In today’s society, getting into college is a milestone that high school students feel is necessary in order to achieve success, especially with the pressure from their parents. Students are heavily encouraged by their parents to attend a university that is superior and provides an education that will lead them to a well-paying job. This constant pressure to succeed is detrimental to students, because it creates futures that are unfulfilling to the students solely because they were pushed to do something they have no desire to do. Parents should not force their children to pursue a major that sets them up for failure.

Pressure from parents to not only do well in school but to choose a career that they may not enjoy is extremely prevalent in today’s society. It is difficult for students to find the motivation to work for a career they didn’t choose for themselves, and many students end up with lives they aren’t satisfied with.

In addition to this, many kids go to college expecting to graduate through one major, but change their minds as their college education progresses. According to research at the University of La Verne, about 50-70 percent of students change their major in college, and the average student changes it three times. Not only is it normal for college students to change their major, it is nearly expected. Kids who are forced to choose a specific career path early on almost depend on changing their major, simply because they have no desire to pursue that profession.

Parents who struggle to let their children follow their own path may also come across as unsupportive. Kids who pursue the arts may feel invalidated because their parents only want them to be a doctor or lawyer. There is a disconnect between careers and the arts, because parents often dismiss those occupations as a waste of time. It is almost as if pursuing the arts dooms a child to an eternity of being a “starving artist” or unsuccessful. Children need encouragement to pursue their dreams, because they can make an impact on a global scale if they truly dedicate themselves to their career. Forcing students to be doctors only decreases the quality of doctors.

The pressure to pursue one path can also cause students to miss out on great opportunities, such as internships or jobs, in other fields. It is important that a child makes a decision based on what they want, and not what their parents want, because people are only truly motivated to master the art of something they take interest in. Pursuing an undesirable career wastes a student’s time and energy, and parents should understand that support is one of the best things they can offer their child.

While parental pressure may be straining on students, a healthy amount of pressure can be beneficial. Parents pushing their kids to succeed normally want what they feel is best for their child. They want to see them live a long, healthy life with a stable career that provides them with the necessary pay to do so. However, many parents fail to take their children’s opinions into consideration. Pressure can be motivating, but it may motivate students in the wrong direction, thus being more harmful than beneficial.