Interesting thread and comments. DS 8yo wants to be a cop and put bad people in Jail. I hope he will change his mind one day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Plumber. Yes. Firefighter. Yes.

Retail but not on a management track? No. There's little future in most companies.

Cop. No. Too many cops are total A$$holes. I wouldn't want my child surrounded by them and depending on them.

Most cops are amazing. Maybe trying complying with the lawyer and you won’t have an issue.

What lawyer?

And PP is right. My dad was a cop and so was his dad and his brothers.

All racist assholes.

Not all cops are racist jerks with inflated egos, but most absolutely are...

A way for former HS bullies to continue their legacy.

Nope.

I have a PhD and am making 80k as an assistant professor and it took 10 years of schooling and making no money with 150k+ worth of student loan to get there.

DH installs water fixtures and has an associates in engineering. Last year he made 290k. No student loan debt and could buy a house at 26 while I was still getting my Masters.

College is valuable but it’s not for everyone and an education doesn’t immediately mean you are going to be a high earned.

Trade school is where it’s at in the future.

Anonymous wrote:If my children are happy and can support themselves, I’ll be fine.

That’s our philosophy.....do what makes you happy....don’t make it about the money.

I want my kids to love their jobs, feel fulfilled by them, and have flexibility that allows for a good work-life balance. My parents have multiple graduate degrees and both work/worked (only one is retired) white collar jobs. They grew up poorer and wanted better for themselves and their kids. My husband's parents both just had jobs, nothing that they liked, and nothing that paid very well. My husband and I both have multiple graduate degrees and love our jobs. We also happen to be very well paid, which makes life a lot easier on so many fronts. So I want that for our kids as well, and the way I've seen that play our in our generation and our parents' generation was that white collar jobs are the way to go. Also, if I'm being completely honest, I'd rather tell my circle of friends, acquaintances, and co-workers that my kids are doctors, lawyers, etc., than that they are plumbers or electricians. That's not because I think there's anything wrong with those jobs or anyone who does them, but because I've never known anyone in my circle that has held those jobs. All my friends and all my friends' parents growing up are doctors, lawyers, etc., so it's always kind of been in my head that that's what my kids would do. However, I love my kids, and I really want them to be happy in life, so if taking a path that is foreign to me leads to their happiness then I would be fine with that.

Anonymous wrote:Plumber. Yes. Firefighter. Yes.

Retail but not on a management track? No. There's little future in most companies.

Cop. No. Too many cops are total A$$holes. I wouldn't want my child surrounded by them and depending on them.

Most cops are amazing. Maybe trying complying with the lawyer and you won’t have an issue.

What a loaded question! In general I would be happy for my child to pursue by choice skilled trades, military, law wnforecemnt, college degree...lifetime cashier would be weird as no one dreams of that I don’t think. I have specific opinions on Walmart as an employer and company that color my view of that. Knowing each of my children I might have opinions on what each would be best at or find most satisfying or that sort of thing, but I am not turning my nose up one bit at non-college career paths. Not all college degrees are even worth what they cost and not everyone is best off in college. I am an engineer because that was right for me, but plenty of blue collars on my family tree.

I don’t even get “would you be ok with...” questions. You will be their parent, not their owner. It’s not up to you to decide what is ok. What will you resort to when you decide their work is “not ok”? They don’t get to come to Christmas? You berate them privately, or publicly? You cut them out of your will? Unless you’re planning on some major consequences, your opinion about an adult’s choices are not relevant or helpful.

"Blue collar" =/= poor, dead-end job. My uncle was a blue-collar worker--he owned his own business laying carpet. Made a good living. A skilled trade that can't be outsourced to India can be a ticket to a good job and a satisfying career. I hope that my kid will obtain the education and skills to be able to support themselves and not live a financially precarious existence. I also hope they will be people of integrity and good values, and I would feel like more of a failure if my kid was a greedy white-collar worker who defrauded people than if he ended up being an electrician who earned a good, honest living.

My 6 year old son wants to be a bus driver, and his bff (who he is going to marry, he tells me) wants to be a police officer. Right now, I'm totally cool with this. I would have a harder time with this if he were 18 years old +

I grew up pretty (food stamp) poor, and had to really work to not be blue collar (my whole family is still blue collar). I would have a hard time with this, since I know first hand how hard it is to be blue collar.

I don't think this will happen with our two but I'd be fine if it did. Our blue collar East Coast relatives make as much or more than we do without all the crazy school loans. They are small business owners/sole proprietors.

I'd be fine with skilled trades - carpenter, electrician, welder, etc. Wouldn't be thrilled with retail. Then again, I also would hate to see him go into a lot of areas of business/finance (ethical concerns) or medicine (such poor work like balance). So it's not a class thing.