▶ Your Answer :
When choosing a life career, the influence of a parent can be quite decisive. Many parents encourage their children to live the life they have dreamed of, and try a different job from their own. However, in most cases, I believe it would be more beneficial for the child and the parent alike if children followed in the footprints of their parents.
First of all, it paves a more convenient method to success for the children. Children who share similar occupations with their parents can at least inherit the experiences of the parent, which would save them much time and energy along the way. The parents, who have already had decades of trial and failure in the field, would have a clear opinion of what kind of knowledge and quality is required for the job. In that case, they would be able to better prepare the children for the job, and give them helpful suggestion for their carrer development. Furthermore, experience is not the only thing children can inherit from their parents. For example, a businessman can provide his son a shortcut to success by leaving him an already well-run company, and a politician can leave his children the connections they would need in order to win sufficient support.
In addition, a similar career is likely to strengthen the parent-child bond. Nowadays parents often complain that they are losing their child because of busy schedules and a digital social world. However, generation gaps are easily bridged when parents can often exchange career ideas with their children. Though different the lifestyles of two generations may be, the questions they have to face in a similar job can always be a good topic of conversation. Personally, I fell closest to my father when he shares with me his experience and wisdoms of reporting for a national newspaper before he retired, because I may come across similar challenges in my pursuit of a career in journalism. He is the first person I turn to whenever I need professional guidance, and I feel like I can always trust him and count on him. It should work the same for most parent and child relationship. As a career mentor, a parent can bond with the child in more profound ways.
Given the two reasons I just illustrated, it can be a smart decision if the children choose similar jobs as their parents. It would benefit their personal success as well as family relationships. |