<p>BS Chemical Engineering. Sure if they wanted to, but I suspect none of my kids will. Youngest D likes math, so who knows? Oldest D is in international affairs. S wants to design video games.</p>
<p>Me: BA English Lit; BA Anthropology; MS Social Work; MSEd (SW and ED a dual-degree program); working on MS in School Admin.</p>
<p>DH: BA Philosophy; MA and PhD in Anthropology</p>
<p>DS#1: Working on BA in History
DS#2: Double major in Environmental Science and English</p>
<p>As long as my sons spend their college years studying what they are passionately interested in, I am fine with it. Both of their majors are the foundations of good careers, no matter what they want to do later (unless they were going into the hard sciences, LOL, which they’ve never shown interest in).</p>
<p>Me: BS Pharmacy. Plentiful jobs and decent pay. Can be frustrating for several reasons. Wouldn’t recommend it for my kids as it doesn’t suit them. To be honest, I have generally discouraged them as individuals from the medical professions.<br>
Late DH 
: BS Econ, MBA with marketing emphasis, job in financial industry. Job had creative bent with very good pay. I would let kids do this.
DS: BS MechE, applying to MS Engg + MBA. Perfect for him and his career goals!
DD: Still in hs and undecided. Wants a job with lots of human interaction, maybe education.</p>
<p>I have to interject here that I wonder if we are really meant to do one thing for our whole lives. We are not the same people at 40 that we are at 20. Do many of us have “second careers”?</p>
<p>I majored in Chinese language as an undergrad and also have a law degree. I’m a nonprofit organization director now, both as a community volunteer (one organization) and as a career (a second organization, where I am also a math coach). </p>
<p>My son already has his own preferences and I wouldn’t dream of nudging him to follow my academic or career path.</p>
<p>Me: A.B, M.A, PhD in statistics. I used this to study broadly in economics, psychology, political science and then took my first job in a field that combined these, with statistics/applied math as the analytic backbone. I have never worked as a statistician since getting my PhD but have been a B-school professor, an investment banker, an employee in a family office that did private equity kinds of deals, a consultant, and an entrepreneur (helped start but didn’t run a couple of hedge funds) and run a small consulting firm. </p>
<p>My wife: BFA. She has been a print-maker and painter since she graduated. Teaches art courses at local colleges occasionally. </p>
<p>Our son is good at math and abstract reasoning like me and at drawing and painting. My criteria for success in life choices is if you get up in the morning wanting to do what you are going to do that day. In my case, it involves always learning something new and making a difference (as well as getting reasonably well paid). I would say that my son has adopted these criteria, with a strong emphasis on making a difference by making the world a better place. I’d absolutely adopt these criteria. I don’t think it matters what exactly he studies, but he may well study applied math/game theory/economics/psychology. My wife is quite successful but her teacher at RISD told her that “If you can do anything else, do it.” His point was that the world just doesn’t reward you much as an artist and if you don’t feel absolutely feel compelled to be an artist, choose something else." She gives the same advice to our son.</p>
<p>My daughter is not interested in math/physics and tends to subjects that are more detail-oriented like biology or medicine and absolutely loves working with and helping people. She has talent in the design area. I think medicine is a virtuous calling but I’m not sure it is that rewarding these days for lots of practitioners (and it takes forever to get trained), although I suspect that top researcher/clinicians at med schools may find it very fulfilling. I certainly wouldn’t want her to follow in my footsteps, but there’s no danger of that given her preferences. My wife would give the same advice to our daughter, but again it’s not clear there’s any danger of her trying to become an artist.</p>
