Would you encourage your child to be in same field

[h]

I would not encourage them to be a lawyer (my field), and I don't think my H would encourage them to get an MBA like he did. I mean, I wouldn't stop them if it's what they really wanted to do, but I wouldn't actively encourage it.

[ijack]

Yes. Though I'm not sure I would encourage them to go to the college I went to.

[Deleted]

I'd be stoked if my kid wanted to be an engineer like me. I'd hope he did more engineering than I do. It's a solid degree.

[Deleted]

Dec 20, 2012 14:40:08 GMT -5 @msstarry said:

token - I had no idea you were an engineer!

Civil. My work is only loosely engineering, but my paycheque still calls me one.

[ssmjlm]

I think if my daughter wanted to go into public service like me (and a good chunk of family) I would support it. It's solid work, good benefits, and I truly do see how my job affects this country to make it better.

[HoneySpider]

Sure, as long as they don't have expectations of making a lot of money.

[Deleted]

I most certainly wouldn't encourage her, and I'd make sure she didn't do something stupid and go to a $$$ T4 law school, but if she was passionate about it and got into a top school and/or goes for free, I'd be ok with it.

[arch01]

no-my degree is in architecture. it's too unpredictable.

engineering, i'd fully support.

[fbf2006]

I wouldn't mind if they go into my field (accounting) or get an MBA (3 out of 4 of us kids have/almost have MBAs).

[Deleted]

Yep, I think both DH and I have good jobs in good fields. His is a little better than mine.

[dcn]

Sure, accounting is a good field even if it is a little boring sometimes. Dh is a physical therapist, and I think that's a good field too.

[Deleted]

No--Architecture has been ruined.

[Brie]

Eh, I wouldn't discourage it. But I am secretly hoping he goes the science route.

[jackpackage]

Hmm, well I'm a SAHM (though my degree is in advertising/pr), and I hopefully will not work in pr again. H is an optometrist who owns his own practice, and I would definitely encourage it. I take him in every week to see him, his staff, and his patients. It's such a great environment and I'm so proud of h and what he's accomplished and what he does for his patients and the community. I hope ds grows up to feel the same.

[Deleted]

I am an engineer and I always said I wouldnt want my kids to be engineers but now that I am out of school and establishing myself I think its a pretty good career with lots of options ranging from lab geek to sales. Thing is though in engineering school there seemed to be a ton of people who were forced to be engineers by their parents and just hated it. I want to encourage my kids to do whatever they want as long as it pays the bills.

[minzy]

I have left my field (law) for the time being, but I am the outlier who actually really liked practicing and felt fulfilled with the work I did. My kid(s) will know that, and hopefully see my enthusiasm themselves when I get back to it. But, my husband is also a lawyer, and he has a much more cynical outlook on the profession, so I am sure kids will pick up on that, too.

I too would be thrilled if my daughter wanted to study science.

[karinothing]

I am not sure if I would encourage them to be a lawyer. I would encourage them to go into politics like DH.

[froggy76]

I chose a great career (actuary) and I love it, but I'm not sure I'd encourage DD to follow in my footsteps. Spending 9 years studying for actuarial exams was no joke... it's worth it now that I'm done, but I definitely missed out on enjoying my 20s a bit.

[fortmyersbride]

No. DH and I will both actively push the kids away from medicine. It's becoming a profession of higher and higher student loans, less respect, more red tape, and less autonomy. DH and I will both remain in our fields because we love what we do, but I don't think anyone should go down this road unless they can't see themselves doing any other job. I think it would be great if the kids were interested in dentistry, veterinary medicine, or engineering, but I admit that's based on my perception of those fields as an outsider.

[h]

Dec 20, 2012 16:10:20 GMT -5 fortmyersbride said:

No. DH and I will both actively push the kids away from medicine. It's becoming a profession of higher and higher student loans, less respect, more red tape, and less autonomy. DH and I will both remain in our fields because we love what we do, but I don't think anyone should go down this road unless they can't see themselves doing any other job. I think it would be great if the kids were interested in dentistry, veterinary medicine, or engineering, but I admit that's based on my perception of those fields as an outsider.

My dad very actively pushed me away from medicine for similar reasons, and I am highly annoyed about it to this day. I still wish I had gone to medical school.

[countthestars]

I wouldn't encourage nor discourage it. I probably wouldn't push for them to work for my branch of my company, but I wouldn't even be mad if they worked for another branch.

[GailGoldie]

my husband is an attorney and i'd for sure encourage them to get a JD if it intereted them.... I would NOT encourage them to do firm work - b/c i know my DH hated it and everyone i know that does it = working long hours, etc.... DH is now a corporate attorney and works regular hours, rarely has to travel or work at home, and makes a nice salary. There is plenty of work out there for his qualifications - I think having a JD is a great asset to have.

