Would You Date Someone Without A College Degree?

[scorpioni6ths]

My 0.02 cents

I grew up in a 3rd world country. Education was the only thing my parents can give me. I controlled my future thru education. I saw school/university is practice of *some* of the things you will do in real life as an adult.

As for P4P workers... at the very least, I hope they have a financial plan or educational plan that will carry them further in the future. P4P work shouldn't be viewed a long term solution... (and this is my own opinion, I know P4P work can last quite awhile for some girls...as long as they are doing it by their own choice and not forced by someone else's hand!)

TAGMan's last paragraph in his reply IMHO is on-point.

 

[seeusmile]

^^ My parents also came from a 3rd world country where education/qualifications was like bragging rights.

When my aunties introduces me to my cousins, first thing they talk about is what their son/daughter is studying and made degrees like its the glory.
My mum does it too about me they ask me how proud do I feel about myself.
I'm like "how does me whether I don't or do have a great arsenal of degrees, qualifications, certificates make my life more or less successful than someone elses?"
Why don't you ask me am I happy?
like how many people do you know who has great success in their studies/careers but feel miserable about their life?

As long as the person has a great thirst for life and takes care of themselves they're in my props for dating material

 

[NormalGuy]

If someone judged me on whether I had a degree or not, then it's not somebody I'd want to date anyway. I'm not sure how having a degree relates to who I am 25 years after leaving Uni.

Having a degree used to mean hard work, now it sometimes just means you were too lazy to work and were successful in sponging off your parents for another 4 years.

Not everyone works hard to get a degree, and even when they do they are sometimes completely useless in transferring that knowledge into practical work based applications. They still feel like the world owes them a living because they are good at reading books and remembering random facts.

Not everyone is like that I know, but I've talked to "kids" about their degree choices, and sometimes they've had little interest in the subject just following the herd because "everyone goes to Uni". I'd rather employ someone who loved a subject but didn't get a degree because he started working straight from school, than a recent graduate that struggles to get out of bed in a morning.

 

[TheScientist]

now it sometimes just means you were too lazy to work and were successful in sponging off your parents for another 4 years.

Me and most people I knew worked 40 hours a week or so at various part time jobs while we were in university. Mommy's Magic Purse snapped shut with rare exceptions as soon as I left home after high school.

 

[User#8628]

ask me am I happy?
like how many people do you know who has great success in their studies/careers but feel miserable about their life?

As long as the person has a great thirst for life and takes care of themselves they're in my props for dating material

I agree so much with this!

 

[Manami TMK]

@Manami TMK I can think of a situation where I would disagree with you.
If you open your own college and teach the art of escorting over a three/four years program, I would highly value such degree.

I would totally attend!

Haha, coinsidentally, " the first full time job I got after school" I described in earlier post was actually teacher. Good guess but ovbiously I taught the different subject
For the subject of art of escorting, I have a lot of things to learn yet.

 

[RightOn6975]

I thought about this for a while.. maybe it can turn into a good topic for discussion.

Do any of you take education very seriously, that it gets to the point where you can't date someone without a college degree? Or maybe, if you use P4P services, would your opinion/attraction toward a provider change if she told you she never went to college or uni?

Personally, I can appreciate someone with higher education.. most people put in a whole lot of effort, time, and money for a college degree.. but at the same time, I don't think a level of education should lessen or increase a person's real value.

Of course, I also encourage other women to reply ^^

I might get blasted for this or what not, but I am going to say it. If you have a higher level education then good for you. I have met people who for lack of better words were extremely good at taking tests and memorizing things they read only to data dump it later. On the flip side of the coin I have met people who for lack of better words including myself have bad grammar and or didn't fair well in school but are able to understand and grasp many ideas and come up with solutions to problems presented to us. It all depends really on the person to tell you the truth. To me I want to be able to talk or have some form of conversation with the person I am with.

 

[Chocoballs]

A college degree means nothing. It just means you went to school for many years. Not that you necessarily put a lot of effort into it (my own experience ).

 

[TAG Manager]

A college degree means nothing. It just means you went to school for many years. Not that you necessarily put a lot of effort into it (my own experience ).

I mentioned this a little earlier, but not quite exactly the same. Times have changed... degrees used to mean more -- now, you're right, it's just a piece of paper to show that you spent a lot of money and spent a number of years getting the college experience.

