Worst dev experience of the year:
So, I went to my folks' for the holidays. My old man is a hospital practitian and is still resentful because I did not want to be a doctor too.

So he made me fix the whole fucking wiring at his place over this last couple days, because "well, you choose to be a glorified electrician!"

BTW, I have three kids and am still WFH during this time. I haven't slept in a week.

Did you charge him your going rate?

Parents typically don't respect the life choices of their children until they're faced with the child's successes. It brings a stark contrast to their failures in life and as a parent.

Sure, your dad may be making $120k as a GP, but it took him his whole life to get there. You're probably making that much after only a couple years.

My FIL was kind of like that. Now he gets salty every time he comes over to our home because it's more than he had at the same age. I'm also making as much as he was when he retired.

It's not about the dick measuring, it's about breaking the ruler and throwing it away so they know that you are an adult and can provide for yourself and your family.

@sariel I mostly agree, but It's a bit harsh calling your parents life work a failure, though maybe it's correct in your case.

I don't see eye to eye with my father either, but my current success is heavily dependent on my dads and moms past success. Maybe they are worse off after their entire life than I was after 2 years after uni, but without their financial supports I might've never achieved mine. The way I see it is that we're building on top of each other, and our kids will build on top of us, times change and your future AI neuroprogrammer son/daugther might call you a failure, because they will earn 3x what you will at that point.

But that's where my criticism ends, because pride and dick measuring has really no place in a healthy relationships. If my kids are even more successful doing something that's even less work than what I do I will die happy!

Doesn't matter whether they are your parents or not: If they don't respect you, you don't have to respect them either.

They might get it when you stop visiting them.

Hey pops the body runs on electrical signals too. By your own logic, you are also a glorified electrician.

@Oktokolo that's not a thing you do to Indian parents that easily, but I did move halfway across the globe from them, so there is that. Also I kinda choose CompSci to piss him off, but ended up having a real knack for it.

@sariel , @Hazarth it's not about the money, althought I do make more than he did at my age. It's more a "honour" thing. He has this whole "computer apps are superfluous things that do not help humanity", and he thinks that what I do, that in fact boils down to figuring out how to arranje containers inside of a ship, "do not adds value". Bitch, your freaking masks only got anywhere because I fixed MOUNTAINS of them into already-loaded-to-the-brink boats!

So, yeah, pretty sure whatever I could choose that does not involves cutting people up would be "superfluous" for him.

@Hazarth it's not about their failures, it's about making them feel inadequate, like they make you feel.