Angry at college sophomore for changing to lower paying major

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite teacher- AP calc- was a former computer programmer. Best math teacher ever. And she opening told us she left a $250k+ job to teach HS math once her kids all were in school (5yo plus).

Maybe she knows she has a trust fund so why strive.

If she hated the stress of doing computer programming work in an office and loves teaching AP Calc to HS kids she made a great choice.

She liked her programming job for 15 years and then her teaching the other 15 years. Very intelligent, positive woman who never put down difficult disciplines. Hope you don’t talk like that around your kids let alone a classroom of them.

One thing is for sure. If you never try you never really know. Think about all the nonsense and advice you’ve gotten from others to persuade you to give up or not try. Never be that person w regret of not trying.

O.k. she loved both careers. That's great. She's the one who had to point out that she left a 250K job to go teach kids, though....

She pointed that out if some wise ass wasn’t taking their math homework or class seriously. She wasn’t there for any other reason than to teach us math very well. She was incredibly effective teacher whom we all respected. And this was in the late 1990s.

Is that Ok with you or do you just like nitpicking everything for no good reason.

[Anonymous]

Just have her marry a rich guy. Then, in several years, she can quit teaching and start posting bitter messages in this forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I honestly have no idea what business grads do anyway. Apart from accounting, it is all foreign to me. Maybe your DD feels the same?

Strategy Consulting
Investment Mgmt/hedge funds
Corp Dev leadership programs
Marketing research
Brand management
Investment banking
Management consulting
Private equity
Start a company
Supply Chain operations
Direct sales in tech, med devices
Restructuring failed companies
Product development

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My favorite teacher- AP calc- was a former computer programmer. Best math teacher ever. And she opening told us she left a $250k+ job to teach HS math once her kids all were in school (5yo plus).

Maybe she knows she has a trust fund so why strive.

If she hated the stress of doing computer programming work in an office and loves teaching AP Calc to HS kids she made a great choice.

She liked her programming job for 15 years and then her teaching the other 15 years. Very intelligent, positive woman who never put down difficult disciplines. Hope you don’t talk like that around your kids let alone a classroom of them.

One thing is for sure. If you never try you never really know. Think about all the nonsense and advice you’ve gotten from others to persuade you to give up or not try. Never be that person w regret of not trying.

O.k. she loved both careers. That's great. She's the one who had to point out that she left a 250K job to go teach kids, though....

She pointed that out if some wise ass wasn’t taking their math homework or class seriously. She wasn’t there for any other reason than to teach us math very well. She was incredibly effective teacher whom we all respected. And this was in the late 1990s.

Is that Ok with you or do you just like nitpicking everything for no good reason.

Why are you so defensive? Nothing I said put down that teacher for making that choice. 10 to 1 she was simply trying to get her work schedule more aligned with her kids' school schedules. I can see how switching to teaching worked out nicely for her. Certainly that is an option for the people who like to work with HS kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just have her marry a rich guy. Then, in several years, she can quit teaching and start posting bitter messages in this forum.

I really hope this is not a fear of hers. By now she should know enough female alums having a blast at big company training programs in NYC . The stuff you learn on the job from a top employer is huge and very transferable in your 20s.

Have her check out Wellesley job track and career website if she’s confused.

[Anonymous]

Are any of you actually teachers (or nurses?).

I work as a nurse in DC. I can afford to live in DC because (by luck) I'm married to a high earner. 98% of my coworkers live an hour+ out of the city because that's where they can begin to afford to buy a house (and generally a townhouse). All of my kids' teachers live there as well except for those married
to a high income earner. Many of the rest leave the DC area entirely when they hit 30 and want to buy a house, have kids, etc.

Look, I'm all in favor of kids following their passion. But I'm torn. I know the reality of making a salary that many (most?) on DCUM openly mock. I'm honestly torn about what I'll tell my own kids when they're choosing college majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are any of you actually teachers (or nurses?).

I work as a nurse in DC. I can afford to live in DC because (by luck) I'm married to a high earner. 98% of my coworkers live an hour+ out of the city because that's where they can begin to afford to buy a house (and generally a townhouse). All of my kids' teachers live there as well except for those married
to a high income earner. Many of the rest leave the DC area entirely when they hit 30 and want to buy a house, have kids, etc.

Look, I'm all in favor of kids following their passion. But I'm torn. I know the reality of making a salary that many (most?) on DCUM openly mock. I'm honestly torn about what I'll tell my own kids when they're choosing college majors.

I'm not torn at all. I'm a RN married to a high earner living in NoVa. I have told my kids that nursing is very stressful work lot work for little pay. I don't want them going into nursing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why parent's shouldn't just pay for college. Let your kid take a loan and make the decisions THEY want to make. You can always set conditions under which you'll be happy to help them pay off the loan.

Let the kid have some skin in the game.

This is what we're doing.

