Would you date anyone not as educated as you?

[Art_Critic]

well yeah.. but saying no would almost make me a hypocrite.. since the only education I've ever received was a high school diploma, I think I've done pretty well for being uneducated .. my wife has a BA in Graphic Design... but I married up

 

I can hold a conversation though, maybe not about global warming and it's scientific causes but a conversation that will entertain and leave a person with the warm and fuzzies...

[BlueIris]

Yes, I date men with less education. Most men with bachelors and grad degrees (what I have) don’t want to date me anyway. The last man I dated with a MA obsessed about my education, the institutions, and dumped me. My Yale BA/Harvard JD fiancé was freaking annoyed if I knew something he didn’t. (He actually asked me to do a memo once, to convince him… not kidding.)

On the other hand, my sweetest, most loving BFs have been blue color and/or military men and they seem to like my sometime-Power-Gurl side, though I’m not very powerful. They have been FAR LESS competitive and comparative in general, and more expressive and affectionate.

[OwMyEyeball]

That don't matter one bit no way no how I tells ya

 

Intelligent? Yes, that matters. Educated? Meh.

[Tayken]

Yes, it cuts both ways for sure, and I've met the kind of people you're talking about too. It's boastful and patronising, but usually when I've met people like that, even though no doubt they think they're vastly superior to me, they've been friendly and welcoming enough.

 

I don't want to suggest that every person who hasn't been to university is that type I described. I suppose it's just that there are quite a few times I've had to be in the company of people who are, and those times haven't been happy experiences for me. I guess we all tend to be influenced by our personal experiences as regards how we perceive this.

 

Bold 1: It's the same for me too.

 

Bold 2: Again, I concur.

 

It's obvious what we are experiencing in this discussions i.e. two different camps, and I know which one I belong to. I have attended university of life (am living on my 4th continent with loads of challenges and experiences along the way) as well as that of brick and mortar.

 

or military men

 

By Military men, you mean they don't have more than HS diploma? I know for sure that there are many Military folks with degrees coming out of their wazoo, and we aren't even talking about the ones that went to West Point

Edited November 4, 2014 by Tayken

[Shepp]

Yeah really not an issue for me!

I know enough girls who are perfectly intelligent - witty, quick learners, with great problem solving ability who walked away without much to show for any education they did because school or academia just want for them.

 

I also know girls with fancy degrees who don't always get the joke straight away, couldn't assemble flat pack furniture, and would have zero viable suggestions when it comes to matters like how-are-we-going-to-get-the-new-sofa-up-the-stairs-and-through-the-front-door.

 

Intelligence matters to me, education doesn't matter a jot.

[anika99]

I ask the question because of rational thinking, as opposed to anything else. There are a myriad of other reasons why if you are very educated and you spouse isn't, it can come back and bit you in the a$$ should your relationship go south.

 

I was just at a place this evening getting a hot drink that cost $1.60. I gave the woman $2.10 expecting to get 2 quarters back. She looked at me and said "you gave me too much". I told her the reason why, and you should have seen her all confused and won't even open the till to give me change

 

It took her a minute to figure it out, and I was shocked. Previously this sort of thing has only happened with teenagers at grocery stores, but I was shocked to see this happen with an adult.

 

So the question is, would you date someone that isn't educated past high school even though they might be damn good looking? Personally...h3ll NO!

 

 

Not every uneducated person is unintelligent. Some uneducated people are extremely sharp minded and can hold their own in any discussion. Not every educated person is intelligent or at least their intelligence isn't evident when they talk. I would not measure a person's intelligence by their formal education.

[sillyanswer]

So the question is, would you date someone that isn't educated past high school even though they might be damn good looking? Personally...h3ll NO!

 

I think there are differences between the level of formal education one can demonstrate with certificates framed on the wall and having knowledge and experience and having the intelligence, wisdom, wit and common sense to put it to good use.

 

I don't want to date a half-wit, but I don't go checking what grades she got at high school or what Masters course she went on after her degree or whatever.

