To think that most families have a common/most popular occupation?

[workit]

I am from a large family...over 40 cousins and several aunts and uncles

In my family there's 12 nurses!! The rest are a mix of
3 teachers
4 engineers
1 doctor
1 accountant
2 electricians
1 plumber
1 microbiologist
1 speech therapist
1 hairdresser
1 counselor
3 in IT
The rest are in uni or school

A friend of mine comes from a large family also but the most common occupation in her family is teaching. Does this happen in most families? Is there a popular occupation in your family?

My family has a sort of 'public service' vibe.

A few nurses, a few police, one nurse that went into the police.
A scattering of teachers / lecturers and a couple of own businesses.

Yes in our family that has been true. Working for the NHS or care homes was the most common then its moved on to education as some of the older generation have passed.

Partly I think it's down to it being common to meeting partners in work and then often children follow in parent's footsteps. I now work in education and so many of the teachers have both parents , siblings and partners who are also teachers.

I previously worked in the NHS and it was the same there. In our department new starters would be shown around and in every office it would be 'this is joe, he is married to mavis in the blue office, this is betty, she is the aunty of pete in the green office, this chris, her son works in the yellow office' etc.

My mum is one of 8 and 4 were in the nursing industry and 2 in transport, my sister also works in transport, I have 2 cousins that work as chefs, 1 cousin has his own painting and decorating business and I'm share dealing

Some families do seem to favour certain common occupations. We've got 7 nurses in our family.

My mother and her sister are both lecturers. My dad was too. Between my siblings and cousins there's a farmer, a trawler captain, a musician/music teacher, two doctors, a surgeon and a chef. One perpetual student. I let the side down by running nightclubs and not using my degree.

Nursing running in families is quite common ime. My youngest wants to be a doctor but I'd love it if she wanted to be a nurse like me!

Dh and I are both teachers, but we are each the first one in our families. Dh's brother and my dsis' husband are teachers too though, but obvs neitherof them are my blood relatives. In our wider families there aren't any jobs in common.

It's teachers in my family. DF, an uncle, an aunt, bil, sil and 2 cousins. Paternal grandfather too, although he died a long time ago.

We nearly all do sales, but in very varied industries! One in medical services, one in publishing, one in manufacturing, one in art. Our parent was a sales director.

I definitely think it’s true that DC often do what parents or grandparents do- often because they see that role being done, and it helps them understand that job exists, how to get that job, how to succeed in it etc.

Children of doctors and teachers often do the same, children of actors, chefs and so on. It’s a thing.

I have nearly the same amount of cousins as you, OP, and I don't have a clue what many of them do nowadays. Except the youngest ones who are at school/uni. I don't even know what all my uncles and aunts did/do. But those whose occupation I'm aware of, there does not seem to be any real theme running through.

I would say it’s more that there are a few professions that often seem to spread through siblings and across generations - medicine or law, for example. Which isn’t the same as every family having a common thread career-wise.

My family is full of entrepreneurs and artists

I my extended family there is an overrepresentation of teachers.

In my family it is education. DH and I both teachers. My Mum is a TA. MIL is school admin and PIL and BIL school site staff.

Not in my family but I have a lot of friends who are nurses and come from nursing families, e.g there parents were both nurses and so are their siblings. My ex was an accountant and so was all of his extended family!

I don't know... myself and all my siblings and my dad run our own businesses (different businesses) I don't have any other extended family so not much to choose from!

It does happen - in my experience it seems that doctors, teachers, solicitors and firefighters often run in families down several generations, but I’d say most of the time this is not the case. My dad worked in the oil industry (not a geologist), my sister too (also not a geologist), my DBs and I are geologists (but only one of us works in the oil industry).

DH,his parents and his brother are all engineers, but in very different fields.

In my family no. In dhs family all the men are plumbers, electricians or mechanics. The women are healthcare assistants, nurses and sw.

I come from a big family with lots of cousins (more than 25 of us but I am one of the eldest). Me and my husband are both working in the legal profession and thats how we met.
In my family we have:
5 teachers
1 investmant banker
2 doctors
2 pharmacists
1 optometrist
1 IT worker
1 social worker
1 psychologist
The younger ones who go to university are being encouraged to take more science based courses. (I am from a culture that takes a very proactive role in their children's education).

Big family here. A chunky proportion of my relatives are self employed/SMBs. Most have been hammered by COVID. Property also a big feature in my family.

Of the employed ones, it's a variety, all in the private sector.

Cabbies are most popular in my family at the moment. I'm the third to work with children. Though a lot chop and change careers after 10 years at most! On my side, over 16s we have:

4 cabbies (2 ex-builders)
3 long term unemployed
2 retired Foster carers, one now a cabbie
2 self employed (house renovating together in spare time and builder/outdoors instructor)
2 retired
5 unknown
1 gardener
1 manager in property sales
1 small craft business person
1 Estate agent
1 working in a school after big city job
1 lorry driver
1 engineer
1 office worker
1 bin man
1 outdoor learning facilitator
3 I'm assuming in education

I have seen this in a lot of families. The common themes are medicine, law, teaching and politics. I'm fascinated as it's not clear if it's a genetic impulse (if adopted at both would they choose the same career?) or conditioning/expectation. For example a girl I went to school with, her patents and brother were all doctors. She chose to be an actuary and they were really taken aback and a bit offended. (Indian family so perhaps a different dynamic). Even though an actuary is an amazing career to have!I

There isn't really any pattern in my family. There are 5 cousins (all on my mum's side). We are:
Solicitor (married to accountant)
PR exec (married to publisher)
Translator (married to accountant)
Graphic designer (married to dress agency owner)
Teacher (married to police officer)

My parents are a pharmacist and podiatrist.
Cousins parents are teacher and utility company manager.

Our common grandparents were newspaper editor and SAHM (clerk before marriage).

It’s not clear if it's a genetic impulse (if adopted at both would they choose the same career?) or conditioning/expectation

I know a few doctors where it was definitely expectation. In a couple of cases, the expectation to go to the same medical school as the parent/grandparent.

Venture capitalist, accountant, 3 teachers (2 of which were maths), economist, 1 chief purser who became victualling superintendent but started off in accounts.

Maths/musical ability strong in 1 part of family, perhaps that's why.