<p>Who wouldn’t support their kids? PhD’s in english get paid very well at any top uni and still plenty at any big state school. If she’s smart enough to be an IB then she’ll for sure be a top english teacher, publish papers, give speeches, get on NPR, write books, and change lives! All while having summers off :D</p>
<p>p.s. It makes me sick to read the careers you listed off. People should only go into those if they absolutely love them. Not for stability. Ever. She’ll look back and wonder why she let you push her into a monotonous office job that doesn’t satisfy her need for creativity and social interaction. :</p>
<p>:P @ post #90. I knew I smelled a ■■■■■. Should’ve listend to my instinct instead of posting. Thanks NjSue. (and for others, yes trolling for engagement is still trolling, it’s like fox news. Controversial news gets more attention than actual news.)</p>
<p>My son gets perfect scores on standardized math tests (60/60, not just the highest score, several times), and he wants to be a chef. </p>
<p>The suggestion for everyone is to have more than one career path possible. Things like typing and being good with computers can help in any profession (even being a chef!).</p>
<p>Many famous musicians, actors, and artists had to have a part - or full - time job to pay the bills.</p>
<p>If you are worried she won’t cut it as a professor, she could still teach classes and do okay, even if she isn’t paid for research. Many professors start out wanting to publish, but end up teaching, so if she wants to be a professor, she should be better armed to do so.</p>
<p>As for your choices:
encourage her?<br>
If you don’t agree with her choice, don’t encourage her. But treat it as any other interest, so:
support her?
Definitely support her, again, like any other interest including sports and clubs, ask her if she wants to take outside writing courses or try to publish. Maybe she wants to try an English course at a local community college while still in HS.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>discourage her?
I wouldn’t discourage her as much as suggest she should have a few career paths lined up. Everyone should have general office skills, no matter the job. If it ever got to the point to where she <em>had</em> to work outside of her field, she should be able to work in a bookstore or office, and not have to waitress (no offense but it’s even harder than being a professor).</p></li>
<li><p>start saving a lot of money so that she has a good inheritance lined up?
That’s a good idea anyway. But I wouldn’t focus on that. My brothers all lived at home for five years or more after college, so just being a backup in case she has trouble starting out.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Remember that she’s at least thinking about a career. Better than being totally in the dark and planning to sponge off you for the rest of her life.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree with rhandco. She wants to do something honorable with her life. It’s not like she wants to be a stripper or work in adult movies. There are no guarantees about any career. As an English professor myself (ESL actually), I wish her the best of luck.</p>