17 September 2010 Last updated at 18:37 ET

Pay survey: What people think we should really earn

The survey found that footballers would earn three times more than chief executives

The bosses of Britain's top 100 companies should be paid about £118,000 a year, a BBC survey suggests.

Those questioned also put the pay of Premier League footballers and financial bond traders at £365,000 and £58,000 respectively.

The salaries are a big drop on their actual average pay - a 94% fall in the case of chief executives.

The BBC commissioned research from ComRes about what the public believes 15 professions should be paid.

Those people surveyed were not told what the real pay levels were in those professions.

The findings, part of a BBC Radio 4 programme being broadcast on Sunday, could be a shock for people in many jobs.

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The survey of 1,000 people found that most believed the prime minister, secondary school head teachers and train drivers should be paid less.

On the other hand, they believed care assistants and call centre workers should get more.

According to the survey, even if footballers were paid £365,000 - against their average annual pay of £1.7m - that would still make them the highest paid of the 15 professions.

John Caudwell, serial entrepreneur and founder of the Phones 4U chain of shops, told the Radio 4 programme: "I think it's a bit of an indictment of the British public that they think they [footballers] should be the best paid of all members of society."

Profession	Actual average pay (£000)	Survey pay (£000)	Difference %
FTSE-100 chief executive	2,100	118	-94
Premiership footballer	1,700	365	-79
Bond trader	225	58	-74
Prime minister	142.5	119	-16
Secondary school head	73	43	-41
Train driver	40	28	-30
Social worker	30	28	-8
Nurse	29	29	0
Technician	29	28.7	-1
Airline cabin attendant	23	25	+9
Secretary/PA	23	25	+9
Hospital porter	18	21	+15
Call centre worker	17	19	+14
Care assistant	16	24	+50
Retail cashier	13	18	+36

Pay and Tax: The Radio 4 Debate, 19 September, 1700 BST