My kids are still in college but all I'd want for them is the following:

1. A fulfilling career that they enjoy, or at least don't dread going to work every day.
2. The ability to live as comfortably as they want. That may be solidly middle class, but if that is what they want, that's all I want for them.
3. The ability to spend time with their families. Not a job that has them traveling heavily or working long hours when their kids are young (assuming they have them)
4. Health - Mental and Physical. The ability and time to do the things that bring them joy.


That's it, that's what I want for my kids.

I will be happy if they are not working in a sandwich shop at age 30. That is about my expectation.

Anonymous wrote:Did your DC exceeded your expectations or not, specially knowing their potential.

What a creepy post.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

150 times 22 (assuming she seems 22 clients a week) times 50 (assuming two weeks of vacation) times 0.7 (assuming she spends 30% on business operating costs) =

$115k/year

Terrible salary for someone with a PhD

$115k a year is a great salary, especially if they like their job.

Professors at top schools with PhDs are only making a little more. But again psychologists are making well more then that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Expectation: some deep thinker or public intellectual, going for PhD in economics and eventually getting tenure.

Reality: a finance bro. I hope it’s a phase.

PS: I would never say it out loud, only on an anonymous forum.

You should switch children with PP. You'll have a psychologist and she'll have a finance bro. Everyone wins!

Speaking as a third-party without a dog in this fight...You should be proud of your finance bro and PP should be proud of her psychologist. Both of these professions are great.

Haha!! Totally agree. All should cheer up- all will be fine

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

150 times 22 (assuming she seems 22 clients a week) times 50 (assuming two weeks of vacation) times 0.7 (assuming she spends 30% on business operating costs) =

$115k/year

Terrible salary for someone with a PhD

$115k a year is a great salary, especially if they like their job.

Meh. My parents are unhappy with my major (liberal arts) and my chosen profession (I'm a fed). In fact I'm a GS 14 supervisor and they actually referred to me as a secretary recently. Any major can still make good choices and have a great career. Love your kids for who they are and go from there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

In this area, a PhD psychologist can charge $200+ per hour and doesn't have to take insurance (very few do). A LCSW (with a MSW degree) can charge $160-$200 and also doesn't have to deal with insurance hassles.

The psychiatrist my DD sees charges $300 an hour. Many charge more, but still, given the difference in cost and commitment to getting the various degrees, I'd say the LCSW and PhD win out, especially because unlike med school, both of those degrees can be done part time and/or online, allowing the candidate to work and get experience while getting their degree.

If you google the median pay for a psychologist, it’s very low. Not what we want for DD.

Are you sure that you are seeing the pay for PhD clinical psychologists (assuming that is what your daughter wants to do)? In an area with a COL comparable to where you live? There are a range of jobs that might call themselves "psychologists," including school psychologists, researchers, etc that are not all going to earn the same as a clinical psychologist in DC.

I am a research psychologist with a PhD, not a clinician, and I am very happy with where I ended up. I earn a lot more than the median income for "psychologist" from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I also earn more than my husband who is an engineer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

150 times 22 (assuming she seems 22 clients a week) times 50 (assuming two weeks of vacation) times 0.7 (assuming she spends 30% on business operating costs) =

$115k/year

Terrible salary for someone with a PhD

You think they are only seeing 4 patients a day?? That is basically a part-time schedule.

Seriously my psychiatrist sees patients 7am to 9pm with 20 minutes for lunch.

Psychiatrists and psychologists aren’t the same thing. And how many clients they see and what they charge is dependent on a lot of different factors, so you can’t make these random guesses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

150 times 22 (assuming she seems 22 clients a week) times 50 (assuming two weeks of vacation) times 0.7 (assuming she spends 30% on business operating costs) =

$115k/year

Terrible salary for someone with a PhD

You think they are only seeing 4 patients a day?? That is basically a part-time schedule.

Seriously my psychiatrist sees patients 7am to 9pm with 20 minutes for lunch.

That's a horrible schedule.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

150 times 22 (assuming she seems 22 clients a week) times 50 (assuming two weeks of vacation) times 0.7 (assuming she spends 30% on business operating costs) =

$115k/year

Terrible salary for someone with a PhD

You think they are only seeing 4 patients a day?? That is basically a part-time schedule.

Seriously my psychiatrist sees patients 7am to 9pm with 20 minutes for lunch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

150 times 22 (assuming she seems 22 clients a week) times 50 (assuming two weeks of vacation) times 0.7 (assuming she spends 30% on business operating costs) =

$115k/year

Terrible salary for someone with a PhD

Why would you assume she’d only work a half time schedule?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

In this area, a PhD psychologist can charge $200+ per hour and doesn't have to take insurance (very few do). A LCSW (with a MSW degree) can charge $160-$200 and also doesn't have to deal with insurance hassles.

The psychiatrist my DD sees charges $300 an hour. Many charge more, but still, given the difference in cost and commitment to getting the various degrees, I'd say the LCSW and PhD win out, especially because unlike med school, both of those degrees can be done part time and/or online, allowing the candidate to work and get experience while getting their degree.

If you google the median pay for a psychologist, it’s very low. Not what we want for DD.

Anonymous wrote:My friend is a psychologist and she makes 150/hour cash and she schedules her appointments whenever she wants, totally flexible around her kids’ schedule. Totally jealous -MD

In this area, a PhD psychologist can charge $200+ per hour and doesn't have to take insurance (very few do). A LCSW (with a MSW degree) can charge $160-$200 and also doesn't have to deal with insurance hassles.

The psychiatrist my DD sees charges $300 an hour. Many charge more, but still, given the difference in cost and commitment to getting the various degrees, I'd say the LCSW and PhD win out, especially because unlike med school, both of those degrees can be done part time and/or online, allowing the candidate to work and get experience while getting their degree.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Expectation: some deep thinker or public intellectual, going for PhD in economics and eventually getting tenure.

Reality: a finance bro. I hope it’s a phase.

PS: I would never say it out loud, only on an anonymous forum.

Why would you hope it’s a phase? Finance professionals can certainly better support their families than, say, academics or “public intellectuals”

PP. I work in a, say, Wall Street adjacent area, and I see up close that there is a cost to that life. It’s totally OK to try it out in your 20s, but to make it your life, you have to have a very clear understanding of certain things. For example, some of those jobs don’t age well, meaning that there are people being chewed by the system.