Forum: A job title doesn’t tell the whole story of a person

The commentary by Straits Times associate editor and senior columnist Chua Mui Hoong, on how skilled tradesmen are regarded and rewarded, kicks off an interesting discussion (How would you respond if your graduate daughter dated a plumber?, April 14).

Ms Chua raised a point about the need for social attitudes to change towards hands-on or manual work and puts the spotlight on a troubling trend in society today. The question asked about marrying a plumber suggests that society limits the range of attributes a woman may find attractive in a man to the social status of his occupation.

A job title can be an indicator of who a man is, but it’s not the whole story.

An accomplished and highly educated woman is often going to be attracted to a man who, aside from any physical attraction, is intellectually her equal. But equal doesn’t mean the same – he doesn’t need to be able to beat her in a biochemistry test.

A plumber who reads widely has intellectual curiosity. He can be someone who is creative, loves music or likes to make art and build innovative things. A plumber who is socially intelligent, comfortable with his own skills and creates a fun social bubble for all around him is not inferior to a graduate.

There are also plumbers who run their own businesses. Skilled tradesmen do make solid money, with pay that can rival that earned by many college graduates.

Desmond Cheng