Parents force me study Engineering instead of Maths -- Help?

[enrev91]

I am a 19 year-old freshman from Egypt. There are no double majors here, attending university is free but I live my parents and second jobs don't pay enough for me to live on my own.
I love Maths much more than Engineering and I don't like the very applied way they teach Maths in the Engineering department. I tried to convince them but they wouldn't accept. And to some extent they have a point as other than university jobs there are very little opportunities for mathematicians here.
I am thinking of changing my major first then shock them with the news. I don't know. I am good at engineering subjects but I study them out of necessity and not passion.
Thank you.

 

[Orodruin]

This seems more like a relations issue than requiring academic guidance. You seem pretty clear on what you want. I will say this though, your parents are likely worried for your future prospects, which is understandable, but not a reason to put them in front of a done thing. The best thing would probably be to sit down with them and explain to them your reasons and also listen to their arguments - they might have good ones and you should show that you are willing to listen. If in the end you still want to do maths, explain that you have taken their council into consideration, but you would not be happy doing engineering. If they are reasonable, they should accept that.

 

[micromass]

I am a 19 year-old freshman from Egypt. There are no double majors here, attending university is free but I live my parents and second jobs don't pay enough for me to live on my own.
I love Maths much more than Engineering and I don't like the very applied way they teach Maths in the Engineering department. I tried to convince them but they wouldn't accept. And to some extent they have a point as other than university jobs there are very little opportunities for mathematicians here.
I am thinking of changing my major first then shock them with the news. I don't know. I am good at engineering subjects but I study them out of necessity and not passion.
Thank you.

I tend to agree with your parents. If it's true that there are very little opportunities for mathematicians, then you should probably not go into mathematics. Sure, if you do mathematics you'll have fun studying it for 4 to 6 years. But then what? You need to think of the future. You need to get a realistic plan before you study mathematics. If you can get such a realistic plan, then perhaps studying mathematics is not a bad choice. But otherwise, I think you should go for the major that will give you the best opportunities in the long run.