Interesting. Manual laborer or "blue-collar" in the US is almost like a separate "tree" than professional or "white-collar" jobs. If you actually have a skilled

Interesting. Manual laborer or "blue-collar" in the US is almost like a separate "tree" than professional or "white-collar" jobs. If you actually have a skilled or semi-skilled blue-collar job that hasn't been displaced by immigration or automation you are doing pretty well compared to those in the bottom part of the "white-collar" tree. Also the majority of your friends and family would probably be blue-collar and you wouldn't even be comparing yourself to doctors and lawyers. I've heard that "actual" engineers, like people who design plants, vehicles, bridges, buildings, etc. are considered higher status in Europe than in the US. Here I think probably the top 20-30% of software developers are better regarded (and make way more money) than most of these engineers, unless these engineers are on their way to upper management or determining investments. I also think whether you're one of those people -- your social class, basically -- is pretty much determined by the day you turn 18, even in the US.