5 ms·

I was disappointed they didn't include "homemaker" or "unemployed" so you could see which professions supported a family by themselves.

missedthecue 5y ago
I think you'd see a lot of professions of people who culturally value a homemaker, not anything about the highest paying careers. My guess is that the list you describe would be dominated by the trades, trucking, and small business ownership.
- idiotsecant 5y ago
  At the very least, it speaks to your personal cultural views of the trades, trucking, and small business ownership!
  - missedthecue 5y ago
    Observations, really. I might add religious clergy to the list as well.
    - Talanes 5y ago
      It's pretty common for Pastor's wives to have a position in the church as well.
      - cryptofistMonk 5y ago
        Very often unpaid
        Talanes 5y ago
        The Pastors I've known in my life have been dual-income households, and Megachurches are infamous for using that set-up. Though I grew up in a small town with a decent mix of residential incomes, so there was no particularly poor churches in town.
      - Aeolun 5y ago
        Isn’t that nepotism?
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
        toyg 5y ago
        No, that's family values, totally different. /s
- notsureaboutpg 5y ago
  Feels disconnected from reality. Most people's two salaries barely make ends meet in the US and they don't have enough time for their kids. I don't think staying at home is cultural until you're talking about the top 10% of Americans
- tonymet 5y ago
  don't jump to conclusions there are many professionals who opt to be a home maker because it's best for their personal growth and family
- xupybd 5y ago
  This is true, I'm in a community that values having a parent at home with the kids. Many are on wages most would expect make it impossible but they live good lives. Some very small business owners, charity works (earning very little) and a few high paid professionals.
  - whatshisface 5y ago
    Stay-at-home parents do a lot of financially valuable but unaccounted work that can come quite close to improving the family finances almost as much as if they had a job near the median salary.
    - bobthepanda 5y ago
      Childcare has increased by 21x in price over the past 40 years. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/why-child-care-so-expensive/602599/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/why-child-... At 16k per child per year, one or two kids is equivalent to one or two persons making minimum wage.
      - bojangleslover 5y ago
        Well the minimum wage isn't meant to support more than one person
- paxys 5y ago
  Or really any profession which is concentrated in rural vs urban areas and/or has a younger demographic.
- globular-toast 5y ago
  Are there people who don't value a homemaker? You don't value good home-cooked food? A clean house? Clean clothes? Children clothed and fed? Everything else your mother did for you?
  - watwut 5y ago
    My mom worked. Basically all moms with kids over 3 years old worked.
  - wisty 5y ago
    If an adult child said they want to stay home, cook for you and clean the house, and maybe look after younger siblings, most people would say they need to grow up and get a job.
    - globular-toast 5y ago
      Can you really not see the difference here? You do know children generally outlive their parents, right? But the more general difference is a home maker is not a maid. A home maker owns the home. That's a very big difference. Somehow people have been convinced that it's better to work to build/maintain someone else's property instead of your own.
      - mahogany 5y ago
        > Somehow people have been convinced that it's better to work to build/maintain someone else's property instead of your own. It is a bit strange, isn't it? We've transitioned to having both parents work, but then we pay a large percentage of the extra income on child care, house upkeep (cleaning, repairs, improvements, etc), prepared food, etc. -- things that one parent could do if they were at home instead of working for someone else. It seems worse for the kids too, to have both parents working. It doesn't have to be the mother by the way. But I also don't think the idea of a stay-at-home mom should be as condemned as it is, at least in certain circles. Women should absolutely have the choice to not be a stay-at-home mom, but it should be a choice without stigma attached either way.
- grillvogel 5y ago
  You're making a lot of assumptions there. Is it "blue collar" to only have one working parent while the other takes care of the family? I would think most people would prefer that if they can make it work. I am a fairly well compensated software engineer and my wife stays home to take care of the kids because we can afford it, and many others that I work with do the same. It seems a bit silly to have her work just so that we can pay someone else to raise our children for us.
hammock 5y ago
The jobs where "Elementary and middle school teacher" show up top are often the ones where a non-working spouse are most common.

