An out-of-touch dad faced anger and ridicule on Reddit after he revealed that he tried to pick his daughter’s career for her. The girl had other ideas, though, and he’s unsure where to go. This is his whole story.
Her Dad Wants Her To Be a Superstar Data Scientist
OP is a computer scientist who loves his job and thinks his 17-year-old daughter has excellent potential in the field, too. He sees her as a superstar data scientist in the future.
The problem is that OP’s daughter wants nothing to do with computers. She excelled in two computer classes as a first- and second-year student. However, she totally avoided tech courses during her junior and senior years.
Even though his daughter was excited about learning computer science initially, OP says she got tired of it pretty fast.
Now, OP’s daughter thinks she wants to be a psychologist. She also wants to study business in college, so she has definite plans for her future.
She Didn’t Enjoy Computer Science
But OP told his daughter that neither of those fields suits her well. She’s autistic, and OP says she lacks the interpersonal skill she needs to succeed as a psychologist or in business.
OP reminded his daughter half-jokingly that she has trouble dealing with her brothers. So, how does she think she can counsel other people about their own problems?
OP also pointed out that his daughter took a business class in the 10th grade and didn’t like it. It doesn’t make sense to him that now she’s considering a major in a subject she hates.
Recently, OP and his daughter sat down to look at potential colleges together. The young woman picked out several schools with exciting business and psych programs.
She Put Her Foot Down!
But OP tried to steer his daughter toward schools with strong computer science programs, as he always does. They struggled with each other’s choices back and forth for a while until the girl had had enough.
OP’s daughter asked him if he would support her college decision even if it didn’t align with his desire. He laughed off the question and told her to highlight the programs she liked and they’d discuss them later.
But his daughter didn’t trust that OP would have an open mind, and she told him that he shot down every program unrelated to computers.
She put her foot down and said she was done having him try to force her into a tech career.
Did He Push His Daughter Too Far?
And the then OP’s daughter tried to get him to see her point of view. She asked if he would have been happy if his father had tried to force him to become a lawyer like the older man was.
After all, being a lawyer is rewarding, even if OP had no interest in the social sciences. His daughter thought it was a strong parallel to her situation, and when he didn’t answer right away, she stomped off.
Now, it’s finally dawning on OP that he may have pushed his daughter too hard for too long. He wants her to have the best future possible and thinks her tech talent will give her that.
But OP wonders if he needs to back off, even if it means his daughter picks a career he doesn’t agree with.
“He’s Selfish, Overbearing, and Out of Touch”
Reddit commenters were all over OP for this one, with many calling him selfish, overbearing, and out of touch. They can’t believe how much pressure he is putting on his daughter.
Many also accuse him of trying to live vicariously through his child, and some take him to task for suggesting that autistic people can’t make good therapists.
Some point out that the world needs more autistic therapists because they’re the ones who understand what another autistic person is going through.
Overall, Redditors think OP should live his life and let his daughter live hers.
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The post Is He Forcing Fate? Her Father’s Fierce Fixation to Mold Daughter’s Future Faces Her Ferocious Backlash! first appeared on The Net Worth Of.
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Source: Reddit