How important is education?

[Holy Warrior]

Something I've been made increasingly aware of recently is the general trend of people to marry someone of a similar level of education. My mother is very keen that I find someone on my course to get hitched to, for instance, and anecdotal evidence from the married folk I know tends to back it up- university-educated people tend to marry other university-goers, working-class people tend to wind up together, and so on.

How much of this is down to the fact that people tend to socialise with others from a similar educational background, and how much is actually due to their being problems with an imbalance in this area?

I could see there being some potential difficulties if one partner got used to being the 'smart' one in the relationship- resentment, for example.

Do you reckon that you personally could fall in love with someone who was 'a bit dim', or conversely, who was 'out of your league'?

 

[joanna1]

admire from a distance someone who is out of my league, yeah, of course. Have a crush on someone that hasn't got the same level of education, yes.
But I really hope my SO has a similar standard of education (or higher, but then he might get annoyed with me)
I was having a meal one day with a nice couple, but the woman constantly had to explain every concep to her husband... it would drive me nuts. I want to be able to trust my husband in his decisions, and ask him for advice.

 

[Airicon]

An education is the greatest gift a person can give.

From a relationship perspective, statistically, marriages between well-educated couples with established careers have the lowest divorce rates, regardless of religion.

 

[tryingtobeagain]

IMHO I can't control who I will love but I want them to be on my level so we can relate. I once dated a man who was a high school drop out and I was able to help him get back into school and go to college. I loved him regardless of the piece of paper but because I loved him I wanted better for him.

 

[Echoespeak006]

Generally speaking, people tend to date or marry people within the same socio-economic status as themselves. It is not completely unreasonable that you will end up in a relationship with someone that you met from places that you frequent. And in general, that means work, school, social avenues/outlets or places of worship.
I suspect that environment plays a huge factor as to why people partner with who they do.

 

[Luther073082]

I'm more concerned about intelligence then education. The last girl I dated was working on a batchelor's degree (I had finished mine) and always came off to me as being totally ignorant and stupid.

Keri on the other hand doesn't come off like that at all and she only has a 1 yr specialized education for her job.

I talked to a girl at the wedding who said she wouldn't be with someone with less then a batchelors degree. She said it was because if they don't they either lack intelligence or lack ambition or both. . . I guess she never heard of Micheal Dell.

I don't like blatent igornance. The thing that really sold me against the last girl (and she was a nice girl) was I once mentioned the attack on pearl harbor and she asked me what that was.

 

[plum]

I've known some silly graduate students (and one particularly immature Ph.D. candidate comes to mind as well), so education does not seem to be the best indicator of the qualities I admire in a man.
However, I am more likely attracted to men who think on levels and about subjects that are of focus and interest to college graduates and students of higher learning. Only rarely do I see this in a man who does not have a degree. When I find it, it's a gem in the rough, and I tend to admire that man even more. Maturity paired with a fascinated mind is a wonderful find. Degrees don't guarantee that by any means.

so no, it's not a deal breaker.

 

[kingoffools13]

It isn't so much the education but intelligence, they don't need a degree but i would like them to be somewhere near my level intellectually ... and further education does help with that.

K
O
F

 

[Gardener101]

Something I've been made increasingly aware of recently is the general trend of people to marry someone of a similar level of education. My mother is very keen that I find someone on my course to get hitched to, for instance, and anecdotal evidence from the married folk I know tends to back it up- university-educated people tend to marry other university-goers, working-class people tend to wind up together, and so on.

How much of this is down to the fact that people tend to socialise with others from a similar educational background, and how much is actually due to their being problems with an imbalance in this area?

I could see there being some potential difficulties if one partner got used to being the 'smart' one in the relationship- resentment, for example.

Do you reckon that you personally could fall in love with someone who was 'a bit dim', or conversely, who was 'out of your league'?

It was never really an issue for me until I dated a couple of guys who had left school at the age of 16 or so....and I am afraid to say...it showed.

 

[Carrye]

I'm more concerned about intelligence then education.

Well said, and that's exactly what I was thinking. I want someone with whom I can discuss abstract ideas and not have him look at me like I have six heads. I want someone who can keep up ... not someone who can compare degrees. I see my own degrees as something I hold up when I'm interviewing for a job, and forget about the rest of the time, but intelligence (or a lacking thereof) is something that is always apparent.

