As I have understood, a mechanic is considered a lower class than most other jobs in Egypt. Whereas in the US a mechanic may do quite well in his own business and make a good living, and he would not be thought of as low class.

I was told on another board about Egyptians that Egyptians who are mechanics are considered low class in Egypt. Is that true, since there is a class system there? That just seems very unfair.

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Originally posted by Darkeyes:
Auto techinicians that work for dealerships in the U.S. do well. The company usually trains them as most new cars are so computerized. Beyond that it's hard to answer your question. There are rich people and poor people in the U.S. but no class system. People here respect someone who works hard and they do respect small business owners. It really depends on the individual family, their education level, and if they are snobs or not. An auto mechanic would be considered middle class probably.

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Originally posted by Catherine_S:
I was wondering about mechanics in Egypt. I have a friend who lives in US and is doing well in his own shop and is Egyptian. He isn't low class at all, but is a very good mechanic.

I was told on another board about Egyptians that Egyptians who are mechanics are considered low class in Egypt. Is that true, since there is a class system there? That just seems very unfair.

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Class system is every where my friend not just in Egypt.
Yes mechanics are considered as a low class in Egypt, If u think the class system is unfair why u bothering urself by whether he is a low class or not !!!!

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Originally posted by Catherine_S:
Would a mechanic who is Egyptian in the US be considered a lower class person than if he had chosen another kind of job choice?

As I have understood, a mechanic is considered a lower class than most other jobs in Egypt. Whereas in the US a mechanic may do quite well in his own business and make a good living, and he would not be thought of as low class.

What would the family think?

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Then we have blue collar occupations and white collar occupations, and both could be professional, i.e. fireman, and a nonprofessional white collar job would be like a filing clerk in an office.

And then we have income levels, i.e. middle class income, working class income, etc. And your income alone doesn't determine your economic class, i.e. if you make $30,000 a year, and single with no dependants, you could be considered middle class, but if you make the same amount with 7 dependants, you could be considered below the poverty line.

So people here don't really feed into it, as you can see people with blue collar occupations could make a middle class income, and a Professonal white collar school teacher, who is the head of the household with a lot of mouths to feed would be considered below the poverty line, and may even qualify for public assistance.

Whereas in Egypt, anyone with a college degree thins they are middle class, even if school teacher there makes the same salary as a maid. Andd it's true school teachers in Egypt typically make around 300LE/month, while a maid who dropped out of grade school could earn the same salary, so there it's more social status and honour than monetary, as in the US.

And our monetary class system is not designed like a pyramid, with few on the top, and the majority at the bottom, like Egypt's. Our is designed more like a bell curve, because we have what is called the "median income", with the bulk of the population being middle or working class, and poverty and wealthy are the few at opposite ends of the curve.

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Originally posted by Catherine_S:
Would a mechanic who is Egyptian in the US be considered a lower class person than if he had chosen another kind of job choice?

As I have understood, a mechanic is considered a lower class than most other jobs in Egypt. Whereas in the US a mechanic may do quite well in his own business and make a good living, and he would not be thought of as low class.

What would the family think?

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But garbage collectors, public transit operators here in Minneapolis can make $17 to $22 an hour. No kidding.

My uncle went to college for actural science. Then after graduation took over his father's gas station and garage making over $100,000 a year. I was just as much of a headache as an actural career.