Egyptian culture is so accomodating. In the Indopak culture, if you are not a doctor you are out of luck :)

i believe i am more into the family side. however in Egyptian society people often look down to those who don't have education degree. therefor having a degree become important not just to increase your income but also become part of tradition believes and gain respect from the soceity.

however i had an egyptian friend who break the rules of "each egyptian need to have a degree" . He actually worked 2 jobs saved money and opened his own business.

if you put this way, then I change my choice and this goes for men and women as well. Of course if I have to choose (or if I have to give an advice to my sister) between education and marriage I will choose education. Education is something that needs to be done in a certain time frame for you to really benefit from then when you get done with you can plan for marriage. It is for sure sweet if you can do both together but since you are asking for a choice then I choose education. Still as Theanisa said I may change my choice for a particular person in very pecular situations.

i meant by career is educational career.

there are people who work without a degree and can save money for marriage.

ofcurse if i put a 3rd choice then everyone will choose family and career, but i want to see which is the most side u will take. are you more into career or more into family.

you say my question is not realistic, but i will give you example. there are many college students refuse marriage until they finish their educational career (especially from Egypt). and the most career that force u to be single or marry in old age is being a "doctor". there are even people spend all their money on education and then they are not satisfy with their job and end up doing something else with less wages. and at the end they cannot afford marriage anyhow.

i see some american students still go to college while they are married. u can tell that she choosed family first and then career.

I'm sorry, not to be rude... but this question is really... well... odd to say the least... ...

A career is an ongoing thing... whether thats owning a shawarma store, being a cab driver, or being an investment banker... a career doesnt stop just because you got married... (and that goes for men and women)... both can continue after marraige, and kids... granted it does require adjustments and compromises...

"Finishing" your career could mean a few things... retirement, death (God forbid) or some other awful accident which disables you from working, or getting involved in a highly public scandal which so tarnishes your reputation that you can never work again ... I have NEVER heard of an employer making the employee choose between family or career... (in-fact, isnt that illegal?)

Socially, for men at least - if you stop working... well there are social stigmas that go along with that too.

I'm not quite sure what the NewCairo's intent was at putting this question up... its highly unrealistic.

You're right Theanisa about the multitude of factors that impact a decision as such, and that it's not always so cut and dry. ....But I know some actual cases where that scenario exists and it comes down to making that choice between family vs. career.

Those cases are with "women" mainly having to make that decision, and they're viewed as "abnormal" to even discuss it as family comes first without a doubt!!!!!

While family of course is important without a doubt, but I get irritated when the woman is robbed of the right to at least discuss her dreams besides having a family, and her goals for the future, and possible solutions to make everyone happy.

There is nothing wrong with the husband trying to help his wife fulfill those dreams even if it means sacrificing a few extra things, especially if the family is not affected.

Could it be that's why we see many Egyptian women today choosing higher education over marriage, to ensure that their life goals are put out of the way before marriage..lest marriage interferes...?

there are people who focus on their career and ignore everything else. even though i will be more respected in my society but i will hate living alone.

there is a certain age when a person comes to it, he/she will get used to his life rotine and refuse to change it or share it with someone else.

u r definitely right but if I have to choose as Hossam put it, I would go for family. A poor family is better than a rich individual, that's my choice :)

I guess career is different from a job. Minimum wage jobs are still jobs and anyone can do them but developing a career needs education, training and experience. Just putting bread on the table is not a big deal. Anyway, I would definitely choose family.