I'm going to give you my honest answer, you may not like it, but please hear me out.
Your parents are right, you should study something else that will guarantee you a job. Photography is an incredibly competitive industry, and every year more and more people leaving university with qualifications, or buying DSLR's and teaching themselves, and all want to make it their "career". The fact is that there are only a handful of jobs out there for photographers in industries such as newspaper or fashion, and those shooting weddings or portraits are having to compete with the hundreds of other local photographers and of course "cousin Harry with his Nikon D40 who will do it for free to family members". The industry, especially for people who have their own business is becoming more and more competitive, and work is becoming thinner and thinner as more affordable DSLR's are coming onto the market, and more and more people who buy one think that because they own a big black camera, that makes them professional. If you are going to make photography your career then you are going to have to make enough money to buy new equipment, pay all the bills, the mortgage, gas/electric/phone/water, council tax, car, petrol, plus put food on the table for the family, clothe the kids, etc etc... Can you do that every month for the next 45-50 years?. If things are becoming bad with photography now, imagine what they will be like in 10 years time, 20 years?.... Think about it.
Photography as a career is not just about taking nice photos, it is more about business. You could be the greatest photographer in the world, but if you have no grasp of business, no idea about taxes, marketing or figures, then you will fail.. It's simple as that.
My serious advice to you is to choose a career that will guarantee you a wage every month, guarantee food on the table, and guarantee the bills are paid every month. After leaving the motor industry a couple of years ago I chose a career in healthcare for those exact reasons, and I know I will have a job for life. By all means do NOT give up on your photography, there is no need to pack it in altogether!. I suggest you choose a career that is not in the media or arts and work towards that goal, but at the same time learn photography yourself in your spare time. Then when you have a good secure job with plenty of money coming in, you can afford to buy that nice camera, lenses and lighting equipment and have a little home studio you can use at the weekends to make a little extra money. Maybe you could shoot some landscapes in your spare time, create a website and possibly sell some prints. I think you will find that many wedding and family photographers do not do that as their main job, they often have other full time jobs and do that at weekends. Not only will you enjoy having photography as a hobby and maybe a little earner, you do not have the stress of having to constantly find business. A passion for photography can quickly turn sour when you are relying on it to put food in stomachs.
So there you have it, you will have the best of both worlds. Sorry if this answer is a little longwinded but I wanted you to hopefully choose the right career path but didn't want to give any 'chase your dreams bull****'... I thought an honest answer from somebody who is also passionate about photography, yet has also spent many years in the working world and has to pay bills would be useful to you.
Good luck and try showing this answer to your parents, they sound very smart, I'm sure they will also agree.
.