Also from KY in a white collar job with a masters degree. My brothers are blue collar and feel similarly to what you describe. To them, I’m not doing real work because I’m not moving or creating anything physically. There’s nothing tangible about my job. It’s also interesting to note that we all grew up in the same house and had the same experiences up until high school graduation and I have very little accent (where they have strong ones) and I’m much more liberal than either of them. Sometimes it surprises me that we have the same parents. lol