What is your family's socio-economic background ?

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Middle Class probably, I don't know, I think we're pretty well off, but my Dad isn't in a very glamorous job, he works as a Mechanic, and he's been doing it for a long time, so I suppose he does it well.

I don't know, I would've thought it was a Blue Colar Job, but we aren't exactly strapped for cash, between the plasma screen TV (And the other TVs), the two computers, the Xbox, the Playstation, the stacks of Computer and Video games that I have (Not including the games my siblings have) ect.

depends on whether they're defining class by money, by culture, or by education (or some combination thereof). i've known many blue-collar workers who earned (and continue to earn) way more than some college-educated white-collar types. i've also known some people who come from a very long line of highly educated, aristocratic (yes, titled), folks whose families have very little in the way of financial wealth.

it's all relative.

True, but the problem is I don't know what his level of Education is, or what is required for his Job, it might be Blue Colar or it might be White Colar.

Which is where I encounter my problem, because the Poll relates to level of Education. Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm not familiar with this sort of thing, I have a spotty and vague self taught education with a variety of things, which has to count for something.

It is really a judgment of others and also depends on what social values he holds. If you are successful in a blue collar job such as "mechanic" which pays well, you'll probably be considered middle class. If you have social habits which correspond to upper classes you can pass for one, but you won't be considered one if they know your occupation. Passing would include being well read and having books in your home, being aware of and discussing important issues and holding the same POV as the class above you, etc. Now, if you had habits such as getting drunk every weekend and beating your wife and kids, no matter if you made a middle class living, you would be perceived as lower class. In order to jump to upper middle class, the mechanic would have to be capable of moving from mechanic to business owner who employs other mechanics. That would take an intelligent person to make that leap. It takes complex cognitive reasoning to be able to move from worker to employer who also works.

That's why SES is really correlated to IQ in America where being born into a class doesn't matter so much. That is not saying that higher IQ guarantees success, but you at least have the potential for it, barring other factors such as AS. But having a lower IQ will limit one in choices. An IQ of 80 will bar you from the education required for professional jobs. You might have the greatest people sense in the world, but you won't get into medical school. You will neve be "perceived" as upper class no matter how hard you try or how hard you work at your job.

What I am saying that SES has a "snob" factor and I try not to judge people on those terms. It's really the "bell curve" everyone hates. You're simply substituting SES for IQ.

Upper-middle class, I think.

My father is electric engineer and he works in petroleoum industry as a supervisor, with his salary it's sufficient for having necesary things and some luxuries. My my mother finish high school and a short marketing carreer, but actually she's not working because it's not necesary.

You're talking about class when all the factors are into consideration, but from what's been posted it seems to only relate to Education.

Also I doubt people make judgements in that regard, sure people generalise a bit but you're going a bit too far with how people see things, especially seeing as you're not in their shoes, are you? Even if you were it wouldn't mean you had any kind of authority.

But yeah, I suppose we'd be Upper Middle Class, if my father wanted to be, and I think he's happy where he is.

Anyway it's all kind of irrelevent as I don't know his level of education, which is what the Poll is dealing with.

No, I know what SES means. I have keyed in the data myself and made the statistical correlations with the software, which tries to correlate SES to everything, in academic projects I've been involved in. You'd be surprised how few correlations exist that cannot be accounted for by other factors. SES takes into account your social habits as well as your education and income. It is an observation of others regarding your place in the proverbial pecking order.

In the US, SES and class are the SAME thing. We don't have "classes." We can't categorize by "class." It is un-Amreican. Here,you can actually drift into a lower class or rise into an upper depending on your ability, education and habits. Here, we have SES, socio-economic class. It's not economic-socio class.

EDIT: If it were only about education, then the mechanic who adopted the habits of the upper middle class and created an auto-repair business cuold never move into upper middle class with his HS education. If he were talented enough to create a franchise, he could move even further up the SES ladder.

Upper-middle class, due to a family business that has been going since the 1800s (before California was even a state). The majority of the people in my family did go to and graduate from college, but I think it is mostly because of the family business.

Sorry I'd never heard of SES, but it still doesn't seem to be relevent.

I'm not saying that Class is all about education, I'm saying that the Poll seems to be all about Education, whether or not the Original Poster intended the Poll to be more emcompassing I don't know, I can only go off what I read.

I think the poll needs to be redone for it to mean anything.

The one thing not on the poll is "po'," not "poor," but "po'."

I grew up "po"." My parents were the children of migrant workers and coal miners, hillbillys and rednecks, Indians denying their history, and Mexicans who Anglicized their names.

We didn't have proper windows in part of the house I grew up in. We had plank floors. As I was the oldest, I wore my mother's clothes when she got tired of them or grew out of them. Half the time we didn't celebrate Christmas because the folks didn't have the money.

While my mother and father wanted the best for us girls, they had no concept what was wrong with me, but that I had some kind of control over it. That I was bad. They didn't believe in psychiatry, neurology, hell, barely believed in the doctor. It's that attitude that killed them in the end.

Enter the perfect storm of native smarts, luck, and opportunity. They invested in a business, and that business helped make them well off, despite my mother's severe illness and no insurance. When the bottom fell out of that business, my father had the business acumen to invest in property.

I put myself through college, and did all right until a condition I didn't know I had worsened and I had to quit work. Add the stress of not knowing I had AS, and the depression that resulted, only sent me lower, both mentally and financially.

In the meantime, folks died, I learned I had AS and what my physical stuff was about, and took care of myself, through diet, exercise, physical therapy, and the appropriate medication.

Now I'm going for a more appropriate career to get off of disability, and I have my parents to thank for that.

The problem with polls exploring socio-economic links with AS is they aren't very explanatory. They offer no insight, and they don't tell the whole story.

Interesting though.

Metta, Rjaye.

God, Rjaye is so perceptive. She said exactly what I meant in my literal, pedantic way. I grew up poor too because although my father was quite brillaint, he was an alcoholic and couldn't keep a job. My mother was dyslexic though she had common sense which was lacking in my father. My family wouldn't fit into any of the poll categories since there wasn't one for "college-educated loser."