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Asians

Reply 20

Scipio

13

Jools, can you direct me to where you found the infomation?

Reply 21

London_psycho

1

Asian, dude be more specific. I guess your talking about people opf south asian origin (indian/pakistani etc). Well if you lot do your research, there is a huge gap between Indians and pakistanis regarding academic and job success, so you can't say asians as a whole do well.

Reply 22

Potjaz

OP

1

My experience has been of primarily of those from Indian & Pakistani backgrounds. Don't get me wrong - I don't see it as a bad thing at all that they are aiming high and achieving well. In some cases though I just can't help but notice the all too obvious signs of a parent living through their children. Especially when it comes to A level or university choices and one notices a surprising number of Asians all going for medicine, law, or accounting is another common one.

My only point perhaps is that I feel I a little sorry for those who do not have a completely free choice in their course selection, whatever race, but it just seems to be more prevalent among some Asians.

Reply 23

tate

1

Jools

Fair enough, but then again what is worse,
a) Having strict parents who push you to get A-grades and force you against your wishes into a well-paid, respected profession with good job stability, or
b) Having parents who don't care less about your future and prospects, tell you that education is pointless, give you freedom to drink and shag around from your early teens...

well you've picked the extreams there! not all parents are like that. what about all those parents who want the best for there children, but don't push them too far, they just want them to be happy.

Reply 24

mxox

2

I'm half asian and I'm going to do English at uni this year :smile:

(feels like a rebel :rock:

)

Reply 25

phatz00

1

I don't know the validity of this, but some time back i read an article about how races and regions have general intellectual capabilities and specific areas of academic strength that could be linked to a biological factor. They mentioned how for example Asians excel in the maths and sciences, which takes a certain kind of brain vs europeans excel in literature and social sciences.

...this could be a reason for Asians being doctors (lawyers don't hold up to this argument though).

On a different perspective, from what I have seen, education is emphasized alot more here in the US than in the UK, and with more generations being educated in this country, the Asian kids are branching away from the "typical" doctor/engineer careers to others such as politics and government, history, english, political theory, education and what not.

Reply 26

Khalsa1846

there is a lot of pressure to perform really well especially if the parents are ones that came from india and settled here. BUT it is a great thing to have as it gives direction to what you should be doing - though i do not agree with parents forcing their children to do law/medicine or any other profession i do agree very strongly of the work-ethic that is instilled in us.
However i do see that the "next" generation will be more "westernised" and hence may lose this work-ethic.
In the Indian/Asian sub-continent there is a massive push towards education. There was an article in the The Times the other day which drew comparisons with the Chinese children in schools and those here and it was interesting to note how in China there were major diversions of traffic, postponement of public works and a general curfew around schools due to school examinations taking place (and children there and dead serious about their education there...literally...a kid shot his mother as he - i think - desperately wanted to do the exams and his mother was refusing!!!); this behaviour contrasts with the EMA incentives of £30 a week for full attendance and full work completion and also certain education authorities giving out incentives like IPODS etc...
Mandeep

Reply 27

username23872

I am asian, from Afghanistan.. and want to do History/Politics or Peace and conflict studies.. Its true that Asian parents insist that their children should study law or medicine, because Asians are more collectivist and Europeans are more individualists.. in this case we can see that collectivisim is far more better than individualism..

Reply 28

lekha85

1

I will agree that, within Indian 'tradition'. there is a high degree of pressure to perform well. I am mixed race Indian, and wasnt brought up in a fully Indian society (in fact i think of myself as scottish before indian) but i most certainly feel the pressure from my parents to perform to the highest level. But, much to their disappointment I wont give in to it. I'm one of these people who believes you 'shouldn't let your degree get in the way of your education!'.
All my cousins and relations are at the top of their game...eg. working for NASA, doing Phd's a Princeton etc etc. But as far as I'm concerned, as long as I enjoy what I'm doing- who cares! I wont give in to the pressure of my parents or the precedent of my family members!

Reply 29

Logan

4

ahhh, but the whole story is different from the asians to the east.. (Chinese, japs, koreans, singapore, etc etc)...