If it's a Ivy league degree, there are many more doors open, nearly by default. Anything else, might as well be a H.S. diploma. (as far as ease of access to higher tiers go)

Without connections though, it's almost the only way into a lot of interviews. Someone with a good connection and no education, but has the skill, can easily land themselves a nice gig.

 

[Assfetish]

Well let us put it like this :

Person 1 : had a degree but not so hot - Not a choice

Person 2 : no degree but hot - oh yeah ..

Person 3: with degree and hot ... we could discuss physics and chemistry while having sex ...

Jokes apart if it's more than sex .. and proper dating may be it's not degree but ability to make a conversation and striking a rapport that matters .. sometimes a degree helps you build that

And most of the answers here talk only from dating perspective ... education is not for getting someone a date ... it's to give better quality of life and perspective

 

[TheScientist]

we could discuss physics and chemistry while having sex

There's probably a slashfic about screwing Sheldon from TBBT with your name on it

 

[John Howard]

I'm currently in Singapore and twice this week I've had women unmatch me on Tinder as soon as they heard I was not university educated.

Was in a friendly chat with the second of them and as soon as I told her that I was a tradesman she replied "I don't talk to bogans" (Google "bogan" if you don't know the meaning.) and unmatched me. I was actually quite offended at the slur. What would she say if a guy said to her "I don't talk to Asians"?

My view is that many people's identity is tied to their educational achievements and career. Take a look through a couple of dozen women's profiles on Tinder and count how many have no information about themselves barring their university education and or job. Lots.

Perhaps this obsession with university education is their way of looking for a guy that's a high income earner. If that is the case they're looking in the wrong place because back home in Australia most tradesman earn well above the national average.

 

[Jbagz]

In many cases going to a university helps a person become more interesting. In the case of liberal arts degrees, that is often about all that you get from obtaining one, you certainly don't get the training required for a career.

I strongly feel that my education has made me more interesting to talk to, but it is a poor litmus test for me being a suitable boyfriend.

If you are sorting through a stack of profiles on a dating app, you could narrow your search by using education. You might miss out on a great person by doing that, but it wouldn't be irrational to establish some sort of criteria for your dating pool.

As others have said, there are plenty of idiots with degrees so I don't think it is very useful to screen romantic partners that way.

Religion is a bigger issue for me. I have zero interest in dating a devout Christian or Muslim. I have trouble respecting a person who prays constantly and invokes Jesus, God, or Allah in every other sentence.

My ideal girlfriend would be an atheist or an agnostic. She should at least be skeptical of all things paranormal and supernatural.

I don't think I'm being irrational avoiding religious women. I know that is going to be a problem for me.

As far as education goes, I also would have trouble respecting a person who is completely ignorant of history, geography, biology and science.

It would be nice if my girl could explain the difference between bacterial and viral infections. If I mention the Boxer Rebellion in conversation, she knows what I'm talking about.

I would prefer to date a girl who could sketch an accurate map of the world on a piece of paper, as opposed to one who can't.

A person doesn't have to go to a university to get that kind of knowledge, but I will respect them more if they can hold up their end of an intellectual conversation.

 

[Jbagz]

Or maybe, if you use P4P services, would your opinion/attraction toward a provider change if she told you she never went to college or uni?

As far as this particular aspect of the OP goes, it doesn't matter.

For me, P4P is about sex and I just don't care or even see why it is relevant.

I realize that you and some of the ladies here might offer a different kind of P4P experience that involves companionship to a degree.

That kind of P4P is foreign to me. That said, if I'm in any conversation that takes a deeper turn it is always nice to talk to someone who can challenge and stimulate my intellect.

In all honesty, there is a link between education and the ability to do that, in most cases.

 

[impish]

I thought about this for a while.. maybe it can turn into a good topic for discussion.

Do any of you take education very seriously, that it gets to the point where you can't date someone without a college degree? Or maybe, if you use P4P services, would your opinion/attraction toward a provider change if she told you she never went to college or uni?

Personally, I can appreciate someone with higher education.. most people put in a whole lot of effort, time, and money for a college degree.. but at the same time, I don't think a level of education should lessen or increase a person's real value.