[GoodOnPaper]

So the question is, would you date someone that isn't educated past high school even though they might be damn good looking? Personally...h3ll NO!

 

Based on education alone it's hard to say -- I think of it more in terms of lifestyle compatibility or disparity. That would be loosely connected to education level but leave room for plenty of individual exceptions.

 

I have a science PhD and would have loved to be with a partner with the same education level but my experience is that higher-educated women tend to develop greater desires for "opposites-attract" relationships. (Note all of the PhD-bashing from women who have higher degrees themselves!) I don't know why, but at least in my part of the country, the vast majority of women with master's or doctorate degrees are with contractors, tradesmen, or entrepreneurial types.

[Revolver]

Many people NEED to be the "smart one", just like many people need to be the "pretty one" or the "breadwinner"

[most_distant_galaxy]

I like men who know how to treat a woman. I dont think there is a university for that, so I dont really care.

[BlueIris]

That don't matter one bit no way no how I tells ya

 

Intelligent? Yes, that matters. Educated? Meh.

 

I agree. But the real kicker for me is intellectual curiosity. A highly educated or highly intelligent person who isn't curious and doesn't think about things in the world is boring to me.

[love1336x]

Lol, I am 24 years old cashier and i go to college.

I can't lie i would had said the same exact thing.

Math isn't my strong suit... in fact I HATE MATH, even simple stuff like that gets me.

 

Anyways, but I can see what you're talking about, my current SO not in college, and he doesn't plan on going either.

His grammar and math is WAYY better than mine.

 

I don't think it really matters, really up to the person.

[d0nnivain]

I have a lot of education. So I have dated many people who don't have as much formal education as I do. Few people in the world have my level of education.

 

My husband has a Bachelor's degree which he was working on when we met. One of the 1st things he told me was he was looking forward to a particular course that started in a few weeks & my heart about stopped because I was teaching that course at a college near us. I was terrified that this gorgeous man I just met was going to be one of my students an off limits. Turned out DH was going to school on-line so he wasn't in my class.

 

As others have said, it's not the fancy degrees . . . it's the keenness of someone's mind.

 

I could not sustain a LTR with a dimwitted uninterested person.

[fortyninethousand322]

My own college degree is an albatross hanging around my neck. I usually leave my Bachelor's off my resume or job applications. I've begun to think about leaving it off of dating sites that I'm on. Being "educated" really does nothing for me.

 

As far as dating someone, I would like to date someone I can have intelligent conversations with, that usually correlates with being educated, but it doesn't have to. Plus, I'm at the stage of life where you have to start taking what you can get. So sure, I'm open to dating someone less educated than I am.

[D-Fens]

Not only is education an unreliable predictor of intelligence, but earning power is an unreliable predictor of financial responsibility. No point in earning 500k if you owe 5 million in unsecured debt and can't manage a household budget!

[PinkInTheLimo]

For me education is not an absolute criterion but nevertheless an important one. I dropped out of university when I was younger and at that time I also dated guys without much of educational qualifications. It did not work for me. I know better now why: I have an IQ of 135 which does not make me a genuis but it is above average intelligence. And it is impossible for me to be with a guy who is less intelligent than me.

It feels the same as when I speak to people whose English is a lot worse than mine. I can talk to them but I am restricting myself to a limited vocabulary and simpler grammatical constructions. And it frustrates the hell out of me! And then, when I speak to a native speaker, all of a sudden I can use my complete register and it feels so much better.

My last 3 boyfriends had a university degree and it simply felt a lot better.

 

I started life as a university drop-out but I went back to university while working full-time and obtained a Master degree. And right now I am studying to get my second one, also while working full-time. Because getting a degree has cost me so much sweat and tears and I have had to sacrifice a lot of my social life for it, I value it even more.

 

This said, I'd always take intelligence without a degree above a degree without intelligence. Plus I want a guy who despite his intelligence is also street wise. Not the total nerd who is totally clumsy around the house. Just as I am really good at practical stuff in and around the house, I want the same from my man.

