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Family or Self-Interest?: Parental Pressure in Deliberation of Careers in Asian American Students Immigration from Asian countries has always been on the rise; it goes as far back as 1965 with the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This law resulted in a 2,597 percent increase of Asian immigrants and the number of immigrants from Asian countries is still steadily increasing to this day. The process of immigration begins with the application for an immigrant visa. This long and difficult process is only one of the many factors associated with immigration; upon finally being able to move to the United States, the countless amount of hardships faced by immigrants create a difficult environment for immigrants to establish a steady lifestyle. Often times, immigrants arrive with little to no money along with no other tangible assets. Eugene Volokh, a contributor to The Washington Post, mentions that although skills from previous jobs were retained, “resumé[s] didn’t carry over” (par. 2). With these setbacks, immigrants are forced to take calculated risks as a means to survive the cutthroat economy of the United States. A deep-set desire for their own children to succeed is resulted from their own experiences and immigrant parents often times place pressure on their children to pursue majors that are perceived to have high-salary careers. Majority of students who are first in their families to be born in the United States “expressed pressure to become a doctor, lawyer, accountant or engineer and reiterated the emphasis their parents' placed on work ethic and academic success” (Somerville and Robinson par. 21) in Kara Somerville’s and Oral Robinson’s study that analyzed the effects of parental appearances on occupational outcomes of their children. While considering a career, the first source to draw from would be self-interest in topics that are catered to the strengths of an individual, however, increasing parental pressures to succeed have caused

Lin 2 students to pursue careers that fit their parents’ expectations rather than indulging in careers that are of their own interests. With immigrant parents emphasizing careers in STEM fields, STEMmajor fields in particular has experienced a spike in recent years. This results in an overrepresentation of students that are first in their families to be born in the United States in STEM fields due to students choosing careers based on parental pressure and expectations of them. With continuous parental pressures present in the deliberation of careers, there has been social factors contributing to the rift between immigrant parents and their children, a conflict between interest and choice within these students, and disadvantages in terms of career satisfaction, psychological well-being, and academic performance when these students are approaching their careers. Along with all these factors that Asian American students are facing, universities can offer academic advising to aid in a student’s consideration for a career. In addition to wanting their children to pursue occupations that are associated with a secure future, Somerville and Robinson discovers that parents also want to maintain a high social standing in their societies. In the social context, Somerville and Robinson found that “gossip is simultaneously a means of social control and a source of pressure on second generation youth” (Somerville and Robinson par. 31). Gossip oftentimes refer to rumours that reflect badly on a family as a whole. In Asian American culture, behavior that deviates from what is appropriate or acceptable “is subjected to dishonour and loss of prestige of the family” (Somerville and Robinson par. 11). In order to maintain a high social standing within their communities, families would only disclose positive information. This explains why academic success is an essential as an Asian American student; any deviation from excelling academically is viewed as unacceptable. The need to keep a good image causes a rift in the relationship between themselves

Lin 3 and their children because students fail to comprehend the reasoning behind the need for parental pressure. The rift between immigrant parents and their children begins with the social aspects but the educational outcome of the student is further affected due to their own opinions being neglected. Careers that are deemed appropriate or acceptable includes a heavy focus on STEM related fields. According to Somerville, these careers are viewed as “prestigious” and parental pressure to pursue STEM related majors are heavily instilled. Aishani, a participant in Somerville and Robinson’s study, reports that “her academic field of study was chosen [by her parents] without consultation about her wishes” (Somerville and Robinson par. 23). The individual goal of the student is overlooked in the process of choosing a field of study. It is expected of the student to pursue a “prestigious” career for the sake of their family rather than concerning themselves with their own wishes. However, in some cases, the student’s goal may align with their parents’ goals for educational success. Their desire to excel in school may directly be the same as their parents’ expectations of them; however, this does not automatically resolve the conflict between immigrant parents and their children. The rift that is present between these two groups lie within the motivation behind the desire to excel academically. Parents are preoccupied with the prestige of their family, which, from the student’s perspective, have no correlation to their individual goals. This is where colleges and universities are able to come into play with academic advising in order to reduce the stress for first generation college students. Currently there are career centers implemented in colleges to help individuals explore career paths. However, with the rift between immigrant parents and their children, this resource is insufficient in providing help for first generation college students. Instead, universities and colleges should implement advisors that specialize in providing help for first generation students, keeping in

