True, I didn’t address the role occupational status plays in class and perceived class. Even the jobs that white folks apply for just after high school or in college are influenced by class. Middle and upper class teens are expected to go to at least a junior college. Upper class can sometimes “take a year off to travel and broaden their horizons”. You’ll seldom see an upper class teen/young adult white apply to McDonalds. You might see them apply at a retail store where their family shops. My first job while in college was as a lab assistant — I never worked retail or fast food (very middle to upper middle class). Middle and upper class college students will seek internships, with the upper class more willing/able to take unpaid internships because their parents are supporting them. This effectively filters entry into some occupations on class — are your parents of a high enough economic class to support you through college and an internship?

Doctors and lawyers start their professional careers in the middle class economically, sometimes just barely. As they specialize, they can go up in class. Occupations that require “professional” appearance and grooming can often be closed to lower class whites. Even certain clerical positions can be closed to white women who don’t have a middle class presentation. Think about travel agents, or flight attendants, for example.

I don’t have a lot of observational data about the pecking order among doctors and lawyers. Thank you for the additional observations.

My family was engineers, teachers, librarians and the like. One of my grandfathers was a very successful salesman (still lower middle, no college), married to a reference librarian (upper middle). The other was a field engineer for an oil company (moved from lower into solid middle) — my grandmother lived for years on residuals from his pension and stocks, and was a stay at home (also FFV upper middle to lower upper).