[Mallika]

Hi folks!

So I've had this issue for a few years now. I'm a 21-year-old student studying Genetics at the university level. Both my parents are from a commerce background and no one in our extended family works in any science field.

When I opted to do Genetics, my parents didn't really believe me when I said that it is an extremely hot area in Science/Biology with a vast array of career paths, though they still allowed me to go ahead. Even three years later, whenever I tell them about my future career plans (e.g. higher studies, careers within Genetics), they aren't wholeheartedly convinced that Genetics is a legitimate field. While I have tried patiently explaining to them about the relevancy of the field and its absolute value in the context of health and society, I feel they are saying "Yes, we understand" just to placate me. But I genuinely doubt that they truly understand, because they occasionally say things like "This is why you should have done another field," when it was taking me some time to land an internship (I eventually got a really good one), or "But are you sure there is any relevancy for this project you're doing," and so on.

I have tried my best to explain my chosen field to them multiple times, but I don't think they truly value what I am doing. I've decided to "show not tell", and wait for the day they realise my work instead of having to just listen to what I say. While I completely understand that it might be difficult for them to relate with Genetics (it is such a specific area of Biology) given that we come from a traditional Indian society where studying biology is synonymous with going to medical school only, it is pretty common these days to see people working in so many different areas, it is not that difficult to be convinced of the value of Genetics even if they tried Googling about it. Especially since I have spent a lot of time trying to explain my field's relevance.

If anyone has any advice on how I can get my parents to truly appreciate and understand the value of my chosen path, I would be really grateful.

Thanks in advance!