Lin 4 mind the social obligations of these students and providing advice in straying away from parental pressures to pursue careers that are not of their interest. With parental pressure to pursue careers that are socially acceptable, Shen and his colleagues found that there is a “significantly lower interest-choice congruence compared with [students] who chose traditionally underrepresented majors (artistic, social)” (Shen et al. 241). Shen analysed the conflict of interest and choice within Asian American students in a study that evaluated the effects of parental expectations on the career outcomes of first generation college students. Parental pressure was amongst some of the plausible cultural explanations for the lack of interest and stereotypical major choices. “[They] postulated that due to their immigration experiences and the need to establish themselves in U.S. society, Asian parents tend to pressure their children to pursue prestigious and secure occupations” (Shen et al. 243). This causes a segregation of occupations which encompasses overrepresented majors in “physical, biological, and medical sciences” and underrepresented majors in “verbal, persuasive and social occupations” (Shen et al. 241). First generation Asian American students often only have a small range of careers and majors that they are able to choose from that conform to their parents’ values. The segregation of occupations reveals that the conflict of interest and choice lies within parental definition of a “prestigious and secure occupation.” Their definition restricts their children from being able to choose majors of interest because they are not associated with having high-salary careers. The conflict between interest and choice is also directly related to the desire to live up to parental expectations. Shen and his colleagues “indicate that [Asian American] students of lower acculturation and generation status...hold greater Asian cultural values and are more likely to base their choices in occupation on their parents’ career expectations” (243). Children of

Lin 5 immigrant parents that are first to attend college experience a lack of cultural contact and adaptation to certain cultural practices and values solely based on the fact that they are raised in a different country. Due to the disconnect with their parents’ culture, they tend to compensate for lower acculturation by accommodating their parents’ expectations. This suggests that since students hold a greater value of living up to parental expectations, they pursue careers and majors that don’t align with self-interest. Students majoring in “stereotypical majors” expressed that “parental pressure had a greater influence on their major choices compared with those who chose nonstereotypical majors” and Shen postulates that a “possible explanation may be that those majoring in stereotypical majors are more susceptible to parental pressure’s influence on their choices due to their desire to live up to parental expectations” (Shen et al. 243). The desire to live up to parental expectations causes the students to be blindsided in choosing their majors. Rather than placing value on their own interest, their parents’ values are of more importance compared to their own. Academic advising can be an effective method in combating this blindsightedness of first generation students. Meetings with advisors can provide clarity for a student in their interests and advisors can ensure that the student doesn’t diverge from their own passions. With students choosing careers motivated by their parents’ expectations, there are downsides to their career satisfaction and psychological well-being when approaching their chosen majors. In Barbara Griffin and Wendy Hu’s study that analyzed the negative effects of students approaching medical careers with the aim of achieving the wishes of others, they noted that “career satisfaction and continuance are determined by a good fit between the work environment and one’s personal vocational interests and values” (Griffin and Hu 590). This demonstrates that career satisfaction and persistence in a career has a direct connection; a lack of

Lin 6 individual decision and interest promotes a lower sense of motivation and persistence in continuing a certain career field. While parental pressure to excel academically may be seen as positive and prompts success, job performance is affected negatively when students approach their careers with conflicting interests and choice. Griffin and Hu observes that “those who perceived pressure from their parents to choose a high-status career or one that aligned with cultural norms, was in turn associated with higher burnout at the end of the degree” (590). When the motivation behind selecting a major is to fulfill the expectation of an individual’s parents, there is a higher burnout rate when trying to complete their degrees. With a higher burnout rate, students are not performing to the best of their abilities; they are pursuing the end of their degrees as a means to appease their parents’ demands. The so-called “success” that the students are driven towards is reduced to their parent’s view of success, simply finishing their degree and pursuing a career that is STEM-related, without consideration of the quality of work or selfsatisfaction of their children. Admittedly, there are multiple views that a student is required to consider when they are selecting majors, many of which are independent from just their own self-interests. As Griffin and Hu stated, “in collectivist cultures, where decision making is typically more interdependent,...career choices [are] guided by factors that benefit one’s family and community rather than oneself” (Griffin and Hu 585) . In the social context, if a student pursues a career that is not socially acceptable, both the individual, their families, “and by extension the community” are viewed as failures (Somerville and Robinson par. 29). However, it is also important to consider the socio-economic status of a student’s family. If a student has a lower socio-economic status, they often have to consider a career that either benefits their family and community compared to one that benefits their own self-interest. In Danielle Riverin-Simard’s study that

