According to the annual Gallup poll on the public’s perceptions of ethical conduct among professionals, the following is the ranking, best to worst, of those most trusted by the American public. The percentage is the proportion of poll respondents who ranked each profession “very high” or “high” in ethical standards.
1. Nurses (83%)
2. Pharmacists (66%)
3. Medical doctors (65%)
4. Policemen (63%)
5. Engineers (62%)
6. Dentists (57%)
7. College teachers (54%)
8. Clergy (50%)
9. Chiropractors (34%)
10. Psychiatrists (33%)
11. Journalists (23%)
12. Bankers (19%)
13. State governors (15%)
14. Lawyers (13%)
15. Business executives (12%)
16. Advertising practitioners (11%)
17. Senators (11%)
18. Insurance salesmen (10%)
19. Stockbrokers (9%)
20. Members of Congress (9%)
21. HMO managers (8%)
22. Car salesmen (6%)
This is how I would rank them, also best to worst, with some additional professions included (in RED):
- Pharmacists
- Fire Fighters
- Clergy
- Military
- Engineers
- College teachers
- Medical doctors
- Lawyers
- Dentists
- Nurses
- Policemen
- Judges
- Scientists
- Ethicists
- Accountants
- Business executives
- Psychiatrists
- Writers
- HMO managers
- Car salesmen
- Bankers
- Stockbrokers
- Advertising practitioners
- Chiropractors
- Insurance salesmen
- Lobbyists
- State governors
- Senators
- Members of Congress
- Consultants
- Bloggers
- Artists
- Political Activists
- Radio Talk Show Hosts
- Journalists
- Reality show producers
And you?
Ethics Alarms 
Hey Firefighters don’t even make your list? And I thought we were so tight? Just remember who comes to help you out when your client tries to strangle you after he sees your bill.
Hey, that’s not my list! That’s Gallup’s list! Lots of professions are missing, like accountant, airplane pilot, soldier, actor, ethicist…OOk, I’ll add other to my list. Why should I be stuck with Gallup’s 22 choices from decades agao?
Thanks for hooking a brother up. Nice to see artist were able to make your list at 32. By the way I came across a signed photo of you in my files recently, but you had hair. I enjoy your endeavor quite often. Thanks for the discussions.