Parents Encouraging Kids to Work in Low-Paying Jobs Sparks Debate

A social media influencer has sparked a debate after saying parents are cruel if they encourage their children to pursue low-paying careers.

As college students graduate, they are facing an uncertain economy and a collective $1.75 trillion in debt.

With their financial futures already up in the air, some parents feel it's their responsibility to ensure that their children choose a lucrative career, while others take a more laissez-faire approach, encouraging their kids to pursue whatever interests them most, no matter the typical salaries in that field.

The TikTok account @degreefree, which regularly creates content on the downfalls of attending college, recently posted a video in which content creator Hannah Maruyama called parents cruel for encouraging their kids into fields like art or theater.

"The very ugly truth is that if you are low or middle class, there are some jobs that your children cannot afford to go into," Maruyama said in the video.

If children from these financial backgrounds enter certain low-paying industries, they will be so cash-strapped that they will be unable to help themselves, the TikToker said.

"It does not matter if their passion is to do whatever that is," Maruyama said. "They will not be able to afford to put a roof over their head, pay for groceries and also exist, and pretending otherwise is a massive disservice to them."

Maruyama went on to say that more than a disservice, it's cruel for parents to do this. Once the kids graduate, she said they will have a "collision with reality."

"It's not capitalist or whatever," Maruyama said. "Every single person on planet Earth in every single country needs to have food to put in their mouth, clothes to put on their back and a roof to put over their head."

Maruyama recommends that parents ask their high schoolers how much money they need in order to exist and help them figure out what careers will financially support that.

"They need to put their oxygen masks on first," Maruyama said. "Clocking in every day to help people when you cannot help yourself is a truly terrible position to be in. Please don't do that to your children."

Maruyama, who helps create custom career roadmaps for teenagers through the Degree Free organization, said when she created her video, she wasn't just referring to low-paying job fields but also high-paying professions that have a low return on investment.

"High schools are college pipelines," Maruyama told Newsweek. "Colleges love these paywalled professions. It's how they make their money."

For parents who don't have a trust fund lying around for their children, they need to focus on other opportunities for their kids that don't necessarily have a high cost to enter, Maruyama said. That could mean an entry-level job at a nonprofit or theater as opposed to acting school or a social-work degree or even starting your own business.

"My loudest critics say something along the lines of 'I'd rather be happy than make money,'" Maruyama said. "Acting like the choice is binary and solely tied to one of the very few jobs that actually require the purchase of a degree shows how poorly we've educated our society about career options."

Maruyama said the idea of college as necessary to reach a rewarding and high-paying job aims to sell loans during America's current student debt crisis.

The average starting salary for a college graduate is $55,260. However, the total cost of a bachelor's degree including interest, lost wages and cost could reach more than $500,000.

"The current approach is ruining our high schoolers' lives before they even start," Maruyama said.

While Maruyama makes a damning case for parents who tell their kids they can be anything they want to be, career counselors are more divided on her advice.

Adriana Herrera, the founder of on-demand pay empowerment software PayDestiny, said it's important for parents to recognize the personal fulfillment and societal value children will get from a job, including those in social work, teaching, music or art.

"It would be a mistake for parents and our society to discourage talented, empathic, intelligent and passionate individuals away from these jobs," Herrera told Newsweek.

Still, there's a fine line as parents also need to be aware of the financial realities their children will face in the real world.

"It is also my belief that parents have a responsibility to ensure their children can thrive, not just survive," Herrera said. "It's also a parent's responsibility to walk their child through an understanding of how selecting a low-paying high-societal-value job can be economically limiting and consequently limit life choices."

Herrera added that it's certainly possible to find a job in which you feel personally and financially fulfilled, but you need to run the numbers to make an informed choice.

Because of the economic realities of certain career fields, wealth adviser Jim Eutsler said parents have a responsibility, and sometimes it includes tough love.

"Part of growing up is living with the outcomes of decisions you make, and if your parents can help limit the surprises, especially the negative ones, by being as transparent as they can be about what the future of a given career path is going to look like, I feel they are doing their parental duty," Eutsler told Newsweek.

Still, at the end of the day, career coaches acknowledge that each person's career decisions are their own, and there's only so much you can do as a parent.

"You can't live someone else's life, especially your kids," dad and career coach Tim Toterhi told Newsweek. "Parents should offer insight to the economic realities of different careers, but kids are ultimately accountable for their choices.

"Resist the temptation to overplay your hand. A thumb on the scale in either direction can come back to bite you. Instead of exerting undue influence, teach your kids how to think critically and then get out of the way. The best decision is the one they own."