Maybe it’s the boom of online dating and the necessity to have a checklist or the fact that more and more of us are heading to university each year, but the education level of a partner seems to be playing a dominant role in the criteria of successful, single professionals in recent years.
More recently, nearly 70% of people admit that it’s important or very important to be intellectually challenged by a romantic partner. A trend that seems to be more highly valued amongst millennials than any other generation. But why have we become so focused on education?
While men aren’t so focused on education levels, for many women who are educated to degree level and beyond, finding a partner that has similar credentials when it comes to education status is significant. For the most part, women find it easier to connect with a partner who has a similar knowledge base and has shared comparable experiences. While that may make sense for the most part, particularly if intelligent and stimulating conversation is an attribute that you admire most in a person, there is one major flaw that is being overlooked.
The problem. The ratio of degree educated men to women in life – not just on dating sites or through agencies – just doesn’t add up. In the UK alone, nearly 67,000 more women enrol in further education than men. Put simply, there aren’t enough degree educated men to go around!
Women are more highly educated than ever before and the reason that many women can’t find a partner with similar qualifications is because they simply don’t exist. But life experiences and success go far beyond sitting in a university lecture hall. And people like Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Walt Disney and many more are testament to that.
When we meet people organically, where someone went to school or the qualification they have, are often irrelevant and questions saved for job interviews, not dates. The reason being is that fundamentally, we don’t really care. In fact, it’s usually something that comes up after a connection has been formed with that person and at that stage bears very little impact on the way you see them or feel about them. Realistically, are you going to end a great relationship over the fact that six months in you find out that they failed university or dropped out of school – honestly the answer is no. We have also discovered that men who fall into the ultra-high net worth category are usually business savvy, rather than academic, with many of them leaving school with no formal qualifications at all. Would the missing piece of paper with a set of numbers on really be a hurdle to meeting a successful man who could be your perfect match?
While the checklist culture of online dating has led us to believe that education is an important attribute to measure whether you move forward with a proposed match, it’s crucial to recognise that it may just be a barrier you’re putting in place – and one that statistically speaking is unlikely to come to fruition for many people.
Next time you’re looking over a profile and everything else lines up but the education level, stop and remember the household names that we mentioned above. Success comes in all different forms, and you may even find that whether they attended university or not, the life experiences that they have and the intellect that they channel, might be more aligned than you ever could have imagined.
So, let’s leave the education questions to the interview boardroom where they belong!
If you’re single and looking for a new way to date that focuses on the things that really matter, then get in touch with our expert team of matchmakers today. With their expert knowledge and extensive experience, they can guide you away from the barriers you’ve been relying on and open your journey to the relationship that you truly deserve.
