Reality Bites

You’ve encouraged and nurtured them, and tried your darnedest to shelter them from the harsh realities of everyday life. Parents, the time has come to determine what your son or daughter really wants to do in life. Hopefully your child has outgrown “race car driver” or “ice cream tester”—if not, more power to him!

Sit your child down and have an open conversation about what kind of career he or she is interested in, what their dream job is and where your child intends to go to school. This will give you a better idea about the kind of higher education required to achieve that goal. For example, the difference between getting a medical degree from Harvard University and getting a communications degree from a state school equals a vast difference in education costs and training.

If you happen to be the student, get a clear picture in your mind of what your future holds and visualize what it will take to get there. Better yet, schedule informational interviews with professionals in that field and get the nitty-gritty on their education background.

Remember this conversation is just to get a ballpark sense of what your costs could be, and things could change, depending on you or your child’s interests.