“I don’t want
to work so hard for nothing,” she said. “I do not
want to be a housewife.”
Wong, a 25-year-old student at HPU, is one of several women
who are putting motherhood on the back burner. However, while
they
are focusing on their career first, they are still considering
having a family later in life.
According to a Census Bureau survey, almost half of women of
peak childbearing age plan on having two children. The bureau,
which surveyed women from ages 18 to 34, found that 47 percent
wanted two children and 10 percent did not want children at
all. These results rang true for several women on HPU’s
campus as well.
This year, Wong will graduate with a bachelor’s degree
in advertising. She wants to work for two years in the creative
department of an advertising firm before going on to art school
for her master’s degree. After that, she said she plans
to work for at least another couple years before having a family
of her own.
Contrary to the majority in the survey, Wong said she ideally
wants three children because “that’s the size of
my family right now, and I think it’s good.” She
is willing to work part time when the kids are young, but she
always plans to keep on working. “I don’t want to
give up my career.,” she said.
Many other female students are also focusing on their career.
Masako Shindo is concentrating on earning a master’s degree
in science and information systems at HPU. “Right now I
never think about having a family,” she said.
Shindo, 28, is one of HPU’s many international students
from Japan. She said if she were to have a family, she would
want two children because she grew up as an only child. “I
wanted to have a brother or sister,” she said. She is also
reluctant to leave her career. She said even if she had a family,
she wouldn’t want to quit her job. “Maybe if I
have 10 kids.”
Another student said she wants to concentrate on work first,
family later. Elisa Sussman, 21, wants to pursue a career as
a voice-over actress. She plans to finish her bachelor’s
degree in speech communication and set up her career before starting
a family. She also thinks that two would be a good number of
kids to have. “Single children tend to be pretty spoiled
and they always need someone to play with,” she said.
However, Sussman said she doesn’t want to have kids for
a while. “I have hopes and dreams and goals that I don’t
want to put on hold right now.”
A younger student also said she eventually wants a family with
two children. Brittney Pavao is just starting her college education
at 17. She plans to blend a career in nursing and family life
with help from her future husband, she said. “Hopefully
my husband will help me and we’ll take turns.”
Earlene Dowell, 36, and a mother of three, believes that higher
education is worth the work. She is also getting her master’s
in communication at HPU. She plans to take time off when her
youngest child is old enough to go to daycare and then she’ll
have a career. “A bachelor’s always gets you a
better job. You do that so your will children have everything
they need,
Dowell said.” |
