1. Architect – The favored career among leading men in any given romance. This is evidently because architecture combines the best of both worlds – it’s artistic and intellectual at the same time. It’s also possible to make a decent living from it. If a man is an architect he must be good at math, but he also carries around a sketchbook and is only too happy to talk about the artistry of an old  building.

See:

• Sleepless in Seattle
• The Lake House
• Just Like Heaven
• Three to Tango
• Mamma Mia
• Three Men and a Baby (& sequel)
• Housesitter

Note that in both Three Men and a Baby and Mamma Mia, there are three men for the mother to choose from, and in the end, she picks the architect.

2. Writer – The romantic image of the writer has been ingrained in the film world due mostly to the fact that those films were written by someone who thought it would be wonderful if being a writer meant he got chicks. (The films in which women are writers are frequently written by women for the same reason.) As a wordsmith you are gifted with the ability to say the perfect thing to make a woman swoon.

See:

• Woman of the Year
• Before Sunset
• Love Actually
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• Moulin Rouge
• Alex & Emma
• Runaway Bride

Note: These men are often news reporters in search of a story. This was particularly common in rom-coms of the 40s and 50s.

3. Artist – Artists are portrayed as passionate, creative, and sensitive. Their work can be offered as enticement towards sex. Though they are frequently portrayed as struggling, women in the movies don’t seem to mind, though it’s rare for the artist to get married at the end of the film, since he is both poor and a free spirit. Sometimes he even dies.

See:

• Titanic
• Sweet Home Alabama
• Vicky Christina Barcelona

4. Bartenders –  Bartenders are therapists who are allowed to get involved with their patients. They listen, they give advice, and they know how to mix a martini. What more could a girl ask for?

See:

• Charlie’s Angels
• He’s Just Not That Into You

Other popular career choices include: actors (see Shakespeare in Love and America’s Sweethearts), muscians (Some Like it Hot, The Wedding Singer and P.S. I Love You), and teachers (Never Been Kissed and My Big Fat Greek Wedding). Women love creative men, men with a sensitive side. Curiously, despite being schooled from a young age to want to end up with a rich, handsome doctor, rich handsome doctors in chick flicks rarely get the girl.