I was under the impression that what defines the proletariat is someone whose income primarily comes from their labour, rather than capital. In this case, plenty of academics and engineers certainly qualify if they need to work to live.
I think the parent commenter is using the term in that context, rather than if they work a blue-collar job or if they’re middle class.
The distinction has never been “work to live”, but working class versus professional class.
Also, academics and engineers don’t derive their income from labor, but from connections, bureaucratic status, and knowledge asymmetry. That’s why they’re part of the bourgeoisie and not proletariat.
Eg, lawyers were never part of the proletariat — yet they also need to work to survive.
I'm not sure how you can say this. I suppose it may depend on how you define "working class", though. If you mean it in the sense of "middle class", then there are lots of them.
Even doctors have to work for a living. That makes them a cog too.
Nothing wrong with seeing where you fit, and securing your future with strategic choices to get away from toxic shit. But you're still a cog.
And you can be an engineer and still be a cog.
The other name for a "cog" is a proletariat.