Parents Choosing My Career?

[Three-One-Three]

Salam.

 

My parents are forcing me to become a doctor. I don't want to be a doctor. My average GPA in High School is 4.07 (it's over a 4.0 because I took 3 Advanced Placement classes). I am in 11th grade and have completed Calculus I. I always get A's, and I'm overall a smart kid in terms of academics. I am a hard working person. But here's the deal:

 

After over a year of researching careers, jobs, etc I have found that success lies in business and entrepreneurship. I understand there is uncertainty and risk involved, but business has been very strongly recommended in Islam and Hadith by Ahlulbayt. There is barakat and unlimited potential in business. Starting our own businesses is the way to go, both for individual freedom and for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah as a whole. Us Muslims should start creating new companies instead of working for the Jews. We should be the ones owning the companies and influencing the world. Here are some hadiths about business and Ahlulbayt's recommendation to start your own business:

 

Prophet Muhammad Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÂáå: “If blessings were divided into ten parts, nine would be found lying in trade.” [bihar Al-Anwar, V. 23, P. 5]

 

Prophet Muhammad Õáì Çááå Úáíå æÂáå: “Rizq is ten parts, nine of which are in trade.” [Al-Kafi, V. 5, P. 318]

 

Ammar al-Sabati narrated, ‘I asked Aba-Abdillah (as) about a man who trades but can make the same money by working for someone else. He replied, ‘He shouldn’t work for someone else. Rather, he must seek God’s bounty by trading, for by working for someone else, he restricts God’s bounty for him.’” [Al-Kafi, V. 5, P. 90, No. 3]

 

Imam Ali (as): “Undertake yourselves to trading, for in it lies your independence from what others possess, and verily God, Mighty and Exalted, loves the trustworthy servant who is engaged in a business.” [Al-Khisal, P. 621, No. 10]

 

Imam Sajjad (as): “Investing money perfects courage.” [Al-Kafi, V. 1, P. 20, No. 12]

 

I showed my parents these hadiths. I told them how us Muslims should've been the ones creating companies like Facebook, Exxon, Apple, Microsoft, Acer, and Google. Despite all this, they told me I must become a doctor because "it's the only way to make money, and if you choose ANYTHING else, it means you're trying to take a shortcut and are a loser." But I'm not trying to take a shortcut, my grades and everything show I'm a smart person. I don't want to go to medical school and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and 8 years of my precious youth studying to become a doctor just for that "steady paycheck." I, with the aide of Allah, want to be the one giving the paychecks instead of receiving them. My youth should be spent traveling the world and starting new businesses instead of sitting in classrooms and taking tests to work for hospitals owned by non-Muslims. It's time we look at what the Ahlulbayt have told us instead of continuing to follow tradition. According to Khamenei, it is not obligatory to obey your parents but it is Haram to make them sad or worried. It should be noted that my parents are very helpful and care about me a lot. They sincerely want to help me succeed in life, but they aren't convinced that it will be to my benefit if I go into entrepreneurship and business (I think mainly because they are scared and because it's against the culture/tradition). Or should I simply obey my parents and live my whole life in a career I don't believe in? Should I disobey and choose my career? Any answers would be appreciated (I also would like to hear stories of people who did disobey in terms of their career choice, and I want to know what ended up happening). My personality and abilities and desire is leaning towards business. What should I do?

Edited April 16, 2015 by Three-One-Three

[Ya Mahdi1999]

in my view, your parents do not have any right in deciding what you should become after completing high school. The best your parents can do is warn u about getting yourself involved in making money unlawfully, or working for a organisation/business that promotes itself through means of haram, whether it is by selling haram products, or making haram products (eg alcohol etc). other than that your parents really cant have a say in what u should become, after all, Allah (swt) has given u freedom in this life for each and every single individual. my advice is tell your parents with sincerity that u will find yourself being more successful in areas such like business. Have patience, surely this is a test from Allah. i know what ur going through, as a matter of fact i am in yr 11 and i understand the pressure your getting from your parents, i too have to go through this everyday :( and i know it sucks soo much. If they still say no, well whether they like it or not, this is your life and your career. like i have said unless ur not involving yourself into haram jobs and practises your parents cant say what u should do after high school. stay strong brother.

 

Wa salam

[hasanhh]

(salam)

 

The pre-Med course in college is similar to a few majors.

 

Students are encouraged to "double major".

 

Using this info, you can keep your parents happy while studying a lot of what you like.

 

Then graduate with your double major and chose your own direction.

[Haji 2003]

My personality and abilities and desire is leaning towards business. What should I do?

 

 

Do remember that medicine and business are not mutually exclusive. I know lots of medics with an entrepreneurial bent, who have gone on to start medically related businesses.

