I've never heard programmers described as "blue collar" - a phrase which usually describes a worker who though skilled, carries out notionally manual work in a potentially dirty environment. White collar workers, on the other hand, sit in clean offices at desks and don't raise a sweat. That's us, I'm pretty sure.

Some people who don't really understand much about technology might imagine that since we control and operate machines, we're just like machinists and welders.

I'm pretty comfortable in my belief that I'm a white-collar worker. What I'm not sure is whether or not we're "professionals" in the same way that lawyers and accountants are. I think project managers and senior systems analysts (whoa, haven't typed that phrase for a few years) can probably make a claim to professionalism, but I think your average regular programmer is just a skilled white-collar worker - in the same category as radiographers and bookkeepers and nuclear power plant technicians.

I'm comfortable with that too. There's no shame in having a skilled trade ;)