Engineer counts as low-status in Germany? That's certainly not something I would have expected.

But from what I understand, Germans are a lot more status-conscious than the surrounding countries, with more hierarchy, people often expecting to be addressed by their titles, bosses not wanting to be addressed by their first name, etc.

But I'm Dutch, and I know several men who work in construction, who are married to university-educated women. I don't know what degree my brother-in-law has, but he hasn't been to university, unlike my sister (though I wouldn't call him less educated; he educates himself). And since I never graduated, I'm technically also married to a woman with a higher degree (though her degree is lower than the one I would have had if I'd continued, so I consider myself higher educated than her until she gets that MBA).

So I'd say it's fairly common here.

I'm Dutch as well and I have similar observations as mcv -- I live in the randstad region (concurbation of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht). Friends who work in construction having kids women with a higher education. I noticed that when I was in the dating scene, I didn't particularly care what the education of someone else was. However, I do notice that I have more in common with higher educated women since they have a higher tolerance for my geeky side, on average.

Engineers go to work dressed like bums and chances are that their boss isn't an engineer (implying a stagnant career, which easily explains the lack of ties). They are the working class of university graduates, low status indeed.

The fact that people look down on people who actually make stuff is a sad commentary on our society. That being forced to dress like a drone is seen as higher status than having the freedom to dress as yourself, is too.

Both of them are educated and it's hard to claim that engineering is a lower status than law for example. In the US "lower classes" won't have any higher education or a community/city college degree at best it is completely different due to the cost of education.