<p>DD1 graduated May 2011 with a degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Development. Landed a teaching job close to home, loves her job this is the part where opinions are needed the salary is half of what she can make else where.I believe happiness is important and she knows what she has already.</p>
<p>What does your daughter think and want is the issue. Shes a full fledged adult, graduated from college and now in the working world. You spend too much time at work to be miserable; but being broke and in debt and financially hurting isn’t fun either. Not knowing her debt or her lifestyle desires, all this is hard to evaluate. If she’s happy in her work, and her income is enough for her needs and obligations – it doesn’t get any better.</p>
<p>Some teaching careers provide wonderful benefits: retirement programs, healthcare, and even 1-2 months off a year, aside from national holidays. In addition, your daughter is learning valuable skills in getting along within a team and figuring how to balance her budget. Not everyone wants to remain a teacher for their entire career, but it’s a great start. Entry level jobs, regardless the field, always start with relatively low pay. With a major in Psychology and Early Childhood, this sounds like exactly what she wanted. If she wants something “more” she can take some graduate level course while she’s working to pursue her Ph.D. Her employer may even cover education costs.</p>
<p>What does she consider as her alternatives? What is 'elsewhere"…another field, another geographic location? How can she apply her education in a higher-paying field? Does she want to?</p>
<p>I think it’s great that in this economy, your daughter has a real and paying job.</p>
<p>Happiness is far more important. She’s lucky to have a job in this economy, a job she loves is a wonderful bonus! </p>
<p>Honestly, I’ve never understood the mentality of being miserable to make great money just to have a nice house or one or two week vacation every year. I’d much rather do something I enjoy every day and take a long weekend than be miserable and dread getting up every morning. Obviously I wouldn’t want to be a starving artist but as long as basic necessities are met, I’d be perfectly happy working a job I love for half the wage of a job I didn’t like.</p>
<p>Your daughter is happy. Is she having trouble making ends meet or something? If not, then her happiness is what is more important than excess money!</p>
<p>You don’t say whether your daughter is living at home or not, or whether you are subsidizing her financially in this job she loves. </p>
<p>If she is self-supporting and happy with the money she is making, then it’s her decision where to work and how much money to accept for her expertise. If she is content with the current position, I see no problem whatsoever. Some people really aren’t materialistic; others value a certain work environment over more money, and arrange their lives accordingly. </p>
<p>On the other hand, if she’s still living with you or depending on you substantially for survival, she has an obligation as an adult to take steps toward financial independence, and she doesn’t have a right to work at something she “loves” on your dime.</p>
<p>While you believe that the salary that she is making is half of what she can make somewhere else, are those jobs realistically available somewhere else? </p>
<p>In many places there are hiring freezes on entry level teaching jobs. She would be better served to get all of her credentials lined up (including establishing professional certification in her license area). If she can wait it out, she will be in a better position to get a job somewhere else because she will have substantial work experience under her belt (and may even get credit for the work experience).</p>
<p>It is much easier to be “happy” with less money when kids are not in the equation. I could easily go without a lot of things, but not when it comes to my kids. I may not chose to do what I do if I didn’t have to worry about paying for their college tuition or able to provide a good living environment while they were growing up.</p>
<p>A good friend was a very good musician. He was hoping to make it big someday with his band. He got married and soon after their daughter was born. He realized he couldn’t support them by being a musician. He went back to the family’s paint business and was able to provide a nice life for his family. I am not sure if my friend was “unhappy” for not pursuing what he loved, maybe having a family made up for the uninspiring job. I am not sure if my friend would have been happier continuing with his dream, and having his family just getting by. I am happy to say that this friend recently started up his band again and they are playing on weekends.</p>
<p>Gets a degree in Early Childhood Development, and works in Early Childhood Development. Isn’t it a little late to be asking her this question? Has she asked you any money of late?</p>
<p>You didn’t say WHY opinions are needed, so I won’t offer one.</p>
<p>Kids growing up with the essentials - enough to eat, a place to live, a stable family - but without the luxuries that many parents feel pressured to provide develop values that will serve them well throughout life. Privileged kids who get all the bells and whistles handed to them on silver platters, not so much.</p>
<p>Do you have any stats to back up that statement, just wondering.</p>
<p>My best performer at work grew up with everything she could ever ask for. She is usually the first one at work, and doesn’t leave until I do. The extent of silver platter (more like diamond platter), her dad had Tiffany deliver a pair of earrings well over quarter of million for her birthday. She just laughed it off.</p>
<p>D1 is not of that league, but nevertheless not having too many wants. She is one of top analysts at her firm at the moment, working from 7am-very late night everyday. Many of D1’s fellow analysts have who is who as parents at many of top firms, they are all working hard and putting in their dues. They just recently fired some analysts who didn’t pass their exams, and it didn’t matter who they had for parent.</p>
<p>I would even venture to say that young people with successful parents are more likely to emulate their parents and want to excel.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, context is everything. I personally don’t think it’s very beneficial to create an artificial environment of frugality in which parents deny children even small luxuries in order to prove some kind of point. Doing so can warp kids and make them more hungry, not less, for material things. Let’s face it, most people in this country have a lot more than adequate food and a place to live. How do you define “essentials”?</p>
<p>I think kids will accept relative deprivation in a family setting without resentment or damage if they know it’s necessary, or if they can see what the long-term tradeoff is. There is, however, no virtue in being cheap for its own sake.</p>
<p>If you believe that your worth as a human being is determined by how much money you make, then your arguments hold together. Otherwise, not so much.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone even remotely said that on this thread. Some people (like me) are saying sometimes we need to make some adult choices. Someone who came from money doesn’t necessary lack character or drive, on the flip side, someone who grew up with less luxuries is not necessary a better person either. Kids have no choice on their family environment. I would be reluctant in making a judgement on someone based on their family background. When I make hiring decision, I do not take that into consideration.</p>
<h1>14 I don’t follow your argument either.</h1>
<p>We have the privilege of living in a country which, by world-historical standards, is incredibly wealthy. Concepts such as “enough” and “essential” are relative. I don’t think that a kid who grows up poor, with just the “essentials,” is necessarily going to have better “values” (re money? morality? life? ) than a middle-class kid who has piano lessons or sports camp, or a wealthy kid who experiences boarding school and exotic travel. I certainly don’t think anyone’s worth as a human being is determined by how much money one makes. But I don’t think poverty automatically makes people noble either.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And a lot of people don’t, especially out here in rural America.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What is necessary to live. Reasonable people will differ on exactly what it entails, but it definitely does not include wide-screen TVs, SUVs, expensive vacations, etc.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s what I’m talking about.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The kid who grows up without those things is not conditioned to consider them as his or her due in life.</p>
<p>
Wide screen TVs maybe less expensive than some of those old fashion TVs now. Some people may need SUVs because of weather and SUVs may not be more expensive than sedans. As far as vacations, some families may forego other expenditures in order to broaden their kids horizon. Again, who is decide what is necessity and what is luxury. Everyone has their priorities.</p>
<p>Well, until the OP comes back with more information much of our conversation isn’t helpful. What kind of job did she get? (teaching at a public or private school, full or part time; working at a day care place? ). And how did the OP come up with the idea that she could be making twice that at another job…is she making $7/hour for 20 hours at the YMCA daycare, or is she making $45,000 teaching in a good school district?<br>
Arguing about what is “enough” is pointless if we don’t know what the baseline is.</p>