 

And, as you say business can be risky and the medical qualification will be your insurance policy in case things don't work out.

[Struggling_onn]

To OP, 

 

      Well, if you can then become doctor  and you can start business anytime in your life. In order to run a business you don't have to be have business qualification you can hire people with these qualifications. ;) But after becoming doctor you can help tens of thousands of people for the sake of Allah and save lives. Plus you can have your medical research company developing new medicines etc.  

[notme]

Study pre-med and go into business while you are a student. As your business becomes successful your parents will start to feel better about it.

[Khalilallah]

Doctors have a much higher status within Islam than mere money makers.

[King]

1. Your grades do not show that you are a smart person, it is generally just a measure of your ability to follow instruction.

2. Most of the big business firms have gotten big by carrying out extremely immoral and unislamic practices.

3. Making it big in business has a lot to do with uncontrollable variables such as access to capital, being in the right place at the right time, and just plain fortune.  I hope that you can infer that hard work and a sharp mind generally != success in business.

4. You should conduct more research, perhaps business is the appropriate field for you, but it probably wouldn't be for the reasons you assume.

5. Your parents should definitely not be picking a career for you, but they might just be right.

If you do really have a keen interest in business, a few accounting courses is pretty much all that you need as far as formal education goes.

[BabyBeaverIsAKit]

After over a year of researching careers, jobs, etc I have found that success lies in business and entrepreneurship.

 

I, with the aide of Allah, want to be the one giving the paychecks instead of receiving them.

 

There is barakat and unlimited potential in business. Starting our own businesses is the way to go, both for individual freedom and for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah as a whole.

 

 

 

-Success doesn't ONLY lie in business and entrepreneurship. There are plenty of other fields that can give you success, too.

 

-You can be the one giving paychecks as a physician, too (ex. if you had your own clinic).

 

-There is barakat and unlimited potential in medicine, too. You can have individual freedom if you open your own clinic. It will also benefit the Muslim Ummah as a whole for you to treat people and save lives.

 

-So far, the only convincing argument you have made to pick business over medicine is that you like business better. You could stop right there, that is all you need! All the other arguments for choosing business actually apply to medicine (and many other fields) as well.

 

-The mark of a truly smart person= someone who doesn't think they're smart. That way, they keep striving to learn. I hope you learn this as you go on.

[Miss Wonderful]

Dont let your parents choose for you. let them impact your life islamically and give u advice that is nourishing not destructive and impractical or absurd.

[:Sami II]

(salam)

 

My parents wanted me to be a doctor, I had the grades etc. 

But I did not want to be a mass murderer and be part of a huge experiment using people as guinea pigs.

I didn't want to be part of an industry that it's only mission is to spread disease and misery to people.

I had 700,000,000,000 reasons not to support a mafia type cabal.

Saying this not all doctors or medical professionals knowingly support this , as ignorance is bliss to most people.

Instead I became worst then doctors, I became an Investment  banker, I supplied the funds to industries like the medical to carry out such crimes to humanity. I learnt from the best in the banking game and got out and start my own businesses.

I perfected a system of starting bushinesses with no initial capital ( your own ) , and with minimal time , to generate passive or residual income. In other words letting your money work for you then you work for your money. These concepts are covered in books like Rick Dad Poor Dad , Robert Kiyosaki . I have raised all my kids on these concepts of creating a business model in which you can make more money while you asleep. I believe  this is the only model that is most efficient for those who live in the west , who is used to a certain lifestyle and wants to truly prepare for :Al-Hujjat (as).

I am not here to advise you on what to do or not to do, but to my sons and daughters, I encouraged and taught them to create such businesses models by not going to school or uni and by not following the masses.

 

The definition of insanity is;

 doing the same things as everyone else and expecting different results.

 

And saying all this , one must be prepared for a path less taken because it is not easy, expect to go broke at least twice, lose all your friends and family. Be outcasted from society and be ridiculed. And one day :Inshallah , watch them all come up and beg for help and support when you are making millions from sleeping.

 

WS

Edited April 20, 2015 by :Sami II

[Mehvish]

Just go with what you want. your parents will come around eventually.

But maybe you should just be a doctor. You're going to make a terrible businessman if you have trouble making decisions like this one.

[strength=Abbas]

If u dont like to be a doctor,NEVER study mrdicine coz it just takes a long time of u! Be what u want!!

U cant bear medicine. Hard+LONG time!

[hasanhh]

(salam)

 

I just remembered, my grandparents chose my father's courses and college. He wasn't happy in life about it.

 

On the other hand, my mother was the first woman to go to college in her family, in the 1930s.

Edited April 22, 2015 by hasanhh