Were there any professionals in your congregation?

JH

I was just wondering if you had any doctors, lawyers, pyschologists, psychiatrists, engineers or any highly educated ones in your congregation?

in a new york bethel minute

seems like the only succesful ones were business owners... the rest had jobs they hated... ahhhh to pioneer instead of working full time!

bethel

The closest we had to a professional at my KH was an elder who owned a small vending machine business. He was probably the most well to do in the congregation. He had a big house and drove a Mercedes. But you know what, the guy wasn't even that smart. He could barely read and I always got a kick out of hearing him read the articles or scripture. He inherited the business from his old man so I can't even say that he was a savvy businessman.

Finally-Free

I knew 2 men who were electrical engineers, but they got their education before they were JWs. Both eventually became elders. One of them became a JW after me, not so much because he believed in it but because his wife joined and he wanted to keep the peace in his family. I felt bad for him because he was a really nice guy and very intelligent. His wife was friends with mine, and said many times she wanted to dump him. She said she never loved him - she only married him because she wanted kids and he made good money.

W

anewme

You know in all my years as a Witness I do not remember of any professionals in my hall. In the next hall a brother was a doctor they said, but turned out to be a chiropractor. Most of the wealthier bros were business owners or guys who got jobs in the old days with IBM without degrees. I do believe some went to college a bit. Some were involved in the big computer wave here in Calif. But when that went bust they had to reinvent themselves. One young man in our hall was very bright. His mom remarried out of the truth a very rich man and this man sent the witness lad to Stanford University. If you dont go to college, its hard to become a professional.

Midget-Sasquatch

Only one professional in any KH I've ever been in. He had his Masters degrees in chemistry and taught a few courses at the college level. He also had work making dentures and bridges. Last I heard he had his own business in Northern Ontario. Quite a few college trained tradesmen though at the current congregation I'm officially in...electricians and HVAC experts.

damselfly

No

My old hall was made up of farmers, carpenters, janitors, car salesmen, and a guy who worked for IBM because he was trained way back when in Vocational school.

Dams

blondie

It all depends on how many professionals there are in the general area. In our area, we are near a large population area, with several large universities. We have had engineers, professors, accountants, nurses, physician assistants, teachers, CPAs, bankers, real estate agents (managers), government managers, lawyers, etc., in the congregations here.

If you were to go to another area where the largest town within 100 miles is 5,000 people, there are fewer professionals, period, among non-JWs; partly because the population does not provide the same number of employment opportunities for people with degrees. Thus there are fewer professionals in the congregations in the area.

BTW, I don't believe book learning makes a person less likely to succumb to a cult. Many cults focus on the campus here to find new recruits rather than the small towns in outlying areas.

Cults appeal to your emotions not your intellect.

Blondie

kid-A

Not a single doctor, lawyer, academic, etc in my old hall. But I agree with Blondie, susceptibility to the JWs is more to do with personality, emotional liability, etc, and less to do with level of education. Education is more dangerous to a witness born into it because suddenly their eyes are opened to forbidden knowledge.....but for new recruits that come in as adults, its usually some precipitating crisis that makes them vulnerable to the WTS, regardless of prior education, profession, etc.

Bonnie_Clyde

My son has a master's degree in electrical engineering. When he started his education, he was a good witness. By the time he finished, he decided it was a bunch of bunk. Oh well, guess his college messed him up. Taught him to think critically. Must be the reason why the WT is so down on college education. Of course, I wasn't a good witness for letting him go.