Asked my son to let algebra go, kindly explained business management with maths theory. He isn't keen to give up his idea of being scientist, or hear another one of my rants about earning difference between CEO and ironically I say the idiot scientist.
Not sure if this is really on subject, but it reminds me of my life.
In school, I was diagnosed as retarded with major learning disabilities. I was considered a very dumb kid with no chance of any future beyond simple labor jobs.
I was born with an obsession (Perhaps like you son wanting to be a scientist.) Regardless of any external opinions or what anyone told me I could or couldn't do, none of that had any effect on my obsession. My obsession was electronic design. I had my heart set on becoming an electronics design engineer.
In my first algebra class, I realized that algebra was totally beyond me. Made no sense at all. I took a separate tutoring class in hopes of learning it enough to "get buy". No improvement at all. I also realized that I could never pass any college course. I couldn't even pass any part of grade or high school. I did graduate, but only because the school kept bumping me up a grade even as I failed each year. These realizations dashed my hopes of my dream electronics design engineer career. I knew that that that career required a college degree. But, my obsession was not affected. I couldn't let it go. I just made it my hobby. I would dig old radios an TV's out of the trash behind repair shops, take them home, scavenge the parts out of them and studied the parts. This kept me enthralled for hours every day. I was often in trouble for "hiding away" all day playing with all this weird stuff. Eventually, I learned enough from all those parts to actually repair the TV's and radios.
I found a brand new TV in a dumpster behind a department store. I dug it out and took it home and fixed it. I took it back the store and told them what I did. They hired me on the spot to fix their failed electronics. My first actual job.
That is how I progressed all through life. I was always studying to satisfy my obsession. Every job I got was a progression on the next.
Eventually, I got a job at an actual electronics design firm assembling prototypes for the engineers to test their designs. Having autistic social skills I almost got fired for telling the engineers their design flaws before the prototypes were built. The only thing that kept me from getting fired was that the boss noticed that I was right. Building the prototype with my changes proved it. After that, the boss required all engineers to have me review their designs before prototype as that was much cheaper. There was resentment, because I had no schooling or credentials. This went on for a few years. By and by, the engineers started coming to me for questions and advice on their designs and electronics theory. It made them look better to the boss to have their designs work on the first draft. Eventually, I was promoted to senior design engineer. Still don't understand algebra as taught in school, no college, no degree, but my dream electronics design career became a reality in spite of all that. My boss said that my designs were innovative. Actually, they were just autistic.
With that, I would never discourage anyone from their dreams. I was just lucky that my autistic social disconnect made me not listen or succumb to their pressures. It should be understood there is more than one way to achieve your dreams. School, algebra, diplomas, degrees, etc., are all the standard, default way. But, is certainly not the ONLY way. No, I did not know how to achieve anything. I just never gave up. I never stopped. Took a lifetime, but eventually I just realized that, "holly krap! I'm here".
