> Architects are above engineers?

Very much so! More than is possible to describe here. Of course I mean real architects - of buildings and so forth.

It is status negotiation, and not only is highly subjective but also varies depending on the age, social class and occupation of both people.

This is more or less what I was reaching for, though my attempt was with far less clarity. Thanks for wording it better than I could.

The occupation of the participants is an interesting angle. I wonder if it has been studied at any length.

I wanted to be an architect, but now I’m really thinking I’d rather be a city planner.

Why limit yourself to just one building, when you can design a whole city, right?

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.

> 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.

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.

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

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.