[bdrool]

That was my first thought as well. Another thing that came to mind is that way manual work / craftsmanship was looked down upon has its parallels in the present day, particularly in the US. It's often said that other parts of the world see engineering in particular as a prestigious line of work, but the same cannot be said for the US. It's strange how the US lauds only the extremes: either very blue-collar manual laborers, or very white-collar 0.001%-ers (very often rent-seekers who don't actually add much value to society). People who actually engineer things and drive innovation are not looked up to.

[maxxxxx]

Blue collar workers (or soldiers) are looked up to only as a romantic ideal but they got no benefit from that. It's not like they make a lot of money or are sought after in the dating market.

[true_religion]

Being a solider is fairly profitable so long as you are an officer, and on a steady promotion trajectory.

[ci5er]

> People who actually engineer things and drive innovation are not looked up to.

In the US? Compared to whom? Doctors? Bankers? Lawyers? Politicians?

Who do you think that you are better than?

[bigger_cheese]

I don't know about the US but here is Australia Engineers are consistently rated as one of the most ethical and trusted professions eg. http://thenewdaily.com.au/money/work/2016/05/14/most-trusted...

Most of my ethics course from university focused on US based case studies (Tacoma Bridge, Kansas City walkway collapse, Space Shuttle etc.) So it could be possible Engineers in US have a worse reputation.

[mattnewport]

> Doctors? Bankers? Lawyers? Politicians?

One of these things is not like the others.