We can easily write a check for DC's college tuition, but we're not. We'll write the big check after graduation to pay off the student loan all at once. MY DH's parents did this for him and his siblings and he feels it made them better students and made them take college more seriously. He still had fun, don't get me wrong, as I met him in college at one of those 'fun' events, but it made him have more personal accountability.

Another stipulation was that classes/credits that earned a C or below were not eligible for payoff. This was to ensure that they still didn't just blow off classes because they knew mommy & daddy were going to eventually foot the bill upon graduation. We're continuing that rule as well, which works because DC's program of study only allows C grades Freshmen & Sophomore year to count towards graduation; Junior & Senior year class grades, which are much more specialized in their major of study, cannot be a C in most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are any of you actually teachers (or nurses?).

I work as a nurse in DC. I can afford to live in DC because (by luck) I'm married to a high earner. 98% of my coworkers live an hour+ out of the city because that's where they can begin to afford to buy a house (and generally a townhouse). All of my kids' teachers live there as well except for those married
to a high income earner. Many of the rest leave the DC area entirely when they hit 30 and want to buy a house, have kids, etc.

Look, I'm all in favor of kids following their passion. But I'm torn. I know the reality of making a salary that many (most?) on DCUM openly mock. I'm honestly torn about what I'll tell my own kids when they're choosing college majors.

I'm not torn at all. I'm a RN married to a high earner living in NoVa. I have told my kids that nursing is very stressful work lot work for little pay. I don't want them going into nursing.

My aunt pushed my cousins from considering nursing for this reason as she's a nurse. One listened and the other went into the Army and trained as medic and then went to med school through the Army.

Every relatives I have who is a teacher has 100% cautioned all younger generations from teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are any of you actually teachers (or nurses?).

I work as a nurse in DC. I can afford to live in DC because (by luck) I'm married to a high earner. 98% of my coworkers live an hour+ out of the city because that's where they can begin to afford to buy a house (and generally a townhouse). All of my kids' teachers live there as well except for those married
to a high income earner. Many of the rest leave the DC area entirely when they hit 30 and want to buy a house, have kids, etc.

Look, I'm all in favor of kids following their passion. But I'm torn. I know the reality of making a salary that many (most?) on DCUM openly mock. I'm honestly torn about what I'll tell my own kids when they're choosing college majors.

I'm not torn at all. I'm a RN married to a high earner living in NoVa. I have told my kids that nursing is very stressful work lot work for little pay. I don't want them going into nursing.

You can move anywhere as a nurse and find a job. There will always be a demand for your skills and your profession. Some of the ridiculous salaries in other professions that we hear about on DCUM are not going to be found just anywhere.

If my kid had an interest in the field of nursing (or teaching) I would tell them to pursue it - IF that is what they wanted to do.

[Anonymous]

Be a PA

[Anonymous]

What the hell is wrong with you?

I call troll. No one is this stupid and mean in real life.

[Anonymous]

My parents sent us to college saying two things:
Graduate in 4 years w a major.
Get marketable skills and line up a job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are any of you actually teachers (or nurses?).

I work as a nurse in DC. I can afford to live in DC because (by luck) I'm married to a high earner. 98% of my coworkers live an hour+ out of the city because that's where they can begin to afford to buy a house (and generally a townhouse). All of my kids' teachers live there as well except for those married
to a high income earner. Many of the rest leave the DC area entirely when they hit 30 and want to buy a house, have kids, etc.

Look, I'm all in favor of kids following their passion. But I'm torn. I know the reality of making a salary that many (most?) on DCUM openly mock. I'm honestly torn about what I'll tell my own kids when they're choosing college majors.

I'm not torn at all. I'm a RN married to a high earner living in NoVa. I have told my kids that nursing is very stressful work lot work for little pay. I don't want them going into nursing.

You can move anywhere as a nurse and find a job. There will always be a demand for your skills and your profession. Some of the ridiculous salaries in other professions that we hear about on DCUM are not going to be found just anywhere.

If my kid had an interest in the field of nursing (or teaching) I would tell them to pursue it - IF that is what they wanted to do.

+1 My sister is a nurse (although now in administration, managing nurse training for a hospital and working on a doctorate) and encourages people to go into it but ONLY if they've had some real exposure to the field and really want to do it. It's not something you pick just because there will always be jobs. She used to teach in a nursing program and often had students who were upset that they finished the degree and couldn't find a job in their city. The city has several nursing education programs so that particular market was saturated with new nurses. There are plenty of nursing jobs but you may have to move for the best opportunities.

I know plenty of teachers who are happy with their careers but agree with PPs that OP's daughter should keep her math major and either double major or minor with elementary ed. Will give her much more flexibility in the future, either to teach at a higher level or to work in another aspect of education or to leave it and do something different. And, if she has not had direct experience working with ES kids she needs to get it now -- work at a camp this summer, volunteer at an after school program, something to get a sense as to whether or not she really wants to spend her career working with kids.

[Anonymous]

I would say, it is the kid's life, just don't accumulate debt if you plan to teach