.4 Physician 78 81.5 University Professor 78 78.3 Physicist 76 73.8 Member, Board of Directors 75 71.8 Lawyer 73 75.7 Architect 72 70.5 Dentist 70 73.5 Chemist 69 68.8 Sociologist 67 65 Airline pilot 66 70.1 High school teacher 64 63.1 Clergy member 60 70.5 Personnel director 58 57.8 Artist 57 57 Classical musician 56 55 Social Worker 56 52.4 Journalist 55 51.6 Professional nurse 54 61.5 Secretary 53 45.8 Actor or actress 52 55 Union official 50 41.2 Real estate agent 49 44 Professional athlete 48 51.4 Farmer 47 43.7 Motor vehicle mechanic 44 35.8 Policeman/woman 40 47.8 Railroad conductor 39 40.9 Telephone operator 38 40.4 Jazz musician 38 37.2 Carpenter 37 42.5 Dancing teacher 36 32.3 Firefighter 35 33.2 Sales clerk 34 27.1 Truck driver 33 31.3 File clerk 31 30.3 Assembly line worker 30 27.1 Construction worker 28 26.2 Gas station attendant 25 21.6 Waiter 23 20.3 Janitor 21 16.1 Farm worker 20 21.4 Garbage collector 13 12.6 Shoe shiner 12 9.3

Other facts the study found: OP ratings show that, globally, people agree that higher prestige jobs should be paid more. However, it is not clear whether higher prestige in an occupation causes higher pay, or whether higher pay causes people to rate jobs as having higher prestige. Parsons & the functionalists believe that higher prestige in an occupation causes higher pay. Marx & the conflict theorists believe that higher pay causes people to rate jobs as having higher prestige. Today the “classic” & oldest professions include: doctors, professors, lawyers, & accountants. Many occupations have risen in prestige & pay to be called semi professions, including firefighter, police, veterinarians, etc.
(from http://people.uvawise.edu/pww8y/Reviews/WO/WORev/02RevWOStudyingWorkplace.html#Table%206%20-%202:%20%20Occupational%20Prestige%20Ratings)

I was at least encouraged to see that artists, actors and musicians made it into the 1977 comparison ratings as bonafide occupations, that is from what I could tell from the Hatt-North study of course, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t somewhere down below the 33% mark. Any thoughts as to where artists as a profession rank today in 2007? Or feel free to add to the list or change it.