To be or not to be: Asian parents vs career choices
January 5th, 2010 |
Published in
Your Voice | 3 intelligent opinions |
Tags: Asian Australian, Asian culture, Asian parents, career, customs, East West, occupation
Yesterday, January the 4th was the first day of 2010. First proper Monday back for many rested holiday goers… though there are probably about 30% of people yet to return to work. However, it is the first day of university course decisions for about 87,000 students in NSW.
As universities race to recruit the crème de la crème of the budding academic pool, many young post-year 12 students are faced with the harsh reality of what exactly one wishes to do for the rest of one’s life.
It is fair to say that being an Asian individual, the situation of making such an important decision is magnified! You ask me why? Isn’t it the same for every other university entrant? I guarantee you, it’s MUCH tougher for Asians…
WHY? For many reasons: regardless of which part of Asia you are from, a typical Asian parent expects their pruned, puffed and over-tutored children to become one of the following:
a. Doctor
b. Dentist
c. Lawyer
d. Doctor
e. Banker (or in Commerce) (though parents have thought twice about this since the GFC)
f. Engineer
Yes, the doctor component does feature twice!!
The constant pressure, reminder and suggestions that you should become one of the five occupations listed above run rampant in Asian communities, here and globally.
So we are faced with the dilemma – should we become what our hard-working, dedicated and self-sacrificing parents have always dreamt for us (and yes, they do dream of this… all the time!)? Or do we fulfil our own dreams of individualism and creativity?
The Sydney Morning Herald featured an article of a bright Vietnamese girl, Louise Thang. She had scored 99.144 for her HSC. She could choose almost anything she wanted. UTS had recruited her into their cadetship in Finance, which secured a job in banking with a large multinational company at the completion of the course.
However, after months of course work, Louise realised that her choice to please her parents was not the right decision. So she switched courses and is now happily doing an Arts and Communications degree at the University of Sydney, with the hope of going into media and journalism down the road.
But not all of us are like Louise. We simply do our ‘duty’ and spend the rest of our lives wondering what could have been. In many cases we start our quarter life crisis early and switch careers altogether!
A close friend of mine moved from working at Macquarie Bank to travelling solo around the world for months, and on his return decided to go into what he really wanted to do. After a lot of hard work he is now a business news reporter for Foxtel. Come 18 or 30 years of age, I believe what we really are meant to be will eventually arise.
I myself always did simply as I pleased and I am happy for it! However, it does mean that I am the black sheep of the family. Yes, my entire family is made up of doctors, dentists and lawyers… and I? – an occupational outcast!
My question to you all out there is: to be or not to be? What is your choice? What will your decision be? And are you happy with it? Does it bring you financial security and lasting happiness? Or are you experiencing a dilemma about what you are currently doing and what you actually want to be doing with your life?
