Self-evaluations and perceived evaluations of occupational prestige: a study of podiatrists

Occupational prestige has a long history of sociological investigation in terms of the overall rankings assigned to a wide variety of occupations. However, few studies have examined intraoccupational differences in prestige or how individuals rate the prestige of their own profession. Utilizing a national sample of podiatrists, an integrated model is proposed to determine what factors are involved in the rating of one's profession. Multiple regression models were estimated to determine the most important predictors of podiatrists' self-evaluations and prestige interpretations of their profession. Among 12 demographic, job-related, and attitudinal measures, it was found that the perceived evaluations of others explains the most variance in podiatrists' self-evaluations of their profession. Due to the nature of the integrated theoretical model proposed, separate multiple regression models were estimated for novice and established podiatrists. Contrary to the expectation, there was no difference in the predictors of novice and established podiatrists' ratings of their profession. Implications of these findings are considered along with suggestions for further research in this area of occupational sociology.