Im in the same boat as you. 33 and software engineer. I like intelligence in a woman.

But let me give you one important piece of advice.

The woman you bond with must be able to relate to the child and not you.

Children require silly, affectionate and fun mothers. The intellectual woman does not bond with the child. The intellectual woman does not play or laugh with the child.

But the silly mommy phase is just a phase. Once the child grows up a bit, the mother is then able to switch to an intellectual mode.

So my 2 cents are. Its not purely about intellectualism but potential for intellectualism.

DON'T. If you want kids, don't do it with a woman. Michael Jackson that shit. Hire a surrogate and then pay her to go away.

If you must be a father that raises children with their mother, then convert to Islam and move to a country with paternal rights.

mid 20s, highly intelligent with a strong work ethic

such women don't want to have kids in the next few years, they have different ambitions

If being a mother isn't their prime ambition in life, then they're not fit to be mothers. Simple as that. Also, you're probably conflating "intelligent" and "having good work ethic" with "being career driven". There's a lot of both intelligence and work ethic that goes into being a good mother, someone who's actually going to be useful to both you and the kids.

With what you're looking for, avoid the women who want kids at some point, but don't want to be mothers. Or who want to get married at some point, but don't want to be wives. A.k.a. the career women. Those who think they can do both, and do a good job at both, although they might be intelligent, they certainly aren't wise nor grounded. And they're of no use to you with what you're looking for.

I think you need to recalibrate what you think of as "intelligent" or "having a good work ethic", and what those things mean within a feminine framework. Because right now, it sounds like you're basically looking for another dude.

Do it in another country or if you gonna do it here. Ask her about domestic abuse. Ask her if we get into a heated fight are you going to the police? Better yet see if she is a snitch in any capacity. See if she got morality in her. Get into some tough fights with her see what she does? Does she go tell her friends.

If she is throttling it up, she is probably not the one to do it with but also be careful of good girls. That’s the character side of things

Then you have to find her in her mid 20 to early 20s. Closer to and after 30 kids come out unhealthy with problems: autism, physical conditions, mental issues. if you want a child you need these things and they are non negotiable.

I would also say woman is a reflection of you, so have those qualities in you so you also so you could teach it to yours.

I screened thousands of women with 1 question, "Would you like to run away together, get married, and have kids?". Can you guess what modern Western women all said? Can you guess what my Indonesian Muslim wife said?

Edit: To answer your other questions, it's not you, it's them. Careerism is all the rage amongst modern women now. They're all waiting until their 30s when they have a degree and career and don't need no man to have a husband-accessory and child-accessory.

The one you want is the cute one who lives with both her parents, isn't in college, and asks you if you want fries with that.

Stop chasing career women. Problem solved