 

[Mrs. Luther073082]

Just because a person has not gone to college does not mean they are "a bit dim", as you put it.

It is true that married couples who have a college education are less likely to divorce, though.

 

[JonMiller]

I expect to find someone interesting who has gone to university, although I know that there are people who would be interesting who never went (and lots of people who went who aren't someone I would be interested in).

JM

 

[jasmine88]

It's true that the type of degree you have is no indicator of actual intelligence, I mean, there are some people I know in school and I wonder..."how did they get here?" But, anyway as others said a preference for someone with a college degree or higher might have more to do with economics than anything else. It is a fact that on average a college graduate makes $1,000,000 more over a lifetime than someone with just a high school diploma (the Bill Gates and Michael Dells of the world, are the exception, not the rule).

 

[Holy Warrior]

Just because a person has not gone to college does not mean they are "a bit dim", as you put it.

It is true that married couples who have a college education are less likely to divorce, though.

I didn't mean to imply that a lack of university education makes someone dim or otherwise. My first post was badly worded; I was trying to talk about educational levels and intelligence levels at the same time, but didn't mean that they directly correlate. It's difficult to phrase the question without labelling people as stupid one way or another, which was something I was trying to avoid. My cousin left school early and is now a fully-trained mechanic; I can just about manage to put petrol in my wagon. People have different skills and abilities, I know.

Sorry about that.


I guess the main thing that prompted the question was my mum's less-than-subtle hinting that I should really find myself a girl doing medicine, too, so I was wondering what the rest of the world thought about the whole thing.

 

[smile]

Education is extremely important in my book. It's up there with God and family. I couldn't date anyone not on my level or higher.

 

[ido]

My friends rate me as an intelligent person. One of my guy friends once told me that I needed to marry someone with a college degree b/c I'm so smart....which I find amusing since I did not complete college (yet!). I learned the hard way that having a degree means absolutely nothing if the person isn't doing anything productive with it.

My ex has a BS degree (Bachelor of Science - keep it clean! ), is a certified personal trainer, a certified firefighter/EMT...and has had 3 different jobs in the course of the last 5 years...oh and he went through the certification program to become a licensed insurance agent.

Give me a man that has longevity in his career and I find that far more attractive than a degree. That said, I do want someone who is intellectually compatible with me.

 

[dluvs2trvl]

Hmmm....interesting question. Having a formal education really isn't all that important to me. A person can be very well educated and not hold a degree.

For me, it's more about a person having a desire to learn and grow...keeping up on current events and being able to discuss them...being aware of the world and different cultures...being on the same intellectual level with the person I'm in a relationship with so we can have great conversations....being open and accepting of each others points of view...

Now, don't get me wrong - I think a formal education is great! And I would like to go back and get a degree some day but it isn't a deal breaker for me as far as a relationship is concerned. Give me a guy who loves the Lord, is a hardworker and is stable in his career, and shares similar interests...and that's a great start for me!

 

[violetpen]

I agree that intelligence is more important to me than education. With my desire to write fiction, I knew from research that my income would be low for likely quite a while and a degree would not help my chances of having a novel published. So I turned my attention to the less expensive (but not less time-consuming and mind-taxing) path of studying books on writing, researching markets, and actually writing several books.

One thing about writing: I'm constantly learning - not only about writing, but about any subject relating to the book I'm currently writing.

 

[Trashionista]

I voted that its "Very important."

I could never date someone who wasn't as educated as I was. Which isn't to say I want someone who has the exact same degree as me - but I need someone who values education. I couldn't date someone who didn't care about education. When someone says they hated school, its a bit of a red flag for me.

Its different now than in my parents age - if you want a half-decent job, you now need to have some-sort of post-secondary education. So, even from the shallow, financial/monetary POV, I need someone who can contribute.

It isn't about someone with a Ph.D, but I want someone who can keep up with me during a conversation. While I'm not brilliant or Einstein, I do think I'm intelligent.

Right now, its not as big a deal, becuase I'm not looking to get married anytime soon [I have to finish my own degree], but as I'm getting closer to wanting to settle down, I think the demand for someone educated for a husband will be stronger.

 

[Miles]

Education is important to me, but it doesn't have to be formal education. The piece of paper doesn't mean as much to me as her curiosity, natural abilities, and knowledge.