Not many people respect the online advertisers behind pop-up ads or the marketers who call at all hours of the night. The funny thing is, the people who have these jobs don’t have much respect for what they do either.
A recent survey -- commissioned by Adobe and conducted by research company Edelman Berland -- found that consumers view advertising and marketing as one of the least valuable professions to society. Only 35 percent of marketing professionals considered their own profession valuable.
Public relations, acting and dancing were also considered among the least valuable professions, ranking below politics and banking.
Marketers aren’t the only people to admit that they don’t exactly feel good about what they do. Of fast food workers, 38.4 percent agree that their jobs make the world a worse place and 17.6 percent of casino dealers feel the same way, according to PayScale.
Sadly, the majority of Americans are unhappy in their current profession. Only 47.2 percent of workers in the U.S. said they were satisfied with their job, according to a 2011 survey of U.S. households conducted by Nielsen. The last year a majority of Americans were happy at work was 2005, Nielsen found.
The Nielsen survey also found that where you live may impact how happy you are at work. According to the survey, a greater percentage of workers in the West South Central region of the U.S. (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas) reported job satisfaction than workers in the Middle Atlantic region (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania).
Worldwide, more than half of workers intend to find another job within the next year and only 44 percent feel valued by their employer, according to a Kelly Services survey.
What should you do if you hate your job? Roy L. Cohen, author of “The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide” suggests shifting the way you view your current position. “A bad job may be a necessary placeholder while you take classes or network for a new and more satisfying job,” he writes.
If you really want to switch professions, you can start by doing a personal assessment of what you hate and what you like about your job and setting concrete goals for your future career, a Forbes writer suggests.
Or, if you want to enter a profession that others regard more highly, becoming a teacher, scientist, engineer or social worker may be a good place to start. The four professions represent the most valued jobs in society, according to the Adobe study.
(h/t AdAge)