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Not middle class. That include plumbers, mechanics, and other skilled technicians that really do have to work hard for their living. SV is stuffed full of uppe

Not middle class. That include plumbers, mechanics, and other skilled technicians that really do have to work hard for their living. SV is stuffed full of upper-middle-class, a category that is more different than the name would imply. These folks (including me) had the luxury of “not knowing what I want to do in college” (or even attending college in the first place) and getting to bounce around until we find something that sticks. Or go to medical/law/graduate school and take on hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt then work a free internship or residency before being able to command a salary that pays off that debt. It’s a different world from the middle class.

KaiserPro 6y ago
Sorry I should have been more specific. In the UK developers are overwhelmingly middle-middle class. If you were privately educated then you are much more likely to be on the business side. There are "lower middleclass" developers, but its much more rare in bigger businesses something like 20/80 split. (not as rare as women though..) In the UK, the "trades" are seen as working class-lower middle class. Which is why the education system didn't bother catering to any kind of practical skill for trades. because Karen didn't want little Andrew to learn a trade. Whats interesting is that yes, in the US its far more rarefied/isolationist.
notacoward 6y ago
> getting to bounce around until we find something that sticks This is an under-appreciated dividing line between the somewhat-rich and the somewhat-poor. Being able to choose a career that you can stick with and even be passionate about will put you in a much better situation 20+ years later than having to take the first work that comes along out of sheer necessity (often repeatedly and employers get more skeptical each time). Many people never escape that trap; even those that do find themselves many years behind their age-peers financially.

KaiserPro 6y ago

Sorry I should have been more specific. In the UK developers are overwhelmingly middle-middle class. If you were privately educated then you are much more likely to be on the business side. There are "lower middleclass" developers, but its much more rare in bigger businesses something like 20/80 split. (not as rare as women though..) In the UK, the "trades" are seen as working class-lower middle class. Which is why the education system didn't bother catering to any kind of practical skill for trades. because Karen didn't want little Andrew to learn a trade. Whats interesting is that yes, in the US its far more rarefied/isolationist.

notacoward 6y ago

> getting to bounce around until we find something that sticks This is an under-appreciated dividing line between the somewhat-rich and the somewhat-poor. Being able to choose a career that you can stick with and even be passionate about will put you in a much better situation 20+ years later than having to take the first work that comes along out of sheer necessity (often repeatedly and employers get more skeptical each time). Many people never escape that trap; even those that do find themselves many years behind their age-peers financially.