Mom poses with son at his graduation.
Choosing a college major is a big deal for students and parents alike because one's college major sets the groundwork for their future career and income.
One mom decided that, in order to set her kids up for future financial success, she would limit her kids' college major choices.
Mom and therapist Ruth Han, LPC, took to Instagram to share how she helped guide her children on choosing their college majors—and her methods seem pretty controversial.
Her kids can choose from four majors
Han began the video by saying people are going to "lose their minds" when she tells them why she is implementing limits for her kids' college majors. She added that her husband thought she was crazy and thought their kids would rebel when she delivered the news.
"College is not a time to explore your passions. I do not have the money or the time for that," she said. "Absolutely take advantage of all the extracurriculars and the opportunities that a college campus offers. But college, to me, is a white collar trade school, so you have to graduate with an in-demand skill."
The four majors are: Nursing, Accounting, Engineering, and Computer Science.
Her biggest reason for limiting college major choices is tuition itself, which she adds can cost up to $400,000. Han explains her homeschooled kids earned full merit scholarships as well. However, she argues that young adults will have a harder time launching if they don't earn enough money to financially support themselves.
"They can at that time figure out what they want to do and what their passions are. So it was best for me to do something to make sure that my kids were going to enter young adulthood with a highly-marketable, in-demand skill."
Han explained that she told her kids that they would have her full financial support for four years, but "after that i have to focus on my retirement because I do not expect you to support me in my old age. As a mother, it's my duty to make sure that you can provide for yourself."
That means doing whatever her kids want to do. "You want to go play guitar on the boardwalk for money? Go for it. You wanna be a professional gamer, an actress, a dancer, a musician, a pro athlete—go for it. I want them to do whatever they want once they have the actual ability to make that choice as an adult because then you also have to have the ability to handle all of the ups and downs of such choices."
Her final takeaway: "As parents, we have to make sure that they start out in life without any student loans," Han said.
Students pose after college graduation.Photo credit: Canva
What parents are saying
Han received many comments on her video.
Some were supportive:
"My daughter had 1 choice… tech, and I won’t say she agreed. But after becoming a SE and making 110K straight out of college, she was very happy she listened."
"Certified HR professional with 18 years of experience and having worked for Fortune 500s, tech, and hedge funds (as HR) I can tell you she’s saving them so much time wasted. So many professionals don’t end up in the fields they studied delaying their peak salary. Every single one of those degrees have high salaries averages and are respectable degrees. I’ve never seen a high paying job (200k+) asking for liberal arts preferred…"
"This is what my parents pretty much did lol I wanted to go to acting school my dad said get a degree first and I got an engineering degree. I’m actually happy he did that."
"I love the concept of launching young adults VS raising children. I’m on board."
However, others were critical:
Parents help move daughter in to college.Photo credit: Canva
"Having worked in higher education, practically my entire career, I can say from professional experience that this sounds like good advice but it’s not that cut and dry. Great, you limited the education and career options for your child because of its earning potential. Congratulations, now your child is crying in my office their entire senior year because their unhappy, not really good at what they’ve studied because they were never invested, and now they’re on their way to being unemployed or underemployed because they never really mastered the skill set. They just sat in class to make you happy. A paid dancer makes more than an unemployed engineer everyday of the week. And trust me… there are a bunch of unemployed engineers, doctors, and lawyers."
"I totally understand your reasoning but also maybe they shouldn’t go to college if they don’t like those majors. I have a long list of people who decided the majors they graduated in weren’t for them. They decided they were happier being carpenters, bartenders, teachers, opened restaurants, etc. Those big paychecks and so called secure jobs killed their soul."
"I got a BFA in acting. Went on to become a professional theatre creator for years, and then received a scholarship to get my masters degree at Columbia where I now have the opportunity to work on Broadway. Thank GOD my mother didn't do this, and she accepted and supported my talent and drive for what it was! I'm so glad my parents saw me for who I was, even if it wasn't the most statistically probable path towards financial stability (yes, we both have student loans to pay for this). And perhaps this might come as surprising, but an advanced tertiary education is about learning, not just financial gain."
"I would have dropped out of school in 2 days if I had been in accounting/nursing/engineering. I also would have wasted YEARS not developing the skills I was passionate about and been behind. I am SO thankful I had parents who supported 'out of the box' ways of life and thought my art degree was a great idea. The overall liberal arts education was mind-opening! I started my own company and now make more each year than any accountant or nurse I know, plus I work from home on my own schedule and have tons of time with my family. Doing what I LOVE. I also paid for all my own schooling by choosing affordable schools and finding creative ways to pay for them. My parents supported creative ways to make money but never handed me cash. It’s my education, not theirs."