“I want to register to study one major, but my parents want me to study another one. What should I do?”. This was a question raised at the 2019 Exam Counselling Program organized by the Binh Thuan Education & Training Department on January 20.

Cao Quang Tu, enrollment director of the Sai Gon International University, said that the disagreement between parents and children in choosing careers occurs with about 50 percent of students.

In the past, Vietnamese students were criticized for being passive in determining the majors they wanted to study. They simply did what their parents told them to do, while not considering their own interests and capability. But now, parents complain that their children have become too ‘hardheaded’, ignoring adults’ advice.

In reply, Tu said parents have reasons to worry about their children’s decisions. In many cases, students just follow the crowd when choosing careers. In other cases, they make rash decisions.

“Show your parents that you really have passion for the career and you have good understanding about it,” Tu said. “If you cannot become independent and remain reliant on parents, they will certainly not have confidence in you.”

Tran Van Tinh, a lecturer at Education University, a member of the Hanoi National University, said a student from the Tran Phu High School for the Gifted in Hai Phong City and his parents met him several days ago to seek advice after endless arguments.

“His parents are both university lecturers in accountancy. They are running a private auditing firm. But the student wants to become a petroleum engineer,” Tinh said 

According to the expert, in order to make the right decisions, parents and students need to find answers to many questions. Which careers can bring the best incomes? What are students’ passions? What are students’ special capabilities?

Tinh said students need to be equipped with knowledge about new careers that did not exist in the past and those that appeared in the 21st century. Beauty services, for example, make up 20 percent of South Korea’s GDP.  Online sellers, securities brokers and event organizers are also jobs of the 21st century.

Automobile technician is cited as a promising career. “The number of car owners has been increasing rapidly, so auto technicians won’t have to worry about the lack of jobs,” he said.

Nevertheless, he stressed that students need to choose careers based on their capability and passion.

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