The part that really got to me was the unreflective passing on of condescension toward physical labor. “If you feel you only have the skills for physical labor, one potential way to move up is to look at a trade that mixes physical labor with basic problem solving, like carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, and so on. If you’ve got such a job and are looking to move up, it will likely require getting more education.” I get that he’s accurately reflecting reality (people think mechanics are dumb and engineers are smart), but I would have expected way more thought to go into this article. Yeesh! How many “smart” professionals are helpless as babies when anything goes wrong, and have to pay bocoup bucks for “stupid” people to come and make it all better for them??

I have a Master’s degree; my husband has a Master’s degree; we both have corporate drone jobs (with commensurate salaries) that might impress people but aren’t exactly soul-fulfilling. So I am actively encouraging my husband to become a car mechanic, because 1) he would be happier with the physical and mental challenges, 2) he would actually *do* something unlike most Office-Space jobs, 3) he would have tangible results for his efforts, 4) job security, regardless of the economy, 5) regular income with mobility to low-cost towns (not just ones that have big corporations or specific clients where we could work).

There just wasn’t enough thought in this article. The New York Times article was a very good stepping stone, but I felt like Trent’s article was mindless regurgitation rather than sincere reflection like I expect from Trent.

Hmmm…. I guess this means that 2 years has really made a difference in the quality of your writing, Trent.

In terms of income, I’m at the middle, yet I can’t imagine supporting a spouse and kids on what I make (or less). I’d have significant consumer debt, wouldn’t be able to save at all, and would need to live in the boonies. Yet obviously people do do this…goes a long way towards explaining how so many people are economically insecure.

@39 wrkr: You are one of those mystery people. And yes, relative to everybody else, statistically you are upper middle class, whether or not you feel like it. There really are that many people who are poorer than you in this country…

Class in this country is a material fact. Class consciousness means that you’re not fooling yourself about it.

I think at least net worth should be adjusted for age – the older you are the more time you had to save. Also, I am not clear how to calculate net worth: shall I include primary residence or exclude it? shall I include full 401K even if once I start taking it, some part of it will go to taxes?

And as Mary said – location makes a lot of difference. I live in Westechester county, NY, and compare to us the prices North Shore suburbs of Chicago is a bargain. Here the average house price is over 600K. For 300K, you could probably get a one bedroom condo. We also have a much larger chunk of our salary taken by NY State taxes. I shouldn’t complain because a) I bought my property in the 90s and b) it is all paid now, but for people who just look for the first home, 1a so-called top fifth salary will not go that far.

You could cut teachers’ salaries in Lake Forest and have no problem filling all the jobs.

But there is no feasible teacher salary which would put equally competent teachers in Chicago classrooms.

Can someone explain this to me?

While your comment may be correct lets look at it this way. I’m currently and electrician, which on their scale ranks dead center of the middle class. I’m also in school to become an actuary which ranks much lower on the class scale. I honestly don’t believe my current job would put me in a higher perceived class than my future profession. Anyway I look at it Actuarial Science would be far above construction.

According to the census, median household income is about $46K in the US — median personal income is about $28K. And Trent’s right not just about wealth varying by age but income as well:

Median income by age of householder
15–24 28,770
25–34 47,379
35–44 58,084
45–54 62,424
55–64 52,260
65 and over 26,036

One of my favorite quotes from Your Money or Your Life is “once we’re above the survival level, the difference between prosperity and poverty lies simply in our degree of gratitude.” If you find yourself surprisingly above average, remember that, and give thanks.

“Once you begin to look to others for that definition you lose your class.”

This I love.

The social status of an occupation is determined by more than just how much money it makes.

If you ask the average person if they’d rather have dinner with a rock musician, an actor, or an actuary, they probably aren’t going to pick the actuary, even though the average actuary makes a lot more than the average rock musician or actor.

(That said, I know an actuary who is a great dinner speaker, who has published articles that talk about things like how childbirth is more dangerous than skydiving…)

I did find the rankings on the jobs a little suspect, as to where they put them. for example, i would put a physician assistant above a registered nurse, seeing as a PA requires a masters, and an RN is just a bachlers. But i would suspect maybe it is due to familiarity with the title, and percieved prestige?