This is why actual social scientists talk about socioeconomic status instead of purely income-based categories (etc). Grad students usually have fairly little m

This is why actual social scientists talk about socioeconomic status instead of purely income-based categories (etc). Grad students usually have fairly little money, but a fair amount of social capital: people think they are smart, industrious, etc. It’s sort of like middle-class apprentice. A factory foreman or hairdresser might earn more, but their job has less cachet.