News
7 jobs where you’re most likely to marry your co-worker
Many people look forward to going home after a long day of work and sharing their daily triumphs and disappointments with their spouse. However, there are some professions where your spouse is just as likely to be sharing the same experiences – because they’re right there with you in the workplace.
Did you know that people in managerial positions, salespeople, educators and healthcare practitioners, among a few others, are more likely to meet their spouse at work, or marry someone within a similar line of work, than anyone else?
That is exactly what Dan Kopf at Priceonomics worked out, using census data surveying 40 million couples across the US. Interestingly, the highest percentage of married couples who worked in a similar profession (25 per cent) were involved in the farming, fishing and forestry industries, but if you’re more comfortable sitting at your desk than raising crops, there’s still a good chance you’ll meet your future spouse at work. Coming in at a close second at 19 and 18 per cent are managers and salespeople, followed by healthcare practitioners and those in industrial production, all at 16 per cent. Meanwhile, at 15 per cent, lawyers, cleaners and maintenance workers showed a tendency to appreciate someone who was pursuing a similarly dirty job.
Since the study only surveyed straight couples, the career paths which appeared at the top of the list were those with a roughly equal gender ratio. On the other hand, at the bottom of the list were construction, mining and military occupations, which are dominated by men, and personal care and appearance and healthcare support, where there are far more women.
It can be hugely satisfactory when your partner works in a related area, so that they know exactly what you’re on about, whether you’re moaning about students who seem intent on not learning or celebrating a patient who’s won a hard-won battle and gone into remission. And since many of the professions mentioned work long, difficult, unsociable hours, it’s a comfort knowing that you have a partner in the same field. Quite literally, if you’re a farmer.