Editor's note: Barry Courter has a 24-year-old son who is a college graduate and a 20-year-old daughter who is a sophomore in college.
Q: Dad, some of my friends are feeling pressure from their parents to choose a career path they aren't really interested in. What should they do?
A: This is a hard one for parents. With our age and experience, we often see things ahead that you and your friends perhaps don't. And/or we want things to be better for you than we had it. It never hurts to try to talk it out, but ultimately it is your friend who will have to show up every day and do the job, so he should want to do it.