Dating by Profession: Retailers Don't Say No; Students Can't Get a Date

Are you a lawyer who's married to a computer programmer? Chances are you might not have even dated if you first met online.

In a recent study of its users database, The Grade, a popular mobile dating app, analyzed users' matches and found out that a person's occupation plays a key role in determining who they will and will not date. What's most interesting is that hardly anyone likes the idea of dating within their own job field, with the exception of artists, doctors, and teachers.

So if you're a lawyer, which professions are you more likely to match with?

According to The Grade, out of all of the user profiles that lawyers like, someone working retail is more likely to like them back. This could be for any number of reasons. Retail workers may be drawn to lawyers because of their knowledge of the law in relation to workers' rights, or simply because they've read one too many John Grisham novels.

However, when it comes to someone else liking a lawyer first, the results are inconclusive. This either mean that lawyers don't respond to people who like them unless the lawyers liked them first, that they have no real occupational preference, or that they're too picky for their own good.

As for a computer programmer, the best chance for a match is with a babysitter or a nanny. Similarly, as with lawyers, programmers are least likely to match with others who like them first. The worst chance for a match for programmers is with students, while for lawyers, it's programmers.

Other interesting facts from The Grant's analysis:

• Those who work in finance or accounting match with those in retail more often than any other occupations.
• Firefighters have an extremely high "like" ratio, with artists and musicians liking them more than other occupations.
• While doctors are more likely to match with other doctors, nurses are the next best thing.
• Those working in retail jobs discriminate less based on a potential mate's occupation, while artists come in second.
• Actors and dancers hate entrepreneurs, and vice versa.

Still, this should all be taken with a grain of salt, since most daters have no idea what they want in a potential mate, even if they think otherwise. This is especially true for online dating, where the sheer number of options are overwhelming. Plus, think about how easy it is to like or pass on somebody based on looks alone, as with Tinder.

To see more on the best and worst chances for a match in online dating, check out The Grade's infographic below, as well as their site to see the top five best and worst matches for each occupation. And for comparison's sake, check out eHarmony's results for their own service a few years ago.

If you want to give The Grade a try, you can download their iOS app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch (iOS 7 and higher) for free.