Here's the other catch that I'm not seeing on this thread so far...maybe it's down further.
My best friend in high school had parents who did not have comperable educations. Her father was a plumber (making VERY good money) and her mother had at least a college liberal arts education. It was all good while their kids were growing up because when you have kids, you go to school events and you can always talk about your kids.
The problem was, once the nest was empty and it was back down to the two of them, they had to face each other again. These two had absolutely nothing in common. She liked the theater and classical music. He liked hunting, college football, and country music. They didn't have any common interests and as a result, they got divorced as 30 years of marriage because they realized they couldn't stand each other.
Yes, they should have stuck it out, but my point is, you're more likely to be happy when you marry someone of comperable education and with comperable interests because you have something to talk about, you have some activities you don't mind doing together, and you're more likely to have compatible goals. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been told this and it makes sense.
Absolutely that's important! I like to do things with my husband and we're very compatible personalities. Same taste in books, movies, entertainment in general, we're both total geeks, and we understand and respect each other's jobs, which is huge. My mom never quite understood what my dad does all day and I know that had to be tough.
I don't think education matters as much as common interests.
My dad has a degree in engineering, and my mom didn't go to college. Yet, they have been married for over 50 years. When they were younger, they were into sports: golf, bowling, tennis. As they have gotten older, they both love playing games: boggle, bridge. Almost every single night they play boggle together.
My husband and I have similar education, but we don't actually have as many interests in common as my parents. It makes it hard now that I'm not working, and he is.
I think we'll be okay because some of our common interests we just can't do right now. We both love to travel, and with 3 kids we just can't afford that. Once the kids are out of the house, we'll easily be able to hop in a car and go on vacations.