Nga Ho ( A12094430)

EDS/SOC 126 Section A01

Instructor: Prof. Makeba Jones
Assignment #1, Due 01/28/2015
Many people agree that educational attainment, family structure, social environment,
ability and will to make a dream become a reality etc. are the strongest determinants
of someones achievement. To learn more about this topic, I interviewed several people to get
their perspectives about significant factors influence someones economic success.
The first person I told with is my friend. She is a registered nurse. She worked at Kaiser
Hospital in Sunnyvale. According to her, there are some factors that influence ones economic
success. These are: good quality of education, socioeconomic status, location, and ability to
access to resources such as social networking for job opportunities. My friend was a lowincome student and financial aid was the significant source that helped her pursue her education.
She said she got a good education in California community college that helped her get a job at
Kaiser Hospital. In her opinion, socioeconomic status is a very important factor in ones success.
She told me a story about one of her classmate whose academic achievement is not very
outstanding but his socioeconomic status is very good. His parents are senior executives of a big
health institute and he is easy to get a good job with his wide networking and his eloquences in
English. Thats why my friend often emphasizes the important role of social networking. It also
proves right in her case: A friend whom she met in her Saddle college recommended her to his
boss and after a hard test and an one-hour interview, she was admitted to Kaiser Hospital as a
nurse. In addition, she thinks that family plays an important role in ones education. In fact, rich
or middle class families can afford complementary investments in child-care, in private schools

etc. and familys educational tradition also influences on ones education, especially in choosing
career. She told that her parents are low-income but they always encourage her to pursue school
because they think that is the only way for their children to get a good economic status than
theirs. For the argument that college certificate is not useful at all and also prevent ones success,
my friend said she doesnt think education prevents students from their success in school and
later on in their lives. She thinks that its not waste time for college. If a student chooses not
merely to get a college diploma to show in his resume to persuade his employer, at least he can
learn something from education to help him develop his own business in some way.
Last night, one of my suitemates helped me to do my survey by sharing her points of
views about ones economic success. She thinks that family is one of most important factor in
ones economic success. The second factor influences on ones economic success is networking.
She added that the more people you know, the more you have chances to get a job. For the
family factor, she argues that rich people inherit properties from their families and usually
continue their familys business tradition. In her opinion, education is also very important for
rich people, but perhaps education is not necessarily to be the determinant factor in rich peoples
economic success because money makes money. However, she emphasizes education is one of
significant factor to help low-income class and middle class to achieve economic success.
According to her, its very simple: the more financial support you have, the more opportunity
you are in best schools. And the more education you have, the more money you make. For her
parents, education is the smartest way to invest on their childrens future success and they do
their best to support her schooling. Their financial sacrifice to help her in school has encouraged
her so much in her study. She doesnt agree with the argument that college is waste of time. Her
major is public health and she says she hopes to be admitted by a medical school to continue her

way. She was born and grew up in an African-American family and she believes that education is
the most determinant key to help her improve her life. The question: Did your teacher like
you? made her recall the time she was studying in elementary school. She told that most of her
instructors did not draw on other aspects of knowing and learning beyond rationality and they
didnt mention her race in classroom. She is proud of being a UCSD student and she is going to
apply to the UCSD School of Medicine.
I asked the same questions with some students I met in school and their answers are
somewhat similar with my suitemates answers so I decide to do my survey with someone who
comes from another different context. He is a refugee who fled out of Vietnam when Saigon
collapsed in 1975. He was a pilot of fighter. He said if he could do it again, he would have
chosen another way instead of pursuing a college degree. He would build up his own business
and be a self-employed so he could be able to work without reporting to anyone. He said whereas
a lot of his friends were very successful in their own ways, he was wasting his time in college. At
the present, he said he works a job that doesnt require a college degree. He said that if his
daughter doesnt want go to college he would let her do whatever make her happy. He added that
if a man is interesting in doing something, he has more chance of success than others.
From this survey, I think that education, family and social environment are significant
factors that effect on ones economic success. If a man lives in a community or a family that has
a tradition of valuing education, he is likely to get high academic achievement. If the individual
lives in a family or in a community sharing the belief that the fastest way to succeed is through
trading activities, he is likely to be a business man rather to be a teacher. In my opinion, family is
one of the most important factors on ones educational and economic success. My parents always
encourage us to get high academic achievement and they prove to be right when almost my

siblings got high academic achievements and get good jobs even in the period of economic crisis.
This inspires me to pursue my studying at UCSD even I came to the United States very late. I
spent my first year in the U.S to work a general job. This job can help me to pay for my food and
a sharing room and no more. My parents persuaded me to go to school and they said that this is
the only way to improve my life. They said they have nothing to give me except their spiritual
support and their advice from their experiences. Since they didnt have opportunity to go school,
they endured a lot of disadvantages from lacking communication due to difference of language
and they dont want me to suffer the way they did. I decided to go to De Anza Community
College the school is recommended by my sisters and my relatives. I feel thankful to be there.
From my educational experience in two different educational systems: one in my origin country
and one in the United States, I think that social environment has important impact on ones
achievement. If a man lives in an environment that encourages and gives him facilities to
develop his potential abilities, he is likely to be successful. Thats why one of my Vietnamese
fellow, Dr. Truong Nguyen Thanh, from a cyclo man in Vietnam to a physics professor at Utah
University.
If a man has favorable external factors such as supporting from family, helping from
friend, well- supplying of facilities from community, and positive internal factors like firm
motivation, strong desire of success, ability to get high academic achievement, ability to build up
a social networking etc., this person is likely to get economic success. America is a country of
immigrants. These immigrants come here with ambition and dreams of success so there are a lot
of successful examples in this well-equipped and competitive country.