<p>lkf275, I’ve had four major professional roles in my adult career. Each one built on what I’d done before but was by no means the same as the others. I think the fun in life is to keep learning and finding exciting things to do (and for me, things that the market will want). My father was theoretical physicist who loved what he did (great job if you have the talent, getting up in the morning and discovering mysteries of the universe). He worked until he had a stroke driving back from tennis after work at age 79 1/2 and recovered enough to push through one final book with two former post-docs before he died about a year later. Like him, I don’t expect that I’ll retire unless I’m physically and mentally unable to do the kind of work I enjoy.</p>
<p>BA in Psychology
MSW in Clinical Social Work</p>
<p>still love what I do almost 29 yrs later, (omg-how is that possible)</p>
<p>my freshman son is interested in economics, possibly law. He considered medicine but finds the years of education daunting. I encourage the “do what you love, and what comes naturally” philosophy. </p>
<p>my daughter is interested in psychology and hopes to pursue her PhD in psych–I would think she would also be happy with an MSW–it is a professional degree that offers a wide variety of opportunities so that within the same field you can have several “careers”.</p>
<p>Me - BS in chemistry and English, MS in organic chemistry
DH - BS in Chemistry and PhD in organic chemistry
DD - freshman business major</p>
<p>Both my H and I discouraged DD from majoring in chemistry (not that it was ever a huge consideration - she was a good chemistry student but had no passion for the subject.) The current job market for organic chemists is tight and will remain that way for a while. Besides, DD had a front-row seat when my employer closed my research site and 2200 people were out of a job… she wants none of that! </p>
<p>She writes well and would be a good English major, but she has a hardheaded pragmatism and very clear career goals. I think she’ll do fine, no matter what she winds up doing.</p>
<p>Me–BA-psych, MS–education
H–BA–English MS–very specialized degree in education (not a teacher though)</p>
<p>D will likely major in Spanish and/or English. We’re fine with that. H’s communication skills have served him well in the business world. I don’t know that I would recommend the Psych degree over English. </p>
<p>S is only a freshman so he’s still uncertain. </p>
<p>I do know that as DH and I watch the job market change we are being to feel even more strongly that a liberal arts degree, with perhaps some business classes or computer science classes added into the mix, is the way we would really like our children to go in college. It will ultimately be up to them though.</p>
<p>Me - BS Chemistry
H - BS Math & Computer Science</p>
<p>Both work in IT fields. </p>
<p>S - Music Performance/Education</p>
<p>After multiple job losses over the years due to downsizing and outsourcing to foreign countries, our advice to him is to follow his passion. Job security is a thing of the past in any field.</p>
<p>Me- BA social science, MBA, PhD, Professor
Dad- Engineering, MBA, PhD, Professor</p>
<p>D- too young to tell; loves literature and creating things, but strongest in math and science</p>
<p>We’d honestly be happy with whatever she chooses, so long as she loves it and can support herself with it. </p>
<p>Happy if she followed our path if that was something that she loved. Lots of jobs, financial and job security, flexible schedule (great lifestyle). We both really love what we do, and she definitely has the aptitude (probably via osmosis, where everyday conversation evolves around problems with theories, moderator variables, structural equations). But alas, she’d tell you she finds what we do so ‘borrrring’ (and so you’d expect for a normal teenager).</p>
<p>me- BA Honors in Chemistry, MD (Met reqs for BA and BS, liked white tassel better than yellow, ie it didn’t matter which degree).</p>
<p>H- MBBS = MD </p>
<p>Both of us board certified in specialties, did residencies… Like 3 other physicians who have already posted here concur that being a physician is not something we wish for our child. The practice of medicine sure has changed since our starts in it. We tell people our son is too smart to go into medicine. I liked chemistry but did enough research to not want that. Today I see more biological chemistry, perhaps that, toxicology, pharmacology may have been nice with today’s knowledge of the fields- but generating info can be tedious. Like the knowledge base of being a physician, but all of the nonmedical stuff- yuck.</p>
<p>Son- third year of college, math major (originally possibly physics, +/- math), plans on grad school. I think he needs to be an absent minded professor- something abstract/theoretical, definitely not concrete/practical/hands on- no way business/engineering. He never had any interest in things biological (or chemistry, sigh), never medicine. H interested in history, math and physics. </p>
