Dating someone much more educated than you?

You sound like a catch. I have completely different interests to my husband. He's the sort that does maths on holiday for fun when he's not playing golf. I hate golf and my maths was good but nothing special.

Intelligence isn't about mere qualifications, @LemonSheep .
There are plenty of older generation people who didn't go to university , but worked their way up, and these are a lot more ''savvy'' than many graduates- Look at Sir Alan Sugar.
Nobody's fool, and left school at 16.

@LemonSheep glad you are going for it. Right decision. Let us know how you get on!

I married someone who was going back to uni to do a second degree. No student loan, no help. I worked and held off on children and getting a house for 4 years to support him. It is a not particularly well paid job either in the industry he is in (£37000) after 4 years of study and 7 years working. Do I care? Nope. I love him and vice versa. That’s all that matters.

don’t overthink it

In my experience, these kind of educational mismatch relationships always fail seem to fail because the one with the lower level of education gets a massive chip on their shoulder and effectively tries to neg the one with the higher level of education to compensate. I've seen it happen many times and it's unpleasant to witness.

However... if you genuinely don't care, I don't see the issue. As you say, you have lots of great achievements in your own right and you both bring something to the table, so it's OK for you to both have different strengths and experiences!

Good luck. :)

Are you interesting? Can you keep up with conversations that range from the tennis to the differences between Jamie Oliver or Nigella? If you're saying you don't care or you don't know, then it's likely you won't last. But if you can laugh about it, or have a pretend serious conversation, "well, if you cannot appreciate Jamie's superiority in tearing herbs rather than Nigela's fine chopping, then I'm afraid we are never going to get on!".

As someone with a lot of formal education, I love a man who can hold his own, be witty, ask interesting questions and have a thoughtful opinion. His formal education doesn't matter.

From what you've said, you run a business and you've expanded it, so you've seen gaps in the market and managed risk to plug them. That's pretty fucking clever in my book and you don't need a piece of paper to show you've got some nous about you.

And I've been laughed into bed more often than I've been inspired by an education.

It can sometimes work well because you may have skills that each other might lack.
Education doesn't necessarily equate with intelligence as I'm sure she knows.
If you get on well then you may be as intelligent as each other but she just has more academic qualities whereas you went in a practical direction.
You could end up being the perfect team!

I think all most women want when it comes down to it really, is a man who they can trust and who will treat them with kindness and respect, and who they enjoy the company of.
That's literally it. You don't need vast wealth or a PHD... or anu other specific thing.
Just kindness, decency and to hit it off naturally personality wise.

You sound like a decent guy and down to earth. It also sounds like you respect this woman.

from what you’ve said, I can’t see you making things awkward at the club. She could, but if you’re already on friendly terms, I doubt that very much. Most women are flattered if they’re asked respectfully.

for these reasons, I’d say go for it. Ask her out. It might not work ( regardless of either party’s qualifications) but I reckon it’s far more likely to be a success if you’ve met each other in real life.

I have a couple of female friends who are educated to post grad level ( one a PhD, the other a masters) who are married to guys who left school at 16 and eventually set up their own businesses. They are very happy together

You are obviously intelligent, with many good qualities. Tennis is quite a middle class hobby and perhaps you see it as much for business networking as true socialising. Do you generally “fit in” there in terms of the broader cultural capital aspects? If yes then your lack of formal education is not relevant. If you are anti -intellectual then being with an academic would be a poor match.

Totally depends on the person, many would find it more attractive that you have a different skillset to them and have practical skills.

I could fix your computer or hack your enemy but ask me to put up a shelf and I'm totally lost, even with YouTube. YouTube is the bane of my life because all the DIY videos start with someone saying "this is super easy, don't worry" and then immediately pull out 10 items of equipment I don't own and start talking gibberish.

If she’s actually significantly smarter than you, it’s probably not going to last (might be a nice fling though) but if you just mean she has much more formal education than you, that’s not necessarily an issue - you are going to be a lot better at running a business and managing people than her.

It’s true enough that most couples roughly match on education / occupation and attractiveness - so given she is going to be a thinker, you will likely have to be much the same - but if you are and everything else falls into place, then your surface differences won’t matter.

Anyway the only way to find out is to ask her out.

Go for it and good luck (your mates do not have your back here so be aware of that)

Ask her out!

So great that you met someone you like organically (the dream...).

Absolutely this.
If your lot are stuck in the stone age,and her lot are snobby.. it won't work.
But If you both have friends that actually know you..
Education means nothing.
How you relate to each other. That's what matters.

Does it bother you that she's much more educated than you? If not, why should it bother her? Just ask her out and see how it goes! If you like her and get on well, I'd just go for it, don't overthink it. It sounds like you both just have different skillsets that's all!

No she sounds much smarter than me 🤪

You are a successful business person so you obviously intelligent. I would focus on interests and attraction.

As long as you both have genuine respect for the others' achievements in life, what's not to like?

Speaking personally, I don't apologise any more for my degrees, my intellectual and other interests and my tastes. They are what they are. Some are 'posh', some are intellectual and some aren't. If my partner doesn't want to do some of them, I'll happily go and do things with other people.

But do you have areas of crossover in what you enjoy doing? Do you enjoy talking to each other? That does matter. You're only going to find out by getting together and giving it a go. Enjoy.

I hate it when I meet new people and they ask “so what do you do?” like it’s an insight into my personality. I start off with hobbies, not work. Most people are not defined by their job. If she likes you, she likes you!