Father and teenage daughter arguing

His daughter has her sights set on something like a music industry or entertainment business major. His response was direct rather than harsh, she can major in whatever she wants, it’s her life to build. But the financial support attached to that choice comes with a condition. If she picks something without a clear career path and reasonable earning potential, he won’t be paying for it. Fields like MIS, engineering, finance, accounting, or nursing get his full financial backing. Music industry doesn’t.

He was honest with her beyond just the money too, telling her he wouldn’t be proud of that particular decision. He admits that part sits uneasily with him, acknowledging it wasn’t an easy thing to say to his own kid.

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Why the Distinction He’s Drawing Actually Matters

There’s a real difference between telling a teenager she can’t pursue something and telling her that a specific, discretionary financial contribution comes with conditions attached. He’s not blocking her path or forbidding the major outright. He’s making clear that his own money, tens of thousands of dollars, comes with an expectation tied to outcomes he considers reasonable given that cost. That’s not control over her choices, it’s control over his own spending, which remains entirely his to decide.

College debt attached to a degree with uncertain earning potential is a genuine, well-documented risk, one that follows a young adult for years regardless of how personally fulfilling the field itself might be. Wanting to avoid funding that specific risk isn’t unreasonable parenting, it reflects a practical read of how expensive higher education has become relative to what certain degrees actually pay back.

Why “I Wouldn’t Be Proud” Deserves a Closer Look

The financial condition and the emotional comment are two separate things worth pulling apart. Declining to fund a specific major is a boundary about money. Telling a 16-year-old he wouldn’t be proud of her choosing that path carries a different weight entirely, one tied to her sense of self and her relationship with him, not just to a spreadsheet of tuition costs and projected salaries.

He’s already sensing this himself, given that he flagged feeling bad about saying it. That instinct is worth trusting. A teenager can absorb “I won’t pay for this specific path” as a financial reality to plan around. “I wouldn’t be proud of you” lands somewhere much more personal, and risks her hearing it as a judgment on her interests and identity rather than a comment about his willingness to underwrite a specific major.

Why the Actual Field Isn’t as One-Dimensional as It Sounds

Music industry and entertainment business, as majors, cover a broader range of career outcomes than the stereotype suggests. Artist management, licensing, marketing, live event production, streaming platform operations, and business-side roles within a genuinely massive global entertainment economy all fall under that umbrella, and plenty of graduates in these programs land stable, well-paying roles, particularly if the program itself includes strong business fundamentals alongside the industry-specific coursework.

That’s worth factoring in before treating the major as automatically synonymous with financial risk. The actual curriculum and the specific program matter considerably here, some entertainment business programs are essentially business degrees with an industry focus, not significantly different in employability from a general business major.

A Middle Ground Worth Considering

Rather than a flat yes-or-no on funding based on the major’s title alone, it might be worth digging into the specifics with her, what the actual curriculum looks like, what kind of roles graduates from that specific program typically land, and what the debt-to-earning-potential ratio realistically looks like for that path compared to something like accounting or nursing. Some version of a structured compromise, funding a business-adjacent major with an entertainment concentration, or requiring a double major or minor in something with clearer fallback options, could bridge the gap between supporting her genuine interest and protecting against the outcome he’s actually worried about.

Where the Line Between Reasonable and Discouraging Sits

Setting financial boundaries around a major with uncertain earning potential is a defensible parenting position, plenty of reasonable people would land in the same place given how expensive college has become. Where it’s worth being more careful is in how that boundary gets communicated to a 16-year-old who’s still forming her sense of what she’s capable of and what her interests are worth. The financial condition can stand on its own without the added weight of telling her his pride is contingent on which career she picks.

He’s not wrong to want a strong financial foundation for her, and he’s not wrong to be selective about what tens of thousands of dollars goes toward. He might be worth reconsidering, though, is whether the pride comment does anything productive beyond adding emotional weight to a decision that’s already been made clearly enough through the financial terms alone.


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