My Parents told me to.

Yesterday, I had a class with a student who is studying to be a nurse.  She told me that she would rather be a Chinese teacher (that is teach the language) than a nurse, but her parents thought it would be better for her to be a nurse; nursing being the perfect job for a woman. 

This admission scandalizes most foreigners who pride themselves on being independent, but it is a bad thing?  You could say that some people want to enter into professions that they are not in any way qualified for and they should have the guidance of an adult who knows more about the travails of life.  You could also say that a very unimaginative parent could ruin their child's future but encouraging their child to go with the trend of the moment.

But in China, you have the one-child policy.  It causes the parents to put so much pressure on one child.  Forced to groom their one child, Chinese parents don't give the child much latitude.