Today in class Ms. Fainman told us about a student who told her that her parents were choosing her major. This went along with the article we read about a Chinese mother who was quite controlling and powerful in their child's lives.
I responded by saying that I thought that this was wrong, and that kids should for certain be the ones that are deciding their major.
Her rebuttal was that a 40-year old has more worldly experience than a 16-year old. I agree. In fact, that's part of why I have this opinion in the first place.
How do you get experience in the first place? By doing things! By succeeding, and of course, failing. People change careers. People switch majors. And I feel that this is not at all a problem, if the person reaches the right major them eventually. If a parent chooses their kid's major, and doesn't let them change, and tells them what career to have, then they are taking away something that could potentially be a major source of happiness (if, of course, the chosen major is not what the child wants to do.)
Now, financially speaking, doing what you want to do can also have benefits. In classes where I enjoy the subject, I am more inclined to improve and learn. With that in mind, is it not logical to believe that one who is enjoying their profession would be more inclined look for ways to get better?
In today's competitive world, it's no longer good enough to just get a degree. That's not what you need anymore. In today's world, you need motivation. You need to have a fire under your [explicit]. You need to get better, and once you've gotten better, you have to go back to the drawing board and keep improving.
Thus, I feel that a person who handpicked their field would be more inclined to keep their job, get promoted, and or become recognized in their field than someone who is just in it because of their parents.
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