 

I would certainly be open to meet a man with less education than myself but I would only consider him for a relationship if 1) I feel that he is really intelligent and interested in the world and 2) he is really successful in what he does and it's got to be something decent (having made a lot of money producing porn films would not qualify). Otherwise I would feel he is "less" than me and that's a turn-off. I need to be able to admire him.

[Eternal Sunshine]

Yes of course I would but I have to say that I do like people that are as educated as me.

 

I like intelligence more than the degrees but I find a strong correlation between the two. Intelligence has been a limiting factor for me in guys..much more than looks. My favorite type of intelligence is edgy, daring, visionary, independent thinkers. I find people that have purely "memorizing lots of facts" type of intelligence dull.

 

On OLD, I don't go out with anyone without a degree, postgrad prefered. I used to give chances to less educated guys but I felt like I was always dumbing myself down, I couldn't stand it.

[NJ123]

Yes of course I would but I have to say that I do like people that are as educated as me.

 

I like intelligence more than the degrees but I find a strong correlation between the two. Intelligence has been a limiting factor for me in guys..much more than looks. My favorite type of intelligence is edgy, daring, visionary, independent thinkers. I find people that have purely "memorizing lots of facts" type of intelligence dull.

 

On OLD, I don't go out with anyone without a degree, postgrad prefered. I used to give chances to less educated guys but I felt like I was always dumbing myself down, I couldn't stand it.

 

So in your first sentence you said you would, than in your last paragraph you said you wouldn't. So which is it?

[Tayken]

So in your first sentence you said you would, than in your last paragraph you said you wouldn't. So which is it?

 

 

Hmmm....a change of heart perhaps due to a current Mr Wonderful in the picture?

[suladas]

Of course. Education and intelligence are not linked together whatsoever.

[Tayken]

Of course. Education and intelligence are not linked together whatsoever.

 

 

And marry them.....? Looking at it from an earning potential point of view, and what can happen if things go south.

[amaysngrace]

I know some very smart people who only went as far as high school. A good head for business doesn't require a piece of paper saying you have a good head for business because you have no one to sell yourself to when you're the boss.

[TigerLilly78]

Being "well educated" now a days just means you have a massive debit to pay back before you even start to break even..It doesn't always assure a good job or that the person themselves are over all "smarter" then say some one whose bright but couldn't afford or chose not to go into massive debit to go to collage..

[amaysngrace]

Being "well educated" now a days just means you have a massive debit to pay back before you even start to break even..It doesn't always assure a good job or that the person themselves are over all "smarter" then say some one whose bright but couldn't afford or chose not to go into massive debit to go to collage..

 

Exactly. Imagine taking that money and investing it instead.

 

Some people are bored in school. That's a fact. May as well just do what you love. If doing what you love requires more education then by all means go for it but if doing what you love requires hardly any formal education then that's okay too.

 

People would be snobby to judge a person solely based on that and are often very foolish themselves because we all know that passing judgment is pretty ignorant...degree or not....

[sweetjasmine]

I'd only be with someone not as educated as me on the condition that they understood the value I place on education and respected the work I put into my own education. I'm sick of hearing "it's just a piece of paper" and "anyone can do it" and "higher ed has nothing to do with intelligence," especially on days when I'm up to my eyeballs in complicated work. If doing organic chemistry doesn't require the least bit of intelligence, someone please let me in on the secret, thanks.

 

Yes, it's wrong to judge someone for not having a degree, but it's also wrong to presume you know what higher ed entails when you've never been through it and it's wrong to belittle the work that other people do. Saying "anyone can get a PhD" is just as obnoxious as saying "anyone can install electric wiring in a house." No one on earth likes having others tell them that the thing the work or craft they've dumped hundreds or thousands of hours into perfecting is stupid easy, meaningless, and worthless. That's the bottom line. It's bad enough to hear that sh-t from in laws, and I'd never tolerate it from someone I was dating.

 

Not to mention, from a practical point of view, I've spent at least 10 years involved in academia in one form or another, and anyone who doesn't share at least some of that experience can't really understand what I've done and what I do. So, yeah, it does matter to me quite a bit.