Ask HR: Should I allow my son, who is gifted in sciences, to pursue a career in music?
What you need to know:
- Do you appreciate the background to your son’s desire to pursue music as a career?
- Have you had conversations with him to understand what he finds interesting in music? Has he studied music?
- Has the desire for a career in music arisen suddenly or has it been latent over a long time?
My son who is about to finish high school wants to become a musician yet his teachers say he does well in sciences and propose medicine as a fitting profession for him. Should we let him pursue music or encourage him to become a doctor? What advice would you give us as his parents?
The field of medicine presents several benefits, not the least of which is the contribution it makes to the health and wellbeing of people in the society. Doctors help people lead bearable lives in the face of maladies that continue to afflict humanity, such as the current pandemic. Your son’s teachers might have had such considerations in mind when recommending that your son should pursue medicine.
People locate their careers through a variety of ways. These include, among others, the pursuit of professions driven by performance or interest in certain subjects in school, drawing inspiration from the careers of respected individuals, gifts or talents that lend themselves to certain professions such as athletics and, not least, parental influence.
Do you appreciate the background to your son’s desire to pursue music as a career? Have you had conversations with him to understand what he finds interesting in music? Has he studied music? Has the desire for a career in music arisen suddenly or has it been latent over a long time? Does he play any musical instrument? Has he dabbled in the composition of music? Does he sing? Does he have a musician he seeks to emulate? Is he familiar with the inner workings of the music industry and its vagaries? Has he spoken to professionals in the music industry?
It would seem that you are concerned about your son becoming a musician. Do you associate greater success in life with the profession of medicine more than you do music? Success does not repose in specific careers. It does in people. An individual who possesses sustained interest, growing ability and an unflinching willingness to pay the price of pursuing any career is likely to achieve success.
There is still some time for more conversations with your son before his career aspirations are cast on stone. In any event, it is possible to pursue both music and medicine either concurrently or successively. And remember, this is about his career, not yours.
HR Practitioner
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