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No because you can't expect a 18 year old to know what he or she wants to do for the rest of his or her life.
Don't you mean "Yes because....", as you as a parent would be able to provide that guidance? It seems if he doesn't know what he wants to do, then it would be questionable to provide big time resources on a potential waste of time?
Why does he have to teach? What's important at that stage is what they get out of it in terms of their ability to think. Your friends son could very well find himself in grad school in a few years after a couple years of working, getting a masters in something unrelated which his degree will help him with. Or he could very well end making 50k after a few years working if he learns the job and works his way up. Parents and students alike limit themselves when they believe that just because a student majors in something then they have to work in that field.
He doesn't. But, he recently graduated with no idea of what he could do instead. At this point, he'll likely end up working through the ranks at his father's firm. Not a bad job at all, but he doesn't need a history degree for it either.
Why does he have to teach? What's important at that stage is what they get out of it in terms of their ability to think. Your friends son could very well find himself in grad school in a few years after a couple years of working, getting a masters in something unrelated which his degree will help him with. Or he could very well end making 50k after a few years working if he learns the job and works his way up. Parents and students alike limit themselves when they believe that just because a student majors in something then they have to work in that field.
That's a really nice concept, and to some extent it's true. But honestly, the fact of the matter in today's world is that most kids do not graduate college with the good fortune to have a built in safety net of a guaranteed good job. At some point, most people actually do have to support themselves. I don't know that I'd have gone to the extreme of withholding financial support, but I'd have certainly had discussions about what the ultimate goal was and how they planned on utilizing it in a career where they could support themselves. Especially considering the OPs description of a student that didn't have a particular passion they were following.
Don't you mean "Yes because....", as you as a parent would be able to provide that guidance? It seems if he doesn't know what he wants to do, then it would be questionable to provide big time resources on a potential waste of time?
I mean "No" because I don't view it as a waste of time. College is a time for a student to find his or herself. and see where his or her interest lie through extracurriculars and course work. I know going into college I was a completely different person than what I was coming out because of my experiences. There's a lot of pressure from society for teenagers to know what they want to do at 18 and to withhold funds for that reason to funnel them into a "marketable" degree or for them being a teenager is punishment from my POV. Someone I know for example got a degree in sociology(a useless major according to some people on here) and is now a policy analyst . He found himself getting involved in that kind of stuff towards the end of his college career, found work in that field after graduation, got his masters in public policy, then worked towards his current position. This was a couple years so it's not like he spent years doing this but for some people they do need to take years after high school or college to find out what they're interested in.
I would only withhold funds for poor grades or if they weren't actively trying to get involved in something by spending every weekend partying.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattie
He doesn't. But, he recently graduated with no idea of what he could do instead. At this point, he'll likely end up working through the ranks at his father's firm. Not a bad job at all, but he doesn't need a history degree for it either.
I see. We'll if he ever decides to leave that firm he'll have several years of experience and skills under his belt along that he can combine with his degree to find more work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maciesmom
That's a really nice concept, and to some extent it's true. But honestly, the fact of the matter in today's world is that most kids do not graduate college with the good fortune to have a built in safety net of a guaranteed good job. At some point, most people actually do have to support themselves. I don't know that I'd have gone to the extreme of withholding financial support, but I'd have certainly had discussions about what the ultimate goal was and how they planned on utilizing it in a career where they could support themselves. Especially considering the OPs description of a student that didn't have a particular passion they were following.
I agree, but I don't think people should expect a good job(I'm assuming you mean high paying) coming out of school. Sometimes they may just have to take a job that only pays 30k and become good at what they're doing to earn a promotion or convince another employer that they're worth a higher wage. The average young person(25-34) spends about 3 years on a job on average and that's how they increase their income.
Someone I know for example got a degree in sociology(a useless major according to some people on here) and is now a policy analyst .
To which a lot of parents might respond something like "For everyone one sociology major who became a policy analyst, there are 69 sociology majors putting returned items back on hangers."
I mean "No" because I don't view it as a waste of time. College is a time for a student to find his or herself. and see where his or her interest lie through extracurriculars and course work. I know going into college I was a completely different person than what I was coming out because of my experiences. There's a lot of pressure from society for teenagers to know what they want to do at 18 and to withhold funds for that reason to funnel them into a "marketable" degree or for them being a teenager is punishment from my POV. Someone I know for example got a degree in sociology(a useless major according to some people on here) and is now a policy analyst . He found himself getting involved in that kind of stuff towards the end of his college career, found work in that field after graduation, got his masters in public policy, then worked towards his current position. This was a couple years so it's not like he spent years doing this but for some people they do need to take years after high school or college to find out what they're interested in.
I would only withhold funds for poor grades or if they weren't actively trying to get involved in something by spending every weekend partying.
I see. We'll if he ever decides to leave that firm he'll have several years of experience and skills under his belt along that he can combine with his degree to find more work.
I agree, but I don't think people should expect a good job(I'm assuming you mean high paying) coming out of school. Sometimes they may just have to take a job that only pays 30k and become good at what they're doing to earn a promotion or convince another employer that they're worth a higher wage. The average young person(25-34) spends about 3 years on a job on average and that's how they increase their income.
No, by good job, I mean any job where they can support themselves and expect to continue doing so. That's what constitutes a good job these days.
To which a lot of parents might respond something like "For everyone one sociology major who became a policy analyst, there are 69 sociology majors putting returned items back on hangers."
To which case I would then know that those parents haven't done as much research as they claim they've done.
Yes I would. I dealt with graduating into a field that was destroyed by the market - at least for entry level hires. I won't let my kids make the mistake of going into a field with poor prospects in a good or bad job market.
Never!! When one goes to college, what counts most is their GPA. It is important that the student like the major so that they will feel comfortable in classes and excel.
I do have to wonder why these people who make such offers wait until college to try to interest their child in something else. Why didn't they try to interest the child in business in the past six or seven years?
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