One of my close friends is a female emergency doc. She's single and while showing her matches on dating apps, she declined to meet with a 'cute" guy because he was a steelworker. When prompted she emphasized that they're in different careers and doesn't' think he could understand the complexity of her job. I'm speculating but she clearly is interested in men with more status although steelworkers can make a good income.

One of my good friends is a doctor. He's had modest success in dating and overall does pretty well. He's looking at a great career full of financial remuneration. His recent girlfriend is someone who is a veterinary technician. She has a sociology undergraduate degree but fell in love with animals. She supplements her income by being a dog walker. There was some discussion about doing veterinary school but there hasn't been any real action. She is not paying her debt and he pays for all social outings together.

When talking to her, she makes these grand life plans including vacations and a future house. These are not material items she can afford and isn't making plans to pay for them.

I bring this up with my female and male friends and none raise eyebrows at either situation. As a man, I want to bring up the pragmatic nature of his life and where his relationship is heading. There was a general surgery resident who less attractive but was completely interested in him. Will the slight difference in appearance really matter in 10-15 years?

As men, why don't we push other men to find partners based on status and be more pragmatic and overlook some physical flaws? This thread isn't meant to disparage female selection of men but merely ask why we don't encourage more men to do it.

PS: the vet tech is reasonably attractive to him although not my taste.