- Story Highlights
- Each birth position has a special role within families, expert says
- Position leads to different adaptation patterns, personalities and possibly jobs
- Firstborns are ambitious, assertive, dominant and disciplined
- Last borns were the least likely to report earning six figures, survey says
Firstborn
Personality: Firstborns are ambitious, assertive, dominant and disciplined compared to their younger siblings. They're determined to succeed yet fearful of losing position and rank, and are defensive about errors and mistakes, Dattner says.
Compensation: A recent survey by CareerBuilder.com found that workers who were the firstborn child in their families were more likely to earn $100,000 or more annually compared to their siblings.
Professions: The oldest tend to pursue vocations that require higher education, like medicine, engineering or law. Firstborns from the CareerBuilder.com survey reported working in jobs in government, engineering, pharmacy and science. Ohio State University researchers found firstborn children were more likely to pursue "intellectual" jobs.
Job level: Workers who are firstborn are more likely to report holding a vice president or senior management position, according to the survey.
Famous firstborns: Oprah, Hillary Clinton, Winston Churchill, Sylvester Stallone and Bill Clinton.
Middle
Personality: Middle children are good at negotiation, peacemaking and compromise, Dattner says. They are easy-going, diplomatic and are usually closer to friends than family.
Compensation: More middle children identified themselves as earning $35,000 or less per year than firstborn or youngest children, according to the CareerBuilder.com survey.
Professions: Middles tend to have excellent negotiating and people skills -- anything that employs these skills is a great fit. Middle children from the CareerBuilder.com survey said they work in nursing, law enforcement, firefighting and machine operation.
Job level: Middle children were more likely to identify with professional and technical staff level positions in the CareerBuilder.com survey. They also reported being the most satisfied with their current positions.
Famous middles: David Letterman, Richard Nixon, Madonna and Princess Diana.
Youngest
Personality: Youngest children love the limelight and are used to sitting in it. They are charming, creative, have a good sense of humor and manipulate others when they want to get their way.
Compensation: Last borns were the least likely to report earning six figures, according to the CareerBuilder.com survey.
Professions: Youngest children often gravitate toward artistic and outdoor jobs, according to the OSU survey. They're also successful in journalism, advertising, sales and athletics. Those who responded to the CareerBuilder.com survey reported working in art, design, sales and information technology.
Job level: The majority of last borns in the CareerBuilder.com survey held administrative and clerical level positions. They also reported being the least satisfied in their current jobs.
Famous younglings: Jim Carrey, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Cameron Diaz and Rosie O'Donnell.
Only children
Personality: Only children are similar to firstborns in that they are motivated to conform to parental expectations, Dattner says. They are also achievement-oriented, successful in school and have problems delegating work. Research shows they are more confident, articulate and imaginative than other children. They also hate criticism and tend to be perfectionists.
Famous only children: Jack Welch, Tiger Woods, Alan Greenspan and Maria Sharapova.
Twins
Personality: Because of their equal status in terms of age and genes, twins are usually treated the same and turn out similarly. They tend to have different personalities and interests, but are closer to each other than other siblings and tend to have less conflict with each other than other siblings, Dattner says.
Famous twins: Abigail and Esther Friedman ("Dear Abby" and "Ann Landers"); Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen; Joel and Benji Madden; and Jenna and Barbara Bush.Source
Comments