Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Computer Geeks As Loners? Data Says Otherwise

Posted by Soulskill on from the guess-what-day-it-is dept.

Computerworld reports on an analysis of census data to compare marriage rates for different professions. They found the rate for tech workers to be similar to that of other white-collar professions, and significantly higher than the rate for the general population. 62.1% of people with IT jobs are married, as are 56.5% of scientists and 65.5% of engineers. This compares well to people in legal professions (62.0%), medical jobs (61.3%), and finance (62.4%). 51% of the adult U.S. population was married as of the 2010 census. Tech workers do have a slightly higher percentage of people who have never married — 26.7% of IT workers and 31.9% of scientists — but they also have slightly fewer divorces.

4 of 158 comments (clear)

  1. Great, now I feel even lonelier by ebunga · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just what I needed to read on singles shaming day.

    1. Re:Great, now I feel even lonelier by inasity_rules · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I refer to it as Singles Awareness Day. Or, S.A.D.

      --
      I have determined that my sig is indeterminate.
  2. This doesn't mean they're not loners. by AlphaBro · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In fact, this is yet another symptom. Their crushing loneliness compels them to wife the first woman that gives them a chance. I've seen this pattern repeatedly throughout the course of my career. It makes work related social events even more unbearable, having to endure exposure to so many unhappy marriages and whatnot.

  3. Re:employment and salaries by benjfowler · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I suspect that when women want to settle down and marry, they're after stability. Obviously, a man who has his act together enough to have an IT degree and a steady-paying job is stable, is likely to make a reliable husband/father, and is thus, worth marrying.

    The transition point where women are happy to marry, is usually 20-ish for people without tertiary qualifications, 30-ish for people with bachelor degrees or better. What I've seen in the IT industry bears this out -- everyone under 30 is either single -- or if they have good social skills -- dating. EVERYONE over 30, without exception, is married. Even the complete, unwashed neckbeards.

    In contrast, the people I've known, who were cocky winners in high-school, but otherwise dumb as dogsh*t, and stuck on low-paying jobs or the dole? Single, or bouncing between unstable, shitty relationships with fat ugly single mothers.

    Stability is catnip for women looking to marry.