Sadly, it is in fact very real. The difference in how you are treated as an architect vs an engineer [in the UK] is really quite astonishing.

And also perhaps with good reason, as an architect you are keeper of the magic and mystery of the 'queen of the arts', whereas as an engineer you are just there to fix the tv/computer/iphone/whatever. As an architect you are part of polite conversation about what the world is/was/could be, whereas as an engineer you would not even get an invite. As an architect your life is (supposedly) parties and beautiful people, as an engineer board game nights and trappist beer (steady now!).

Of course the tech boom has upended things somewhat, but, in the the UK at least, we have been managing to keep a lid on that particular nonsense.

I saw the work you architects do and we actual programmers are like gods compared to you cad boys who are barely able to script little one line mathematical statements in your cad software ...

AI bros are going to try and take your jobs too when we’re finished culling the graphic designers and painters from the world

My cousin is an architect in Ireland and he already had to retrain as a primary school teacher.

hardly what I’d describe as “queen of the arts” when You are makingsoulless office building And maximising profit. Modern architecture has no cultural theme or aesthetics

Indeed the architecture profession has been in crisis since as long as anyone can remember. Unfortunately it became trendy just as we (in the west) ran out of things to build, leading to an excess of trained architects.

As for soulless office buildings, yes quite agree - but often this is due to clients' lack of money, taste and ambition. Nevertheless there are still truly inspiring projects out there, worthy of the term 'art'.

> whereas as an engineer you are just there to fix the tv/computer/iphone/whatever.

I find it interesting because it reveals so much about a society (and why the UK simply couldn't grow a real tech sector). Here in America some sneer at the terms architects or engineer being used to refer to people in tech, but nobody would consider computers and iPhones to be beneath buildings. Then again, it was all engineered right here; an All American creation.

From an art/design history point of view, computers and iPhones really aren't that interesting, and soon converge on the obvious solution as a simple rectangle of glass.

I suppose you are right; it's not like any of these tech changed society for even one bit.

Most people in design fields would not disagree that the lion's share of design innovation in the past couple decades has been in software UI/UX. The way we interact with our devices is just so radically different than 20 years ago to the point that it shapes our cognition and way about the world. And this will only continue with AI interfaces.

In reality architects work way too much to attend parties, and make too little money to attract beautiful people.

I think you're mistaken. It's perhaps tounge-in-cheek to some extent - but it does hit at some home-truths for a reasonably large segment of the population.