“Like father like son” says the old maxim. But how much truth is there to this idea? Is there any correlation between the career roles selected by people and the types of work their parents did?
How many Allen School students taking medical assistant training had a mother or father who worked in the medical field? How about in scientific fields? Office fields? Or is there no correlation at all?
You may be surprised to know there’s some actual, productive information that comes from the unbelievable volume of personal data collected by Facebook. The
Research at Facebook blog slices and dices this data and sometimes provides interesting insights. So it was with great interest that we played with
their interactive graphic which mapped the careers of fathers against those of their sons as well as careers of mothers against those of their daughters. The results were fascinating if not inconclusive.
According to Facebook research, there are numerous interesting questions users can find answers to in the data provided, including, “How much of our choice of profession depends on who our parents are? Parents pass on their genes, set an example, provide opportunities, and give advice to either aim for or steer clear of their own lines of work. In the end, do their children end up in the same type of job? Do siblings choose the same occupation? And is this more or less true for different professions?”
While there may not be any concrete correlation between parents in medical/healthcare careers and the paths chosen by their children, there is still much that can be learned from the interesting data. Why did you decide to take nursing assistant training with the Allen School? Was your mom or dad any influence in your decision making?
