Why do a lot of Indian families push their kids towards medicine?

Ok I'm Indian and I came from a liberal family.

I just wanted to ask some questions. Why do a lot of Indian families push their kids towards medicine/engineering?

Also, why are a lot of Indian parents so strict?

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Reply 1

kelefi

Generally in indian communities Medicine is considered the pinnacle of educational skill, as it is so selective and difficult

same generally goes for engineering

the strictness comes from the idea that children need strict guidance, as things such as alcohol smoking and drugs are seen as extremely disgraceful,

this is mainly as the culture is focused on the wellbeing of family etc. and alcohol can be very dangerous etc.

this is coming from an Indian :smile:

Reply 2

the bear

it is a cultural thing. other immigrant groups are keen to become footballers and "rap" stars; traditionally these options are not favoured by the Indian/Pakistan communities.

the strictness which OP mentions is less observable in other immigrant communities. In Indian and Pakistani families Daddy-ji is a highly respected figure and there is no tradition of single-parenthood in the sub-continent.

Reply 3

carlisomes

Nothing wrong with strictness, it's not better than a liberal upbringing.

And as said, it's cultural. Better have children who contribute more to society than scrunts who don't. So they have a culture of achievement, the inhumanity lol.... I guess it's why India is prospering, eh? :wink:

Reply 4

Ggmu!

Because they want their kids to do well. It's pretty obvious.

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Reply 5

SachinNeedsHelp

Original post by Ggmu!

Because they want their kids to do well. It's pretty obvious.

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There is a bigggg difference in doing well and bein treated like.dirt and.forced.to work like hours... Im,indian, and my parents are.strict.to a.certain extent more.laid back than strict and im f glad. Personally if people want to do well, they will have the passion and willingness to do so... You cant force someone.into something they dont want to do I.e. medicine as a career what if they enjoy English? and want to take up literature or.journalism. In strict families they wouldnt allow it and thinkin about other careers other than medicine brings "shame" and "dishonour" to the.family... like WTF?! This really pisses.me off, like let them do what they want, give people freedom! and support and guide them, not.live their f lives for.them! Grr But they are so cooped up in their world to understand... and if.you dont get into medicine people are considered as "failures"... like. cmon society is so effed.up these days.

Reply 6

Black Rose

Pretty sure its similar with all South Asians..

Reply 7

Rascacielos

Medicine (and law) are good degrees. But family pressure isn't just related to race - I expect an equal percentage of Caucasian/white/Christian (whatever group we're using) students were "encouraged" by their families.

Reply 8

Ripper Phoenix

Original post by honeyandlemon

justified thread.. lol but i am indian too .. i am not exactly pushed to study medicine.. its just that my dad is in the medical field so i have seen operations and trust me it is fascinating!
and not all indian parents are strict.. mine are but its because they want you to succeed in life..

lol the medicine engineering idea is from "3 idiots" :biggrin:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 9

Xabier

Original post by Rascacielos

1.Medicine is better. That's why its the most popular choice.
2. Family pressure is heavily related to race and the culture its synonymous with. You expect very very wrong.

Reply 10

pleasedtobeatyou

It's like how a Shaman in a village is the leader as they're thought to have spiritual healing powers. A doctor is just a hyped up version.

Reply 11

rickfloss

because it has the highest Return on investment of any degree

med/dent has twice the roi of engineering.

Smart parents

Reply 12

ThatPerson

Original post by honeyandlemon

I guess because it's a stable,useful, reasonably well-paid career, amongst hundreds of other reasons.

I think work ethic and discipline are just part of Asian culture tbh, and a lot of British Indian parents are first or second generation immigrants, who then therefore pass that attitude on to their children.

Reply 13

Ggmu!

Original post by pleasedtobeatyou

It's like how a Shaman in a village is the leader as they're thought to have spiritual healing powers. A doctor is just a hyped up version.

I don't think so.

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Reply 14

itsn0b0dy

Original post by rickfloss

because it has the highest Return on investment of any degree

med/dent has twice the roi of engineering.

Smart parents

is that CFROI?

Reply 15

itsn0b0dy

I say the main reason is the respect people doctors have in society. I mean saving lives, what job is more respectable than that?

Reply 16

sachinisgod

Because they wouldnt be able to look their fellow consultant doctor friends in their eyes while they openly boast that their kid is doing medicine from cambridge while your own is doing computer science from Portsmouth. Yes they might say aww thats nice and pretend to care but tbh inside they are thinking the kid has wasted his life.

However some Indian parents are liberal and dont give two poos about other indian parents. One guy i knew was doing classical studies from UCL... (thats right Classical Studies) and his dad was a well known doctor but he didnt care.

Reply 17

Squirb

So they can tell all their relatives and friends how their wonderful kid is studying medicine

Srs

They regard social status so highly

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Reply 18

Lovinlife2

Indians and Asians like a lot of healthy competition. Most work hard to get what they want.
Medicine is seen as one of those careers that is the top and nothing else can beat that course hence you have a load of Indian parents telling their children to pursue a career in Medicine to become a "big shot".

However, not all Indians are like this. My parents, in fact, have not pushed me to become a doctor (although my parents backgrounds are from medically related fields) and they've told me to choose a pathway in life where I will genuinely enjoy myself and not do something just because of the sake of doing it. What matters to them is that I lead a comfortable, happy life - Not a life where I am unhappy, miserable and work like a dog every day of my life just to get somewhere.

Reply 19

TheBBQ

Original post by honeyandlemon

Because they want us to do well. Well most of them do.

At the end of the day, it's them being strict that can prevent us from stupid things in life that we might regret later on. I for one am glad that my parents are strict.