Lin 7 inspected the career choices of adults based on socio-economic classes, she notes that “[those of lower socio-economic status] seem to want to immerse themselves in a search for a promising path that would allow them to identify the jobs offering them the best conditions necessary for their subsistence” (19). Based on their own immigration experiences, immigrant parents place importance for their children to establish themselves successful through “prestigious careers” since it was difficult for their parents to do so. Therefore, when deliberating careers, students of lower socio-economic status oftentimes consider high-salary careers that are associated with the STEM majors that they are restricted to pursue. With all these factors to consider, there is an immense amount of pressure on first generation students; however, universities can offer additional resources to decrease this pressure. With parental pressures pushing students towards majors that conflict with self-interest, the role of universities and schools is important to the students in choosing careers that utilize the student’s abilities in the most effective way. Providing career information is a helpful method to introduce students to an extensive range of careers that are not conformed to the stereotypical majors that Asian Amercians have created a segregation from. Many universities, such as Berkeley University and Binghamton University, have career centers that have many resources to assess an individual’s skills and interests. They offer online resources as well as events and workshops that allow students to learn about occupations that may satisfy self-interest and values. Influencing career choice in a more positive way can improve career satisfaction, psychological well-being and job performance as a student pursues their major. In addition to providing career information, externship programs, career fairs and employer information sessions are also an effective method is combating the conflict of interest and choice in Asian American students. Rather than being restricted to career options that fit their parent’s

Lin 8 expectations, students can gain experience in other fields through externship programs that last a short period of time at an employer’s work environment. As it stands, these career centers offer many resources to provide new opportunities for students, however, there are no advisors that are specialized in helping first generation students. First generation students have concerns that don’t coincide with the concerns of students that have non-immigrant parents. Opening opportunities and options to students may reduce the amount of students that are choosing majors in which they are not interested in but if there are advisors that are able to keep the factors that first generation students have to consider in mind, first generation students can be exposed to advice that caters towards their situation. In many cases, there may be occupations that satisfies both the student and their parents’ values in a career, however, a more positive approach towards influencing a student’s career culminates to a success that is more beneficial than the perceived “success” of merely completing a degree. There are many circumstances in which people view are separate from the deliberation of a career or major. People don’t consider the social aspects or socio-economic status of a student as choosing a career is based on self-interest. However, as a student’s interests and choice in major dispute with one another, the relationship between immigrant parents and their children is disturbed. Students fail to comprehend the motivation behind “prestigious majors” and in turn, their own career satisfaction and psychological well-being in pursuing careers that cater to their parents’ expectation is diminished. This is unfavorable to both parties as the “success” perceived by parents that is reached is reluctantly achieved and students lose their individual decisions in an occupation. With the addition to career centers in universities, there will be a reduction in students who are first in their families to go to college, choosing majors of which they are not interested in. The problems of career satisfaction and higher burnout rates are diminished as a

Lin 9 student is allowed to explore careers that encompasses both interest and skill. Even with parental pressures present, these resources can allow a student to provide the same career information to their parents and open up more opportunities for themselves.

Works Cited “Career Clarity: Career Exploration.” Career Clarity: Career Exploration | Career Center, https://career.berkeley.edu/Plan/Explore. Cole, Nicki Lisa. “Do You Know What Acculturation Is and What Causes It to Happen?” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 18 July 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/acculturation-definition-3026039. Griffin, Barbara, and Wendy Hu. “Parental Career Expectations: Effect on Medical Students’ Career Attitudes over Time.” Medical Education, vol. 53, no. 6, 2019, pp. 584– 592.,

doi:10.1111/medu.13812.

Riverin-Simard, Danielle. “Career Paths and Socio-Economic Status.” Canadian Journal of Counseling , vol. 26, no. 1, 1992, pp. 15–28. Somerville, Kara, and Oral Robinson. "Keeping Up Appearances Within the Ethnic Community: A Disconnect Between First and Second Generation South Asians' Educational Aspirations." Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, vol. 48, no. 2, 2016, p. 99+.

Lin 10 Gale Academic Onefile Shen, Frances C., et al. “Parental Pressure and Support toward Asian Americans’ Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectations, and Interests in Stereotypical Occupations: Living up to Parental Expectations and Internalized Stereotyping as Mediators.” Journal of Counseling Psychology, vol. 61, no. 2, 2014, pp. 241–252., doi:10.1037/a0036219. Volokh, Eugene. “My Immigrant Experience.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Apr. 2019 Zong, Jie, et al. “Asian Immigrants in the United States.” Migrationpolicy.org, 2 Mar. 2017...