Are people like me middle class?

Surreystarlet

vaporate wrote: »

Degree in physics means sweet FA.

I have two physics degrees, and without them I wouldn't have got my job!
And I use what I learnt in both my degrees as part of my job, and my interview consisted mainly of physics related questions!

A degree in physics is one of the best degrees you can get - it is one of the most well recognised, and enables you to apply for pretty much any job you like (which doesn't have to be physics related necessarily).

nickmason

I do remember being told "Of course you're upper class, Nick, you're a friend of mine". Which, while funny, I thought didn't reflect entirely well on my friend.

Class doesn't matter to most people. Wealth seems to matter to a lot, and class and wealth often go hand-in-hand. So they get conflated. Not least because how you spend that wealth is definitely an indicator; so fast cars are not "upper-classy", but fast ponies are. If you don't have the cash to send out the signals, then class becomes less clear. And social climbing means that money can't be the only indicator - there are wonderful traps that are designed to protect the upper classes from the wealthy interlopers. They are amusing to watch - and deliciously illustrated in Julian Fellowes' book Snobs, by the way.

There are hints of class from Debrett's and Burke's. The armed forces - particularly with the distinction between officers and soldiers - has often illustrated middle and lower class; it ties in with what someone else posted about middle class having servants; some of that heritage still exists in the forces.

But to me, the definitions are all relative. We all imagine that there are "people like us" - indeed some people use that phrase explicitly - and there are some who are "higher" and some who are "lower" relative to us. The Earl doesn't worry about the perceived nuances between middle class and working class; instead he still sees those above and those below and references himself accordingly - similarly note how some people have dismissed the OP as a chav by the most trivial of distinctions.

For some - indeed most - people they don't let this matter; they are observational quirks of language, behaviour, etc. Maybe they let money matter instead. Or in what division their football team is. Or maybe how happy they are, or how good the sound quality is, or the chat in the pub, or doing community work, or their children's education and development.

There's a balance between aspiration and comfort with who you are.

nickmason

Oh, and I've a cheap projector and a screen that pulls down in front of my bookshelves. So most of the time, there's no TV altar - but when I want to watch a film, it's like being at the cinema. Stops the TV "just being on".

chopperharris

defination of middle class.

Father works is degree educated.
Mother doesnt work , had finishing school , and still has a nanny to look after her kids.
All schooling done private.

And same for the previous generation.

Nikel

Surreystarlet wrote: »

I have two physics degrees, and without them I wouldn't have got my job!
And I use what I learnt in both my degrees as part of my job, and my interview consisted mainly of physics related questions!

A degree in physics is one of the best degrees you can get - it is one of the most well recognised, and enables you to apply for pretty much any job you like (which doesn't have to be physics related necessarily).

Surely you would have been better off doing media studies...

pension-newbie

chopperharris wrote: »

defination of middle class.

Father works is degree educated.
Mother doesnt work , had finishing school , and still has a nanny to look after her kids.
All schooling done private.

And same for the previous generation.

not to pick on you particularly chopper - but there is a lot of assertions here about how fabulous the middle class lifestyle is - not working - stay at home mum - best of everything. From my perspective the majority of middle class people are working to pay off the mortgage - in a job that pays OK, but not necessarily fabulously and certainly not for tay at home mom, and private education

so either I am working class (no probs with that but not what I had thought) or I have particularly poor lifestyle compared to my peers (which may be true!!). I attribute almost word for word the quoted paragraph with the upper class lifestyle

Surreystarlet

Nikel wrote: »

Surely you would have been better off doing media studies...

??!! And be unemployed??!!

Graham_Devon

vaporate wrote: »

More so when you revert to verbal abuse. Reported as such.

Blimey.

Note: Never say "Boo" to Vaporate.

Pete111

vaporate wrote: »

Trollish comment.

You are just sour because you are wrong. Epic fail.

More so when you revert to verbal abuse. Reported as such.

If you think that's abuse you need to get out more. Or stay in, unplug your PC and play whale songs to yourself - whatever works really.

Your thoughts on recruitment remain misguided at best and willfully idiotic at worst.

Right, work to do - it's amazing how one can hold down such a decent job whilst 'Failing' in so 'Epic' a manner isn't it? Probably something to do with Psychology I'll wager.....

tinkers

It sounds as though you work for your money to me, so the clue is in the title you are working class. If you give up work tomorrow will you still have what you term to be a middle class lifestyle??? If not then you work for your money your money does not work for you.

People's obsession in this country with wanting to be middle class is just beyond sensible. Who cares? Just life your life and be happy

Eskimo12345 wrote: »

I grew up in a modest house with my two siblings and my folks. My old man worked full time all his life, office based on the same wage as shop floor folks. My old dear took a part time job when I was 16. The telly in the lounge was only replaced by my grandparents hand-me-downs when they got a new one as we couldn't afford to buy one; all our winter coats were presents from my grandfolks, who also worked all their lives. I worked part time to put myself through uni and only relied on the folks to feed & home me during the holidays.

Now, at 29, I have a good job and earned around £37k in the last 12 months. Last year I bought a three year old m sport beemer for 12k in cash. I live on my own in a large apartment in the middle of town, with a massive telly and £5k's worth of home cinema gear in the lounge. My alarm clock was £300, and I'm currently saving £500 a month towards a house. Nothing I've bought was ever on credit as it didn't take my degree in physics to work out that saving up for something is cheaper than buying it on credit.

Personally I reckon that due to my income and resultant lifestyle, I'm middle class. To be honest, compared to what my folks had I feel like I'm loaded beyond my wildest dreams. I buy new suits for fun. However my older mates at work reckon middle class means that mummy & daddy had so much money that you don't have to work, and so I'm still working class.

Whadya reckon, am I middle class? Or if you think I am still plain old working class, do I have a chance of making my (future) kids middle class by continuing to advance my career so I earn enough to buy their education etc so they will be?