Reply 30

phatz00

1

nasht

ahhh, but the whole story is different from the asians to the east.. (Chinese, japs, koreans, singapore, etc etc)...

actually...not really, not in the US anyways. I attended medical graduate school, and although the majority of the students were white, the minorities that were there were all ASIAN...south asian, and east asian. You don't find alot of east asians in law school here, but a lot in computer science, medicine, dentistry and engineering, and they relate to alot of the south asian students in terms of ethnic profiles such as this.

Reply 31

ArchiBoi

12

i think its quite racist to say that. I think that a similar proporption white british students are forced into jobs or courses they dont want to do. Just the same as other races, or backgrounds are.

Reply 32

sb1986

8

Whenever family people ask me what subjects I am doing [standard Indian conversation], and I dont mention any sciences I always get a funny look. Then again what I am doing [economics] is pretty 'asian' in itself anyway.lol

Reply 33

Kubed

13

Generally I think that trends are shifting. Although there are people who are pushed into a medecine job and those who are pushed to excel in the sciences we 3rd generation Indians are beginning to make our own decisions. A few of my Indian friends are doing 3 sciences and maths for A-level, but many are also starting to break this mould. I know a lot of Indian people who are doing subjects such as English for A-level. Two of my cousins have become teachers which would have probably been unheard of in previous generations. We are the first generation to have lived in the UK for all our lives and therefore it is inevitable that thinking is becoming more westernised. Some of our parents will be probably be the last to push their children in to "respectable" careers (not that my parents are doing that).

Reply 34

vivado

phatz00

actually...not really, not in the US anyways. I attended medical graduate school, and although the majority of the students were white, the minorities that were there were all ASIAN...south asian, and east asian. You don't find alot of east asians in law school here, but a lot in computer science, medicine, dentistry and engineering, and they relate to alot of the south asian students in terms of ethnic profiles such as this.

It depends. I know many Singaporeans study law at Oxbridge. To practice law in Singapore with a foreign degree, you have to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from approved foreign universities in the UK, Australia and New Zealand as provided by the Legal Profession Act (Cap161). None of the approved universities are American because there's a significant difference between Singapore and American law. Few Chinese students (i.e. from China) study law here too. Most of them are typically in science, engineering and computing. But you can find Singaporeans in almost all disciplines I should think; we are not inhibited by the language barrier.

Reply 35

kpg

11

My father is a doctor, so is my brother, all my dad's cousins are doctors. It's something I've been brought up with and become accustomed to. I too have chosen to do Medicine but no one forced me into it and it's what I chose to do. I'm not into the arts, english, politics or history or management, computing etc. Certainly not at degree level anyway so medicine became the logical choice for me. People say it's unfortunate or whatever to go into medicine because your family has a background in it but it can be a major advantage. Because of my family background, I've probably had a lot more awareness and insight into medicine and a doctor's life than a lot of people. I'm fully aware of the strains and demands it puts on someone's shoulders but I'm ready for it and it's what I want to do. The same goes for a lot of Indians I know who are doing medicine/dentistry etc. No one I know has been pushed into anything and a few I know are studying things like English and History instead.

It's true a lot of people from the sub-continent choose to do Medicine or something equivalent but it's wrong to simply assume people have been pushed into it when in reality it is probably on a minority rather than majority.

Reply 36

vivado

kpg

It's true a lot of people from the sub-continent choose to do Medicine or something equivalent but it's wrong to simply assume people have been pushed into it when in reality it is probably on a minority rather than majority.

Actually, I know a lot of Indian friends (from India, not Singaporean Indians) both in university and during my A level days. Some of them are on scholarships here. So many I've met - if not almost all - are studying engineering, especially computer engineering. And this is not an overstatement because I've met quite a number of Indian students. But it may be because Medicine is very hard to get in here like in the UK and there are limited places for foreigners.

Reply 37

roff

2

Jools

A (Indian) friend was asked what he wanted to do at university.
"Economics"
"E-co-no-mics? What branch of medicine is that beta?"

Reply 38

roff

2

vivado

Actually, I know a lot of Indian friends (from India, not Singaporean Indians) both in university and during my A level days. Some of them are on scholarships here. So many I've met - if not almost all - are studying engineering, especially computer engineering. And this is not an overstatement because I've met quite a number of Indian students. But it may be because Medicine is very hard to get in here like in the UK and there are limited places for foreigners.

I'm confused, do you mean to say Indians that live in the UK and have lived here most of their lives still get counted as foreign and not as home students when they apply? Or only Indians coming from abroad?