Followed into the same career as parent
 

Read an article about how kids typically follow their parents into careers. From my experience, I had to agree. My grandfather was a contractor, my dad was, and I followed.

Anyone else follow their parents into a career or have children that followed you?

Well not exactly.
Grandfather was a barnstormer with a Jenny.
Father was an AF pilot 28 years
I was named after an acft company and was a crew chief on F-15's.
My son was named after an acft company and is now an aerospace engineer. (rocket scientist)
A lot of aviation in our genes.

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Father, Grandfather, and Uncle all worked in and owned the family business, I worked there summers and weekends, knew it forward and backwards. Went to college for engineering, and when I graduated I was offered the business, which I declined. I pursued my engineering career and ended up with a job that I loved for over 40 years, so I was an exception to the article.

Seriously, they offered you the family business when you had just recently graduated from college?

Men in my family for as far back as I can see, all seem to go to the military when young, so not to be left out I joined up when I was 16.
Should also mention, we are not endowed with much grey matter either!!

So right about women in engineering.

I studied engineering at the university because of my baby sitter. When I was 5 years old she would come after school, skipping happily, to play with me each day. I asked her once why was she so happy? She said because she was studying chemical engineering. I had no idea what that could be at that age but I decided whatever it was that’s what I’m going to study too.

I applied for engineering in the early 70’s. All the letters from the university were addressed to me as “Mr.” and I got admitted to the men’s gym, men’s club etc. When I went to class I was the only female among 60 students. There were 3000 engineering students at my university, only 6 were girls. There was no female washrooms in the buildings etc.
After my degree I went into elementary school teaching.

I too saw the article. I'm familiar with a number of families where the kids followed a parent's career path. Two of my brother's kids follow him and his wife into teaching, two didn't. Neither of my kids followed me into Corporate America...I didn't have a specific career vision when I was growing up, so I followed my dad's and went into Corporate America (different professional specialties though)...after 30 years I finally escaped and ran my own business for 20 years. I made it a point to foster early conversations about career path options with my two offspring. Neither followed my path...one became a writer and has won 5 Emmy's the other works at MIT

Yes, I was the only male child, and it was offered for me to take over, when I said no, they sold it and retired. Everyone was happy.

I was a 3rd generation restaurant owner.

My Grandfather started in 1925. He retired from it in 1964.

My father opened up his own in 1964. He retired from it in 1984.

I opened up my own in 1984. I retired from it in 2010.

All 3 were entirely different businesses and all 3 were very successful.

Neither of my parents followed their fathers into business. My paternal grandfather owned a printing/lithography company and my mom's dad was a general contractor. My great-grandfathers were a Presbyterian minister in Wales and a fisherman in Italy.

As a child, I didn't really know what my dad did except that he worked in a lab with a lot of radiation warning signs and brought home mice every week to feed his pet python. If anyone asked me, I would say "scientist" with a bit of a vague question mark. (In reality it was the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory which, whoa. So much environmental contamination.)

Dad spent four years in the Air Force and continued as a reserve into his 50s. I took the AF entrance exam when I graduated from high school, absolutely influenced towards that branch because of him. I changed my mind about joining, though.

My mother worked for a while as a secretary and insisted that my sister and I take typing and stenography classes in high school because "it's a dependable skill." We both have had clerical jobs at various points.

nope
 

Not even close. Parents owned/operated a restaurant, I became software engineer.

My husband started working for McDonalds when he was 16. Worked thru the ranks for corporate and eventually purchased his own. We now have 7 restaurants. Our daughter is about ready to purchase her first from us.( yes, buy, We can't just pass the business onto our children, they have to be approved by Corp to be an owner operator, and it's not easy. We have to sell to her at a reasonable price also or McD will buy it themselves) Anyway....she will eventually own all 7. Our son and another daughter supervises some of them and have no desire to own. Another son does the maintenance for them. Daughter in law and son in law are General Managers over a couple if them. Currently have four of our grandkids working in the stores for spending money. One wants to make it a career. Me.....i handle the office work. Lol we are so ready to retire and hopefully soon. Absolutely love the family business we have all worked so hard at. 47 years !

3 kids . youngest became a sales person like daddy . middle is a teacherwhich mom tried for one year . oldest is a web involved experience designer . and studied art . go figure .

Something they don't teach you.

"I made it a point to foster early conversations about career path options with my two offspring"

All I said to the kids is in today's world, is its more important to enjoy your work. . if not you'll have fifty years to figure it out and switch jobs till you do .

That's so true in my case. My mom wanted to be a professional ballerina which she didn't get to do, but I did. After that career I went into teaching which is what my dad did!

My ex-wife and I are both English professors with Ph.D.s. So is our daughter. My ex-wife’s great-grandfather also had a Ph.D. in English.

My great-great grandfather, great-grandfather, grandfather, and father were all preachers, and I did a lot of preaching in my younger days, world wide. Five generations.

My ex-wife’s father and little brother are both cardiologists and went to the same schools and hospitals for their college, med school, and residencies. Her father’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were also physicians, going back to the 1830s. Five generations.

I have a first cousin who was an outlaw biker who did three long stints in penitentiaries. His son has done the same. I’m hoping he’s had a vasectomy.

Well, I know that some women marry a person that has the same job as their father, I did and so did my niece. My step children were raised in my home from a very young age. Yes, my step daughter followed a similar career path as mine in the laboratory, so much for nurture versus nature, her biological mother is a performer. My step son married a girl that has the same body shape as mine (definite pear) and similar independent attitude. We all seek what is familiar to us, good or bad.

Kids took over the business....what a mistake!

I admire you and the family for your career. Patrick Harrison

My grandfather and father were farmers, but I went into the army and made a career of it. Back in 1965 and 1966 with the build up for Viet Nam you couldn't get a good job in my area unless you were in the Reserves or National Guard which was nearly impossible to get into.After the army I worked as a civil service employee for the state of Tennessee. I would have liked to have been a farmer but the cost of land and equipment was and is prohibitive to most people.

Definitely not. My dad was a police officer. I became a PE teacher; one child is an engineer and the other a marketing analyst.

The traditionalists desire their offspring to follow suit. My dad loved his job and wanted so badly for his kids to love the same job. I tried, but it didn't afford me much fun time in college, so i switched. I wanted to go to a college I got into and he told me where I was going to college. It was a military academy, but i was not destined for the military. Got a medical exemption at graduation, and after 8 years, pfft! enough of that crap, my turn to do what I wanted. . . and happy ever since. . .

My brothers followed in our dad's footsteps, all the way, but I didn't see the world the same way as my dad or my brothers. My dad was a product of the agrian age and the depression in his beliefs, as well as the man as the head of the household. He had a very, very good career and pay scale as an engineer. But I also took the lesson away from that in that I wanted my kids to find their own career love, whatever that might be. I can't make them love their job, only they can find that for themselves.

But i got them the best education I could buy, so that they had a good start to find their own way.

sportsguy

My Mother started a real estate company in '75. I started with her the next month. My daughter started with the company while in college. Her husband works with the company. My 37 year old son has finally decided he wants to move back to the beautiful Chesapeake Bay and join the family business! Grandkids will be next hopefully. My secretary has been with the family business for 40 years!