The decline of the professional

[Sparkzz]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 16 July 2020 at 00:19

[Sparkzz]

visitinglondon said:

To me, a professional is someone who got a degree and can use apostrophes.

I think that is where your problem lies ...

Fortunately, that isn't the definition.

[Sparkzz]

visitinglondon said:

Do you have an engineering degree? If not, what enables you to describe yourself as an engineer (rather than, say, a technician)?

I'm a Chartered Engineer.

I have a BEng and MSc . am looking at studying for a further post-grad (in something other than Engineering)

[Sparkzz]

mcg_ said:

you're probably just in an industry / profession that doesn't pay too well

I used to have a highway engineering job that I had 8 years experience in. Hit a brick wall really and the money wasn't too good. Moved to house building, no experience of houses, got a decent payrise and the only way is up (until we have the next recession and I'll go crying back to my old job)

It's not fair but then life isn't fair.

FYI I drive a brand new car and go on multiple holidays a year and live in a nice house

Oh and only got a HNC but call myself an engineer omg

Bricks aren't Engineering!


Just kidding.

[Sparkzz]

James_B said:

chunder27 said:

James, sorry, WRONG on one point.

20 or 30 years ago, you did not have broadband, insane tv packages, mobile phone packages. These are all new costs we did not have. More stuff, like sat navs, Ipods, 200 quid headphones. Not all necessary admittedly, but some are.

Costs are very much not the same as they were.

Yes, wages have increased in some areas, but not in others. If you work in retail or warehousing you cant really afford to live comfortably in some areas, it can be done, but at a cost. Was that always the case?

They are not new costs at all, they are extras that would cost you nothing if you did not choose to have them.

You only have them because they are absolutely amazing value for. Only, giving you things that to past generations would have seemed like magic.

Every single one of my friends in normal working class jobs up North lives a life far better than every single one of my parents friends did forty years ago. Houses with no workers can have cars outside them, people who work in shops can have a big television and a holiday in France.

The guy who runs the supermarket can have a car that would have blown away a Miura and the kid who went into Finance can have four homes with a car parked at each.

The only people going backwards are those whose parents were at the top in the past. For the rest of us we are still all doing better than our parents and grandparents did.

I believe your point is correct in some respects but I am including the typical 'middle-class professional' in the category of people who are not doing better than their parents. Many people do not have the lifestyle of the professional of 1950's - 1980's. Myself included.

Either that or more people are inheriting more wealth.

[Sparkzz]

MC Bodge said:

Sparkzz said:

I believe your point is correct in some respects but I am including the typical 'middle-class professional' in the category of people who are not doing better than their parents. Many people do not have the lifestyle of the professional of 1950's - 1980's. Myself included.

Either that or more people are inheriting more wealth.

What is the lifestyle that you are referring to?

Second/third homes, expensive boarding school fees, posh golf club, helicopter, private jet, a castle with 10000 acres?

I'm one of this who live better than my parents did (doing only a slightly better job, but having a wife earning reasonable money too), vastly better than my maternal grandparents, and phenomenally better than all of my maternal great grandparents.

More people are inheriting more property wealth if they are lucky to have had relatives living in high demand areas.

Edited by MC Bodge on Sunday 2nd December 13:53

What I am saying is that many lower and middle-ranking professionals (such as myself) don't have lifestyles as good as people in the same positions 30 years ago. I aspired to a profession partly due to my experiences growing up of friends and family in these positions who lead nice lifestyles. Now I am in a similar position, I am not enjoying anywhere near the same level of comfort. I'm unsure of the complex economic reasoning behind it, but likely it is due to people lower down the socio-economic scale being better off whilst the professional has stagnated somewhat. Hence, the compensation I receive does not cut as much mustard as the equivalent amount would have in 1980.

My argument is that I will have to climb further up the ladder before I can enjoy such a lifestyle. I'm talking about 2 holidays a year and an E - class for me and the wife. Not a private island and jet to get there.