My daughter, who was a trauma nurse in Toronto and then in London, said that the difference in pay was compensated for by the change in status; nurses in London were part of a team rather than being ordered about by god like doctors. However, the difference in cost of living was considerable, she moved from Bay and College in Toronto, perhaps the dullest corner in the world, to Tower Hamlets which is frighteningly expensive but considerably more lively.

There are even people who 'work' in their own time but it's not considered work.

I remember once watching something like Panorama and there was a businessman talking about how many hours he worked and much of it was looking through a file on his chauffeur driven journey to the office or taking a phone call at the breakfast table at home or watching someone else make a presentation over breakfast at the hotel their conference was taking place.

This is no different to someone at home looking ahead to tomorrow's appointment with a client and working out their strategy and the various 'what ifs' according to how the client responds; or maybe they're 'composing' a letter or some other presentation at home that they're going to formalise when they're back at their desk next day; perhaps they have an appraisal to do and they've been too busy at work to give it attention, so they're sitting at home, mulling it over.

All are aspects of their work, in addition to their time at the office, that are just as legitimate as those claimed by others.

I worked as a nurse for over 3 years in Ontario and was never bossed around by anyone

Registered nurses are much more autonomous in Ontario are even being given prescribing rights. I don't know about you or your family but I'd much rather be paid more $$ (considerably more). The starting salary I receive here is £22k/year before tax (after tax it will be something like £18k a year which is just shy of $30000)while in Canada a newly minted RN makes $32/hour, the difference is shocking.

To be honest on the average day I probably saw the MD once or twice during a shift when they did rounds.

registered nurses prescribing: Government takes next step toward RN prescribing

nurse autonomy in Canada: https://www.theguardian.com/healthca...-nurse-uk-quit

Probably not in a trauma unit.

The legalities of this are still being smoothed over but I'm sure if a RN noticed a patient's sodium levels are low she can initiate saline IV (which you can't without an MD/NP order), which yes surprisingly even happens on a trauma unit.

Most hospitals already have standing orders anyway which RNs do utilise.

CNO to start work on RN prescribing

The CNO are still working on changing the Nursing Act

Does anyone really give a shit about how their intended occupation is regarded by others before embarking on it? If so, why?

Surely, the only thing that matters is how you regard your occupation, if at all, isn't it?

As a teacher married to a doctor I can confirm that a decent level of regard from the public is important, certainly in public sector jobs. It's hard enough working all hours for not great pay, without getting constant criticism! Working tirelessly, only to be told that your profession is rubbish and you are failing is demoralizing to say the least! My husband and i used to take turns to see whose turn it was for our professions to be hammered by The press! The public sector relies heavily on good will from their staff (as others have pointed out, we all work far more than our contracted hours) but that good will is dependant on being appreciated. It's no surprise that this forum has so many doctors who have left the NHS...

I don't know that public appreciation is the deciding factor in doctors leaving the NHS. I know one who left here (the daughter's partner) to work in the NHS because he found Toronto to be dull and far from Europe, I would think doctors moving the other way do so because moving to Canada allows them to buy more stuff. Culture vs. consumer durables, same as for other people moving one way or the other.

I get that, receiving appreciation from your clients, customers and patients makes the day more enjoyable but that is not the same as having an occupation that is "highly regarded."

For example, does knowing that others regard your profession "highly" make your day pass any easier when your students are giving you shite?

I also accept that public sector workers view such matters differently from those in the private sector. I just don't understand why.

Clearly not in your case. You chose to become a lawyer.

In my profession, society as a whole regards us as gods that walk amongst mortals, to be worshiped and feared, the ground trembling and the seas parting at our progress. Or utter indifference. One of the two.

As I have recounted previously, I decided to obtain a law degree after being medically discharged from the army simply because I was pissed off at prospective employers stating that I was "stupid" because I had 10 "O" levels but no degree or A levels.

I had no intention of practising at that time but during the first year of my part time law degree (had a family so couldn't afford to study full time) I saw an advertisement for a position as a Legal Executive with a local law firm and the rest is history.

Despite the fact that lawyers are deemed not to be highly regarded, I always chuckle to myself in the knowledge that, if a student obtains a place at law school, the parents of said child will usually manage to slip that fact into a conversation within the first sentence or two.

I don't know if I've mentioned it before(!) but one of my children obtained a place at law school. Her parents were aghast. "Being a lawyer will bring out all the worst in her" was one comment at the time.

I think the pride you mention relates to the common idea that, once someone becomes a law student, the cash registers start ringing. Untold wealth follows until the law is given up for a place as an MP. Money and power, not prestige, are the expected benefits of lawyering.

Public perception of occupations; law, nursing, teaching, probably plumbing, is, of course, precisely accurate.

Then quit your jobs and go do something people will celebrate your hard and selfish work

The public education of children is an extremely complicated endeavour with an unknown amount of variables, that makes comparing and generalizing systems worthless. The only value of these types of comparisons is the political interests of those who commission them.