While I agree that culture and education are not just means to the end of getting a lucrative job, I think that GP’s point is that it is easier for a white American, _even if they only care about money_, to appear as if they cared about other values.
For many people grown and socialized in some Asian cultures (including Japanese, Korean and Chinese), a good job in a prestigious company is considered a worthwhile objective, not something that needs to be disguised.
For many people grown and socialized in some Asian cultures (including Japanese, Korean and Chinese), a good job in a prestigious company is considered a worthwhile objective, not something that needs to be disguised.
I think that's more a trait of emigrant subcultures than it is a trait of those cultures as a whole. Parents who take big personal, financial, and social risks to move to another country tend to want to protect their investment. When it comes to their children's choice of career, they can get very offended if the child chooses to pursue theatre or fine arts instead of medicine or law.
If, on the other hand, you travel to Japan, Korea, or China (or indeed India, Thailand, Vietnam, or any other country in Asia where people emigrate to come to the US) and actually visit people living in the countryside, in small towns and farming villages, you'll see a radically different picture. People practicing their culture and living a traditional way of life.
The difficulty of immigration and setting down roots in a new place, far from the support of extended family social networks, serves as a natural (and artificial, due to various immigration laws) barrier which tends to select for families where the parents have this sort of drive.
I have met manu Japanese, and a few Chinese, working for Japanese (resp. Chinese) financial companies. All of them were proud of the position they reached, even those that were not too happy about the working conditions (very long hours, slow career progression)
I dated a Chinese international student for 2 years. Her parents put a ton of pressure on her, academically. They would not even allow her to study chemistry (her passion in high school), so she ended up studying math. They are practically forcing her to go to grad school as well. She is not happy with this situation, to say the least.
Now she wants to study cognitive science. They are not happy about it but they can't do anything because they're in China and she's in North America. I've encouraged her to study what she wants.
I think there are countless other Asian students in the same boat. I think part of the reason Harvard is doing what they're doing is to push back on it. Harvard wants independent thinkers who are trying to make a difference in the world, not ladder-climbers (reluctant or otherwise) being pushed by overzealous parents.
> I think there are countless other Asian students in the same boat. I think part of the reason Harvard is doing what they're doing is to push back on it. Harvard wants independent thinkers who are trying to make a difference in the world
Harvard didn’t get to be Harvard by churning out “independent thinkers.” It’s just something WASPs (the ones with real money and breeding) know to say while they try to go work at Morgan Stanley like their dad wants.
For many people grown and socialized in some Asian cultures (including Japanese, Korean and Chinese), a good job in a prestigious company is considered a worthwhile objective, not something that needs to be disguised.