<p>Too close to retirement age to consider new careers with all that extra schooling/training after so many years of so much. Can see learning for the fun of it, not for a job.</p>
<p>addenda- son’s laundry done in washer, reminded him to put it in the dryer, he came downstairs, went back up, just reminded him again- “okay”… note it’s 1 am here. Sigh.</p>
<p>Me - BS Mgt, MS Applied Stats
DW - BS Finance and Math, MS in Stats</p>
<p>DD1 - Majoring in English to become a book editor
DD2 - Intends to major in math
DS is only 7 and still working on subtraction without his fingers.</p>
<p>I worry about DD1 solely because of how competitive the industry is, but I know she’ll do well.</p>
<p>B.F.A. Theatre
B.A. French (+ 1 class short of a double major in English)
M.A. & Ph.D. French
H-B.S., M.S., Ph.D.in engineering</p>
<p>S1 B.A + 9 hrs. history but will probably do nothing with it
S2 currently pursuing B.M. (current goal is a DMA)</p>
<p>We just want them to find something they love doing.</p>
<p>B.A. Behavior Science & Instructional Design
M.A. Behavioral Sciences
Ph.D. Biopsychology</p>
<p>DW: B.A. Sociology
M.A. Behavioral Sciences
Ph.D. Educational Psychology</p>
<p>S1 currently an undergrad and is kind of doing a similar thing, S2 is interested in the law, jazz, martial arts, and lacrosse. Told kids that the aim of undergrad education is to be educated, job concerns should not enter into it. Grad school is for training if they want to attend school for job considerations.</p>
<p>idad, what does one do in ed. psych, exactly? I’m doing an undergrad. thesis now in a clinical psych area that intersects somewhat with ed. psych, and I’m finding it to my liking, though I still think I want to apply for a clinical/counseling PhD.</p>
<p>My family:</p>
<p>Dad: Mechanical Engineering (but a <em>long</em> route to get there). Would definitely recommend it, especially to my brother, who definitely has an engineering “bent” to him.</p>
<p>Mom: BA Communications (used it for a few years before becoming a stay-at-home mom [thanks, mom! 
] and wishes she had been more ambitious and focused with regard to intern</p>
<p>Me: Psychology and Social Work major, minor in Biology. I want to go into clinical [therapy] work and will be applying to clinical and counseling PhD programs and a few MSW programs next year. Parents want me to go to law school, but after seeing how hard I’ve worked to prepare for grad school (but, alas, will probably be rejected anyway–figures I would pick the most competitive field in the country!!), they’ve been supportive. :)</p>
<p>My wife runs an experimental private school that serves as a research center developing instructional practices for a range of children. She specializes in investigating and teaching reasoning and problem solving to children. The school typically produces gains of about 2 years in a school year for students who historically have gained about a half a year. Many of the students have been diagnosed with learning disabilities (or as they say, differences), or emotional issues. On the other hand, she is an expert in gifted education as well. She consults nationally on curriculum for new elementary and high schools. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Our D’s interest in completely outside of ours’, the same was with our S. We let them to decide what they want to pursue.</p>
<p>I had a triple major in accounting, economics and finance. I didn’t initially work in any of these fields. I went from undergrad to law school, practiced law (commercial real estate) in a big firm for 16 years and then went onto the business side in real estate finance. I would definitely encourage my oldest D to pursue any of these majors, especially since math is her favorite subject. I’m not sure about the next two - DD3 is too young to judge and I don’t think this is where D2’s strengths lie. DH was a biochemistry major, went to medical school and then law school. I don’t think he’d recommend his undergraduate major and he especially would not recommend medical school; he’d be more likely to recommend my undergrad major.</p>
<p>So all of you MDs are not recommending medical school for your children? Who is going to take care of us in our old age??</p>
<p>Toledo, do not worry, it is still extremely hard to get into Med. school even with exceptional grades and other credentials. Only 43% of applicants get into ANY Med. school.</p>