[saschajustin]

Millenials do not have a choice between "elite social status" and "comfortable middle class". They have a choice between middle class and lower class. What you are calling elite is actually just middle class.

Millenials are at the bottom of a pyramid in a stagnating economy that doesn't offer the same choice that was offered to their parents. We are a depression generation. Programming is one of the few lower middle class career paths still available. Most new jobs in this new economy (that are available to millenials) are working class as part of the service economy.

Jobs that do provide a middle class living are either dissapearing as the boomers retire from them, or require a lot of competition to win.

The amount of money you need to live a middle class life is much harder to achieve in 2015 than it was 40 years ago in 1975.

[wpietri]

That you are calling programmer salaries "lower middle class" makes me think you have no idea what you're talking about.

What I'm calling elite is indeed elite. Your insistence on telling me I'm wrong about what I've actually seen makes me think there's no point in talking to you further.

[saschajustin]

I'm not contradicting your observations.

I'm pointing out a sociological fact.

You do not know the definition of lower middle class.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_middle_class

http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Software_Engineer_%2...

The median income for a programmer is $69,708. This falls into the lower middle class.

When Silicon Valley salaries are adjusted to account for cost of living, programmers making over $100,000 still fall into the LOWER middle class.

People who get into software chasing money and elite status are ignorant of the fact that programmers are not elite and do not have high social status. They have lower middle class status and pay--which is better than working class at least.

[wpietri]

You're conflating household income and individual salary, and you're also using a technical definition in a a colloquial context. Entertaining for you, I'm sure, but again it doesn't make this look like a serious discussion.

[saschajustin]

Household income is not the metric being used. It is income associated with a particular occupation that is used to class order those occupations.

I guess you're right about failing to conform to colloquial myths and falsehoods. I tend to want to align my observations with facts and research rather than pop culture misunderstandings and ignorance.