Of course, I also encourage other women to reply ^^

People who judge people based on a piece of paper irritate me to no end. I am a self made software engineer. I may not have a piece of paper that says I put in the time studying, but that's exactly what I did and when someone judges me on the lack of a degree at an interview I just want to shove my resume down their throat. I have seen so many people get a degree in X only to never use it and instead get a job doing Y or Z. Not that that's bad, but it is a lot of money to spend not to use what you paid to learn.

 

[Jbagz]

People who judge people based on a piece of paper irritate me to no end. I am a self made software engineer. I may not have a piece of paper that says I put in the time studying, but that's exactly what I did and when someone judges me on the lack of a degree at an interview I just want to shove my resume down their throat. I have seen so many people get a degree in X only to never use it and instead get a job doing Y or Z. Not that that's bad, but it is a lot of money to spend not to use what you paid to learn.

Education is how employers screen candidates for jobs. They aren't being mean, or snobby judging you or asking you to explain why you don't have a degree.

Anyway for a software engineer, certifications and recent programing experience are going to be more important.

You should have a smooth and polished response to address the lack of a degree on that resume.

Don't get mad about it.

 

[Exnocomment]

So a lot of activity here..

My two (additional) cents on this is.. Dynamics in many developed countries have changed dramatically over the last few years and there has been research done on dating trends with some interesting new themes that may prove to be very unpopular and unpleasant sounding and so I'm prepared to be flamed for it..

1) In many developed countries there is a growing shortage of the stereotypically desired male mate. Typically college education, minimum US$ six figure annual income, generally in a white collar profession (and in North America, typically Caucasian). I'm not saying this should be the desired mate but based on dating trends, it is. In NYC, I think the ratio is 3:1 or something for women chasing after that specific desired partner, and it's getting "worse" around the world. College enrolments have skewed to higher % of women and so there are fewer and fewer of these mates, but have generally but what has been screened for historically.

2) Women continue to date older and men continue to date younger. But this impact is exacerbated by #1 above. So you'll find an increasing number of well educated women with good jobs considering dating "below" what their historically stated "social standing" would have historically dictated. Lots of single female lawyers and doctors in their 30's now that are coming to grips about dating men that work in trades, are not college educated, etc. It is not something that ever occurred to them historically as even an option. (My funny story on this is, I still keep in touch with a girl I used to date ages ago, and she is always shocked with my transition over the years as she dated me only cause I was a bad boy gangster wearing leather and with dyed hair previously.. )

3) It has generally been found that socio-economic status at upbringing generally decides who you know, who you date and what you care about.. The only reliable variable that statistically significantly crosses these lines has been education historically. Historically education has been correlated with societally a happier, healthier and more well behaved population (lower crime, less homelessness, etc)

So, all that being said, I can understand why people use education as a "screening criteria" for romance and employment. It clearly doesn't tell you everything about a person but it did historically prove to be a useful tool to narrow down prospects! Dating books now are specifically encouraging women to look into men working in trades to consider as mates! Things are changing but attitudes haven't kept up with demographic trends.

 

[Jbagz]

So a lot of activity here..

My two (additional) cents on this is.. Dynamics in many developed countries have changed dramatically over the last few years and there has been research done on dating trends with some interesting new themes that may prove to be very unpopular and unpleasant sounding and so I'm prepared to be flamed for it..

1) In many developed countries there is a growing shortage of the stereotypically desired male mate. Typically college education, minimum US$ six figure annual income, generally in a white collar profession (and in North America, typically Caucasian). I'm not saying this should be the desired mate but based on dating trends, it is. In NYC, I think the ratio is 3:1 or something for women chasing after that specific desired partner, and it's getting "worse" around the world. College enrolments have skewed to higher % of women and so there are fewer and fewer of these mates, but have generally but what has been screened for historically.

2) Women continue to date older and men continue to date younger. But this impact is exacerbated by #1 above. So you'll find an increasing number of well educated women with good jobs considering dating "below" what their historically stated "social standing" would have historically dictated. Lots of single female lawyers and doctors in their 30's now that are coming to grips about dating men that work in trades, are not college educated, etc. It is not something that ever occurred to them historically as even an option. (My funny story on this is, I still keep in touch with a girl I used to date ages ago, and she is always shocked with my transition over the years as she dated me only cause I was a bad boy gangster wearing leather and with dyed hair previously.. )

3) It has generally been found that socio-economic status at upbringing generally decides who you know, who you date and what you care about.. The only reliable variable that statistically significantly crosses these lines has been education historically. Historically education has been correlated with societally a happier, healthier and more well behaved population (lower crime, less homelessness, etc)

So, all that being said, I can understand why people use education as a "screening criteria" for romance and employment. It clearly doesn't tell you everything about a person but it did historically prove to be a useful tool to narrow down prospects! Dating books now are specifically encouraging women to look into men working in trades to consider as mates! Things are changing but attitudes haven't kept up with demographic trends.

