Forget who gets the car, birth order may impact your career
If only the kids would get along, instead of blaming everything on their brothers or sisters.
But the reality is that all siblings aren't created equal and they don't get treated as such. Firstborns, for example, often get shafted because parents are stricter with them, while later-born kids often have fewer rules to cope with.
Now, however, it turns out that those first-born kids are the most likely to earn six figures and hold a top executive position among workers with siblings, according to findings from jobs website CareerBuilder.
Meanwhile, middle kids are the most likely to report holding an entry-level spot and earning less than $35,000.
First borns tend to be drawn to government positions and science, CareerBuilder reports. Middle children lean toward public service and care-taking roles while the youngest in families prefer more creative roles and technology.
When it comes to annual earnings for men, firstborns earn about 1.2% more than second children, and about 2.8% more than third children. For women, firstborns earn about 4.2% more than secondborns, and about 6.6% more than thirdborns.
But if it's just a brother or sister in play, parents needn't worry as much. According to New York University professor Dalton Conley, birth order is really a red herring in two-child families.
In his book "The Pecking Order: Which Siblings Succeed and Why," he says it’s only when the second born becomes the middle child in a family of three or more that birth order starts to matter.
Ask my daughters.
Is this the way things play out in your family? Is the first born the big earner? Or have you managed to break the pattern somehow?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: bill | Oct 8, 2021 6:09:55 PM
I love that people on here say they don't believe the survey because for them it just isn't true. ...hmm statistics measuring a representative sample size with a mathematically accepted probability of error, or one guy/gal who bucks the trend, people are dumb.
Posted by: Joe Joe | Oct 8, 2021 11:01:54 PM
Please ....please ...Do not publish this kind of survey. What about a child who has no sibling?
Posted by: Jake | Oct 9, 2021 12:38:53 AM
I'm so glad I read the comments before the article. I am the middle child and make less than 35 k. But I don't have a drinking problem and I genuienely like my life and am happy with where I've went with my life and choices. Life is more than money!
Posted by: Dr. J Lindon's wife | Oct 9, 2021 2:08:15 AM
I haven't seen the good doctor's private practice for some time. He likes his clothes so it's hard to get him 'out of the closet'....