Now with the average marrying age for both men and women in the United States hovering pretty damn closes to 30, it’s become clear that people are waiting to settle down. Whether it’s because they haven’t found the right person or are hoping to get their career on the right track before walking down the aisle, the fact is that marriage just isn’t a number one priority for many. But a new study has found that marriage has a positive effect on men's career and salary.
Research has found that marriage is a factor in both financial and career success, and it ups their desires to be responsible for not just themselves, but their family. One report found that, on average, married men work about 400 more hours more a year than single men and a study done by Harvard found that married men are less likely to engage in risky job related behavior, like up and leaving a job they hate without having something else lined up.
When it comes down to numbers, there’s also a big difference, too: Married men between 28 and 30 years of age make almost $16,000 more a year than singles in the same age bracket, and married men between 44 and 46 make $18,800 more a year than their single counterparts. In other words, married men get their shit together when they tie the knot.
But while marriage has this positive effect on men, researchers also wanted to know why this is the case. Well, there’s the societal aspect, for one. As sociologist Steven Nock explains, marriage is pretty much the last “rite of passage into manhood,” and although the genders are becoming more and more equal in the concept of who will be the provider, traditionally, that role is still thought to belong to the man. It’s that thinking that motivates men to essentially take their life by the balls and try to make themselves better than the men they were before they got hitched. There’s also the fact that with marriage comes a partner who will support them emotionally and mentally, so reaching their goals aren’t something they’re doing on their own.
While this study is great news for married men, it’s a rude wakeup call for guys who are either not there yet or have skipped the marriage all together, and with 69 percent of Millennials thinking other priorities should come before marriage, it seems only a minority of men will reap the benefits of married life. That’s OK, though. It’s better to marry because you believe in it as an institution and are in love, than to do it in the hopes of making bank. Now that would be a messed up priority.
Images: Cadrey Wehr/Flickr; Giphy
