Data from a sample of 32-year old men and their working wives from Lenawee County, Michigan, were examined to study the effect of postmarital education on the individual and collective statuses of married couples. Current socioeconomic status of each of the spouses was predicted to be a function of family background, educational and occupational status at marriage, own educational attainments within marriage, and within marriage educational and occupational attainments of spouse. The men were mostly white, small town residents. Their parents were mostly blue- or lower-white-collar workers. Over the marital state of the life cycle, before-marriage attainments of each spouse were found to have a consistent negative effect on the current occupational attainment of the other spouse. Spouses were somewhat hindered in career advancement by virtue of similar efforts of the other spouse--wives more so than husbands. This validated the prevailing notion that wives sacrifice career opportunities more than husbands, but husbands are not immune from these effects. The most significant findings were positive "lagged cross effects" that suggest that working marital partners accommodate each other over time in advancing individual careers by moderating their own achievements. (A status attainment model for two career couples is presented.) (YLB)