I was never one of those girls who could be sold on a man by his profession. I think this stems from two reasons: 1) I have lofty goals and 2) I know that a career does not make a man (quite the opposite, really).

This is why when a man has come up to me in the past and said “I’m a doctor, lawyer, investment banker, professor”, I get that shiny glazed over look in my eyes and try for the nearest exit. If you’re picking me up based on your profession…yuck.

So what I’m addressing now is the all-too-common level of excitement women (and their Jewish mothers) get when they are going on a date with a doctor. (Or insert whatever profession there).

I’m just going to play devil’s advocate for a second here — but I can understand why people get excited by the idea of dating someone who is a ______.

Let’s use doctor as an example. One could argue that most doctors are intelligent, kind, and compassionate people. Let’s give them slightly above average ratings on those three characteristics. Then, let’s add their ability to make sacrifices (ask any doctor or current med school student, sacrifices must be made) and level of perseverance — I think that’s the most important one — and you could argue that they are diligent workers and dedicated to their goals. If you take away the status that comes with being a doctor, it doesn’t change the character traits. Now, this is not accounting for the douchebags I’m certain most of you have had the displeasure of encountering, just a bell-curve type of analysis.

The same applies to other things like a teacher (loves kids?), lawyer (I have no positive spin on this one), investment banker (dresses well, haha).