I wouldn't flame you for that. It is in the ballpark with what I said on it.

I think many who posted here and downplayed the importance of an education where doing so to be nice and not offend anyone.

There is a value in having an education.

As you said, it doesn't tell the whole story of an individual, but it does give you some insight to them.

I know I would not be happy with a high school educated Christian girl who listens to country music and who thinks Donald Trump is going to be an awesome president because he tells it like it is.

Nor would I be happy with a college educated girl who was all those things.

However, if I had to choose between a dating profile that only had their education level, I'm picking the one who went to college.

After looking at their pictures, of course.

 

[impish]

Education is how employers screen candidates for jobs. They aren't being mean, or snobby judging you or asking you to explain why you don't have a degree.

I've got 20 years experience in the industry for myself now education really doesn't matter if I need a job. That said I have been in a position to interview other people. People who I would have invited to an interview but can't because HR wouldn't allow it because of the degree, even though from what I saw on their resume I thought they deserved at least sit down time. The head of HR was a hard ass. I am lucky I got in before he came.

 

[impish]

Anyway for a software engineer, certifications and recent programing experience are going to be more important.

Also, I have no certifications. They are a waste of money as well. I know more people with certifications who come out being idiots than those without who end up being some of the smartest people I've ever worked with.

 

[Jbagz]

Also, I have no certifications. They are a waste of money as well. I know more people with certifications who come out being idiots than those without who end up being some of the smartest people I've ever worked with.

Not to get into a fencing match with you, but if a person or institution is being irrational for putting too much emphasis on certifications and degrees, then might the same be true of someone who despises certifications and categorically calls them a waste of money?

You sound like the absolute inverse of what irritates you. From my perspective there really isn't much difference from you and your hard-assed HR guy.

From what you describe, both of you operate with extreme prejudices.

 

[impish]

Not to get into a fencing match with you, but if a person or institution is being irrational for putting too much emphasis on certifications and degrees, then might the same be true of someone who despises certifications and categorically calls them a waste of money?

You sound like the absolute inverse of what irritates you. From my perspective there really isn't much difference from you and your hard-assed HR guy.

From what you describe, both of you operate with extreme prejudices.

See you're wrong I have no issue if someone goes and gets a degree or certificate. That is their choice, but I am not going to hire someone just because they have it. In many cases there are places who instead of testing your knowledge they simply won't hire you because you don't have a degree or certification. Hell they won't even invite you to the interview. That is my problem.

There are certain jobs where yes I agree a degree is the way to go because the only way to get that knowledge and experience is through higher ed. Anything in the medical profession. People doing physics (you need expensive equipment and the colleges have that). Certain STEM jobs essentially. There however has been a push that you NEED a degree to get a job when in fact there are a lot of jobs that "require" a degree when they could probably get by with a high school diploma and a little in house training (which they have to do anyway).

 

[Jbagz]

See you're wrong I have no issue if someone goes and gets a degree or certificate. That is their choice, but I am not going to hire someone just because they have it. In many cases there are places who instead of testing your knowledge they simply won't hire you because you don't have a degree or certification. Hell they won't even invite you to the interview. That is my problem.

There are certain jobs where yes I agree a degree is the way to go because the only way to get that knowledge and experience is through higher ed. Anything in the medical profession. People doing physics (you need expensive equipment and the colleges have that). Certain STEM jobs essentially. There however has been a push that you NEED a degree to get a job when in fact there are a lot of jobs that "require" a degree when they could probably get by with a high school diploma and a little in house training (which they have to do anyway).

Ok, now I understand you.

It was just a case of you not explaining yourself clearly in written language. That probably wouldn't have happened if you had a degree.

Just joking.

 

[impish]

 

[TheScientist]

That is their choice, but I am not going to hire someone just because they have it.

In the industry I work in, there are certain certifications that serve as a very good proxy to tell me the person's ability. I do look for those things when evaluating a resume but that said, I make sure to ask curve ball interview questions to be sure they really deserve that cert.