A few years back a parent survey asked what they expected for their children’s futures. More than 80% of them expected their children to graduate from a four-year college. As all parents know, or at some time find out, there is often a big discrepancy between expectations and outcomes in raising children. This is particularly true in this instance. While more than 80% of parents expect their children to graduate from a four-year college, the actual percentage of Nebraska students who attend is 48%. The number who actually graduate from a four-year institution is even more of a contrast to expectations: 27% of Nebraska adults 25 and over are four-year college graduates. What is the cause of this discrepancy between parents’ hopes and the eventual reality? And is this discrepancy important?

Part of the reason for the difference is that many parents are not aware of the numerous excellent career opportunities that do not require a four-year degree. Naturally, wanting what is best for their children they encourage them to go in the only direction they believe will bring them satisfaction and success. They naturally encourage their children to go to college as the key to this positive future.

Unfortunately, for many young people having two or three years of college may result only in the development of a large debt with very little pay off in future earnings or happiness. For such youths heading into a direction that required less schooling and more technical skills, acquisition might be a much better fit. This fit may be better from both an ability and an interest point of view. While trying things and failing can be a good learning experience, in general it is better to head in a successful direction as early as possible.

Because of this, it is wise for parents to encourage their children to explore a great variety of career interests at a young age. It is also a good idea for parents to help their children discover their interests and aptitudes and identify career areas that are a potential match for them. Much happiness in life results from finding a career that a person is good at and enjoys.

Parents can do this by learning about more careers and sharing that information with their children. They can also do it by encouraging their children to identify at very early ages what areas they are interested in learning more about. Then they can help them find information on these areas to help them determine if they could be possible options for career exploration. They can also help their young people get acquainted with experts or workers in those areas to find out first-hand what their jobs entail. They can help them learn more about these areas in other ways such as finding summer jobs related to these careers.

Perhaps the main way parents can help is to keep an open mind about career choices. Specifically, they should keep an open mind about career possibilities that do not require four-year degrees. This does not mean that parents should not encourage their children to set a four-year college degree as a goal. However, if this goal does not fit the interests and aptitudes of the children, it can be a mistake. Pushing children to meet parent expectations in career choices versus what really matches the children’s makeup can lead to many false starts and frustrating experiences. Much time may then be lost before the young people find the career fields that will bring them life-long satisfaction and success. Parents are wise to do whatever they can to help their children avoid these false starts, when possible, so they can be on a course of life-long satisfaction much earlier.

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