missedthecue 5y ago

I think you'd see a lot of professions of people who culturally value a homemaker, not anything about the highest paying careers. My guess is that the list you describe would be dominated by the trades, trucking, and small business ownership.

idiotsecant 5y ago
At the very least, it speaks to your personal cultural views of the trades, trucking, and small business ownership!
- missedthecue 5y ago
  Observations, really. I might add religious clergy to the list as well.
  - Talanes 5y ago
    It's pretty common for Pastor's wives to have a position in the church as well.
    - cryptofistMonk 5y ago
      Very often unpaid
      - Talanes 5y ago
        The Pastors I've known in my life have been dual-income households, and Megachurches are infamous for using that set-up. Though I grew up in a small town with a decent mix of residential incomes, so there was no particularly poor churches in town.
    - Aeolun 5y ago
      Isn’t that nepotism?
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
      - toyg 5y ago
        No, that's family values, totally different. /s
notsureaboutpg 5y ago
Feels disconnected from reality. Most people's two salaries barely make ends meet in the US and they don't have enough time for their kids. I don't think staying at home is cultural until you're talking about the top 10% of Americans
tonymet 5y ago
don't jump to conclusions there are many professionals who opt to be a home maker because it's best for their personal growth and family
xupybd 5y ago
This is true, I'm in a community that values having a parent at home with the kids. Many are on wages most would expect make it impossible but they live good lives. Some very small business owners, charity works (earning very little) and a few high paid professionals.
- whatshisface 5y ago
  Stay-at-home parents do a lot of financially valuable but unaccounted work that can come quite close to improving the family finances almost as much as if they had a job near the median salary.
  - bobthepanda 5y ago
    Childcare has increased by 21x in price over the past 40 years. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/why-child-care-so-expensive/602599/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/why-child-... At 16k per child per year, one or two kids is equivalent to one or two persons making minimum wage.
    - bojangleslover 5y ago
      Well the minimum wage isn't meant to support more than one person
paxys 5y ago
Or really any profession which is concentrated in rural vs urban areas and/or has a younger demographic.
globular-toast 5y ago
Are there people who don't value a homemaker? You don't value good home-cooked food? A clean house? Clean clothes? Children clothed and fed? Everything else your mother did for you?
- watwut 5y ago
  My mom worked. Basically all moms with kids over 3 years old worked.
- wisty 5y ago
  If an adult child said they want to stay home, cook for you and clean the house, and maybe look after younger siblings, most people would say they need to grow up and get a job.
  - globular-toast 5y ago
    Can you really not see the difference here? You do know children generally outlive their parents, right? But the more general difference is a home maker is not a maid. A home maker owns the home. That's a very big difference. Somehow people have been convinced that it's better to work to build/maintain someone else's property instead of your own.
    - mahogany 5y ago
      > Somehow people have been convinced that it's better to work to build/maintain someone else's property instead of your own. It is a bit strange, isn't it? We've transitioned to having both parents work, but then we pay a large percentage of the extra income on child care, house upkeep (cleaning, repairs, improvements, etc), prepared food, etc. -- things that one parent could do if they were at home instead of working for someone else. It seems worse for the kids too, to have both parents working. It doesn't have to be the mother by the way. But I also don't think the idea of a stay-at-home mom should be as condemned as it is, at least in certain circles. Women should absolutely have the choice to not be a stay-at-home mom, but it should be a choice without stigma attached either way.
grillvogel 5y ago
You're making a lot of assumptions there. Is it "blue collar" to only have one working parent while the other takes care of the family? I would think most people would prefer that if they can make it work. I am a fairly well compensated software engineer and my wife stays home to take care of the kids because we can afford it, and many others that I work with do the same. It seems a bit silly to have her work just so that we can pay someone else to raise our children for us.

hammock 5y ago

The jobs where "Elementary and middle school teacher" show up top are often the ones where a non-working spouse are most common.