SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

I've noticed a few posts over the (almost) past year where someone would comment and say, "infidelity is rampant in that profession." Off the top of my head, a few I remember seeing:

-the medical profession

-university/professors

-law enforcement (my WS falls in this category)

-sports

I don't think I've ever seen any politician posts, but that obviously comes to mind, as well.

I know not everyone in these professions cheat. I know that, sadly, many people cheat, so there are cheaters working all sorts of jobs.

And I'm sure this could turn into a chicken/egg discussion -- are cheaters attracted to these jobs for a reason? Or do these jobs some how encourage/promote/make it easy to engage in cheating?

My question is... are there any other professions that are "known" for cheating?

[This message edited by ibonnie at 8:10 AM, December 21st (Friday)]

I've seen a few in Education. My wife falls in that category.

Truckers. I've seen a few on here. But its rampant. My cheater is in this category.

Any profession that involves lots of travel with high paid men seems to be rampant. Executives in general, especially when coupled with travel.

Business is setup to reward narcissistic and psychopathic traits in people, the higher you climb, the more likely you are to run into people who display these characteristics. Add in the money that comes at the top and the travel, I know very few high paid traveling execs who don't have a side.

Oh, and booze. For sure. The guys staying out drinking almost all the time, cheating (if they fall into the aforementioned group).

Traveling salesmen

Airline staff

Construction

Real estate agents

Mikitary personnel

I have seen all of the above here

I personally know cheaters in all the categories mentioned.

I think the higher the income the more likely they are to cheat.

I have known several cheaters in law enforcement. If I’m ever single again and open to dating I will not date anyone in law enforcement. I guess hanging around criminals runs off in them.

restaurants/hospitality

If I’m ever single again and open to dating I will not date anyone in law enforcement. I guess hanging around criminals runs off in them.

Seriously!! My WS is relatively new, but the amount of stories he's told me of other officers getting away with or turning a blind eye to is horrifying -- DUIs, drug use, sexual assault/rape . It just pisses me off because the only reason these people get away with it is they wear a uniform and have a badge. That doesn't make it right to engage in the very same behavior they're arresting people for. Disgusting!

[This message edited by ibonnie at 9:03 AM, December 21st (Friday)]

Not sure there's any prevalence among professions, but nursing and medical folks seem to show up here as WS a lot. I would add anyone in a corporate environment, a larger office type thing promotes, supports, and even encourages this behavior.

Yes. Some professions require a person be very outgoing, have narcissistic tendencies, or issues with power, and those are all risk factors for affairs.

One that I don't see mentioned here--entertainers. WW is a musician who, naturally, thrives on the attention she gets from others. Add in consistent alcohol use and it's a recipe for disaster.

The chicken/egg question is very interesting. It's easy to see why someone with issues might be drawn to these professions, but it's also easy to watch how the professions exacerbate already risky marriages by flooding them with dangerous situations.

My theory is that it's any profession with people in it! In all reality the more people you deal with thru the job the higher the availability of wounded people willing to do this.

I think that any job that requires unusual hours and/or grants the person a great deal of flexibility in their schedule makes it "more likely," that they have the opportunity to choose infidelity.

Again, it is highly individualized and I do believe that any person, given a certain set of circumstances, can be a WS.

The stats on law-enforcement actually show a slightly higher divorce rate than the norm, but that divorce due to infidelity is proportional to the norm. In English: If the average for divorce is 50 out of 100 then cops might be 55. If the average for infidelity in those 50 is 20 then for cops it might be 21.

What’s interesting is that the research shows that spouses of cops are more likely to cheat than “normal” spouses. So out of that 21 maybe half are because the spouse of a cop cheated.

There is a theory that the unique type of stress caused by the uncertainty of law-enforcement work causes a strain on the marriage. The stress is due to the perception that anything could happen so being late home is a strain, hearing sirens is a strain, hearing news of a shooting is a strain… This is also thought to be the reason for the increase in military-divorce due to constant active deployments. It wasn’t this high when the typical military personel was based in the US or in a safe place like Germany or England.

Any profession a cheater is engaged in....

Specifically - Trucking: whether they be owner, driver or mechanic, either sex. Charter Boats: be they captain, owner, employee, guest or maintenance crew including (surprise - not) the mechanics again either sex. Education: any level and any position, either sex. Hotel Industry: owner, manager, front desk, housekeeping, guest...doesn't matter. Retail: usually this was manager, underling (literally).

The one industry I didn't see it in was the Professional Escort (Babysitter) business. The kind that you hire to ensure your employees actually attend the conventions you are paying massive sums of money for them to go to. Got hit on more than I can count but no one I knew that I worked for or with put out unless it was to put the client out at the curb.

[This message edited by SimplyRed at 12:17 PM, December 21st (Friday)]

Actors... stage, TV and movies.

Detention officers at jails and prisons.

Teachers.

Restaurateurs.

SAHMom or dad

Any profession where there is a high level of stress and people dependent on each other for getting the particular job done well is game for cheating. In my case she was a physician and the AP was also a physician, both working in an emergency room so they were together a lot in stressful situations.

I just don't think it is possible to say it is more prevalent in any one (or more) professions. We see it across the board here, and plenty of SAH spouses as well.

And for the record, mine was law enforcement. But it wasn't the occupation that *encouraged* him to cheat. He would have cheated no matter what his occupation was because that's just who he is.

My WH travels for a living making a good living in a unique job. I think traveling makes it easier & lots of people in his line of work end up divorcing; could be from cheating, too much time away, or a combo of the two.

I cannot say my WH's job due to security issues - but basically anything where people are constrained to tight quarters daily and must have continued contact with each other. Anything traveling related where there is lot of downtime together with co-workers would be rife.

The airline industry is a perfect example complete with eating out, bars, and hotel rooms on the regular. Years ago I dated a pilot and it seemed like affairs were more likely than not.

Look at the lists of the "loneliest professions" and you can take that either way. I am an attorney, continually listed on the loneliest professions, and I would agree. I have contact with other people - like AT ALL - for about 15 minutes of my day. As I'm a woman and most of the support staff are as well, I would have to really go looking to make an actual in-person contact with a male colleague on any kind of regular basis. I'm sure I could try to flirt with people I email all the time but again that would require a lot of effort on my part to make any kind of personal connection in the first place. While it's totally possible, the "we were just friends and didn't mean for this to happen" isn't nearly as likely. In 10 years I think I've had 1 person come onto me that is work related - compare that to when I was a waitress where it seemed to be ongoing.

[This message edited by ThisIsSoLonely at 2:35 PM, December 21st (Friday)]