I'm in pharma sales and i wouldn't recommend my boys go into it-mostly b/c the industry changes = not going to be something good to be doing when they are older.

i used to be a teacher and i dont' recommend anyone do it- unles they 100% love it and do NOT care about money, respect, their own time, etc lol - i loved it- but now that i'm out of it I'm glad.

[Saudade]

Dec 20, 2012 16:19:41 GMT -5 h said:

Dec 20, 2012 16:10:20 GMT -5 fortmyersbride said:

No. DH and I will both actively push the kids away from medicine. It's becoming a profession of higher and higher student loans, less respect, more red tape, and less autonomy. DH and I will both remain in our fields because we love what we do, but I don't think anyone should go down this road unless they can't see themselves doing any other job. I think it would be great if the kids were interested in dentistry, veterinary medicine, or engineering, but I admit that's based on my perception of those fields as an outsider.

My dad very actively pushed me away from medicine for similar reasons, and I am highly annoyed about it to this day. I still wish I had gone to medical school.

Same here and I still regret not doing it.

I'd encourage nursing or higher-level nursing. I would try to sway against the psych degree though.

More so though I would encourage and support anything the kid wants because my parents didn't and I'm still bitter.

[h]

Dec 20, 2012 17:38:47 GMT -5 Saudade said:

Dec 20, 2012 16:19:41 GMT -5 h said:

My dad very actively pushed me away from medicine for similar reasons, and I am highly annoyed about it to this day. I still wish I had gone to medical school.

Same here and I still regret not doing it.

I'd encourage nursing or higher-level nursing. I would try to sway against the psych degree though.

More so though I would encourage and support anything the kid wants because my parents didn't and I'm still bitter.

My parents feel genuinely bad about it now. After a few drinks a couple years ago, my dad told me he felt like he had made a big mistake by convincing me not to go to med school and that he couldn't imagine doing anything else with his life. Nice realization after telling me for years that medicine was ruined and no longer worth going into! Of my group of best friends from college, the two who are doctors are markedly happier career-wise than the rest of us (though the rest of us are lawyers, so it's a low bar). It seems like most doctors genuinely love practicing medicine despite a common list of complaints.

But I think a lot of other health care careers would be great as well. My SIL and BIL are optometrists and run their own practice together, and they are very happy. I think I would love being a genetic counselor.

[drloretta]

I would encourage DD to get into the biology field, but only if she showed interest. There are a lot more options available from when I graduated.

[justjen]

Liberal Arts, checking in

Since I am currently an editor and my H used to be one, I suspect she has a genetic predilection for the field... I have stumbled into one of the better-paying editing fields, but DH was hugely undervalued when he was an editor--which is part of why he for his MBA. I can't imagine doing anything else, though, so if it's in her heart, I'd encourage her to follow it.

[fortmyersbride]

Dec 20, 2012 17:47:01 GMT -5 h said:

Dec 20, 2012 17:38:47 GMT -5 Saudade said:

Same here and I still regret not doing it.

I'd encourage nursing or higher-level nursing. I would try to sway against the psych degree though.

More so though I would encourage and support anything the kid wants because my parents didn't and I'm still bitter.

My parents feel genuinely bad about it now. After a few drinks a couple years ago, my dad told me he felt like he had made a big mistake by convincing me not to go to med school and that he couldn't imagine doing anything else with his life. Nice realization after telling me for years that medicine was ruined and no longer worth going into! Of my group of best friends from college, the two who are doctors are markedly happier career-wise than the rest of us (though the rest of us are lawyers, so it's a low bar). It seems like most doctors genuinely love practicing medicine despite a common list of complaints.

But I think a lot of other health care careers would be great as well. My SIL and BIL are optometrists and run their own practice together, and they are very happy. I think I would love being a genetic counselor.

I feel like I'll definitely try to dissuade them, I just don't know how persuasive I'll be. I mean, at the end of the day I still love my job. But medicine is so volatile these days. And I had several med school and residency classmates who went into it b/c it's what their parents did and they seemed much more miserable for having done so.

If our kids seemed really passionate about medicine despite the cons I mentioned earlier, we would support them. I just hope they pick a different field on their own . I had plenty of physicians try to warn me away when I was in HS/college/med school and look how well that turned out

[Deleted]

I would be fine if my boy wanted to skate, but would not encourage my girl. Too many body issues.

[justjen]

Wow, between posters and spouses, we're like 75% engineers by volume

[hilwithonelary]

I'm not sure. The pharmacist job market isn't what it used to be because so many schools have opened to deal with the shortage. I'm also curious to see what impact Obamacare will have on the field. If either of my kids wants to go into pharmacy, I'd encourage attending a long established school and definitely doing a residency, possibly specializing in something. Not doing a residency is a huge regret of mine.