Bail out or knuckle down?

[Nigel]

Hi guys

Feel a bit awkward posting up non-bike related stuff to be honest.

I know this has been partially done to death, but I'm after a different angle. I'm midway through a university degree but less than enamoured about it. My results are poor because I'm not really interested in the material and consequently don't study enough. I have some other ideas and directions (mostly vague though) in life I am interested in pursuing.

However I'm hesitant to scrap 2.5 years of investment (both time and money). If i stick with the degree (engineering) there's a virtually guaranteed job, career path, and good income to be had. My closest friends are in the same degree too.

I'm interested to hear of your experiences with either being in a degree/career that you perservered with despite not being enthralled with. Did it get better? Was it worth it? Or given the chance again would you have bailed out and gone in a different direction?

[vbroom]

i was in a similar boat.

i did architecture

didn't love it. and certainly hated alot of parts about it.

pulled through five year of that shit...i even enrolled in honours only to realise what the hell i was doing it for if i didn't even have any real interest so dropped out of that.

now i have a 9-5 job which whilst i'm not over the moon for is still at times interesting and brings in the money.

i think it certainly got better once i got out of uni because the shit i had to do/learn was mostly irrelevant and therefore bored the utter crap out of me.

at least now in my job i'm doing real life things in a real life situation and that brings a somewhat more refreshing perspective to what you do.

unless you hate it 100% in my opinion i would stick with it and atleast move into the workforce and then see what you think. Otherwise as you said, you will have wasted 2.5 years of time and money and might always wonder what it might've been like if you continued.

good luck with your decision

[Randomman]

Happens with like 50% of people doing Engineering. I'm taking this semester off for that very reason. Everyone I've talked to who said they were having issues took a semester or year off and came back refreshed and finished it.

[96]

i was enrolled in bachelor of tech course trying to get into an engineering degree, after 6 months i was really over it, i then did sweet fuck all in semster 2, and am currently on 12 months leave.

i wont be goin back.

i did poorly because like u, i didnt like it so didnt put in the effort. if u only have 6 months tho, (or is it a 4 year?) id prob hang in there. 2.5 years is a lot of wasted time.

what i dont like about having pulled out is, i still would like to get into engineering for a career later, so i will go back (eventually). have u lost interest in the course or the carrer??

[Arwon]

finish the course. then you can always get income when the shit hits the fan.

[Rocket]

I work with engineers.
And not one of them can drive a train.

[delete_me_kthxbai]

finish the course. then you can always get income when the shit hits the fan.

+1 to this.
Having the degree in your belt doesn't lock you in to working in that position either.
Go spend half an hour trolling through Seek and you shall see.

[=Stevo=]

I was in your position.... just finishing up 2 years of civil and ready to call it quits - failing half the shit and just not interested...

then I picked up some work with a small company over summer...
The work was 50000 times more interesting than the degree, actually get to earn money... it was refreshing and provided me with so much motivation to finish my degree

I haven't failed a unit since, and I've picked up another job with a bigger firm - work a fair bit during the semester and earn good cash - I'm loving it... one semester to go and I'm outta here!!!

My advice would be to try and get some work experience in the field you study - because its generally VERY different to the degree, maybe only enrol in 2-3 units instead of 4 until you get back on track

[Vincenzo]

Although I am only a 'simple sailor', I have several friends & relatives who are engineers in varied 'disciplines' & most like their particular speciality and having been doing it for quite a while.

For what its worth from a senior 'boring old fart', I would think it worthwhile grinning and bearing it for another few years to get a basic tertiary qualification than effectively 'wasting' 21/2 years.

Engineers from my experience are very capable at diversifying & often end up in interesting & satisfying senior mangement positions not necessarily germane to their basic qualification.

I can well remember when I was doing my Master's Certificate that I often wondered why I was bothering with impractical subjects which were boring as bat shit. Commonsense on my part prevailed & I did not ditch the course & I am certainly glad as I ended up doing something I get immense job satisfaction from.

Here endeth the lesson!

[taint]

I work with engineers.
And not one of them can drive a train.

haha, shit stirrer but he is right, why bother being educated when you can drive a train and bully people?

[Revelations]

as someone mentioned, do you lack the desire for the course OR the job pathway? It is a good idea to try and do some work experience to see if its the right area for you.

In the end you have to love what you do in life, work included. The amount of people who are depressed because they had their jobs and they just exist for the weekends is phenomenal.

If it helps i have a degree in environmental science, worked in the field for about a year or so and hated it. Im now a personal trainer, something totally unrelated. Life is too short mate, do what YOU want to do. Maybe defer for a semester, find a bit of engineering work and test the waters. This will give you a better idea.

[Maxo]

did mech eng.
2 years in and a couple of units down quit. Bored the living shit out of me.

Bailed.

My closest friends are in the same degree too.

Mine were too, they're now all married, 2 going through crisis about their chosen profession and "spoon up their arse" about their degree.
I don't talk to them any more.

Took years off, different path, much happier.
..

Probably not nearly as well paid but much happier.

[polonY]

I've just decided to bail from 1.5 years of study, I was planning on joining the army but now have another job on offer that very very few people ever get a shot at in their lives, there's other shit out there to do and explore and, the way I think of it, I can always go back to uni, I can always join the army, but I can not ever have another shot at this job I've been offered. It can lead to amazing places too.

Maybe try and get some enigneering related work experience and see if you enjoy the real deal or not(although I realise you'd probably be assigned to crappy jobs).

[Raijn]

I work with engineers.
And not one of them can drive a train.

lol

[Jack0207]

Hey mate,

Being as you are more than 1/2 way through I would at least finish the degree even if it isn't something you are into anymore. Gives you something to fall back on while studying or working in another area either fulltime/part time etc. Gives you other options later in life.......

[Crumpetman]

I managed to drag a 3 year degree out for nearly 8 years with a combination of part time, semesters off and simply flunking units because I really didn't want to be there.

In the end I decided to finish it off so all the effort and money I'd invested didn't go to waste. A degree, regardless of which field, opens a few doors. Postgrad study for example. My bachelor is in Comp Sci. but my next degree will be an MBA.

A compromise might be looking at other degrees which interest you more that you could transfer to. If they're close enough and in the same uni you may be able to get RPL (recognition of prior learning) credit for a fair chunk of the new degree.

[crash]

i did 2.5 years as a mechanical apprenticeship and realised i hated it so i pulled out of it . then 2 years later after labouring for a chippy i was offered another apprenticeship i took it and finished it. best thing i have ever done.

the thing is the you ll get to a point where things get boring especaily when your about half way through.

i find if you actually put what your learning into practice it makes a hell of a lot of difference to your attitude.

stick with it

[magwitch]

I'd say finish it without doubt. I loved electronics when I was a kid, then I did a degree in Electronic Engineering and discovered that it was really fucking hard work. I thought about chucking it in but I stuck at it even though I went on to lots of different things having that degree always helped and gave me more and better options.

What I wouldn't do is start again with something you think will be more interesting. You can get bored of anything while studying it for years on end.

[Scrap]

Had a similar experience 2 years in. My brother talked sense into me - finish the degree and if you still hate it, do something else, but you wil always have something to fall back on if times get tough.

Finished that degree, did two more part time and now working as the manager for the section I was trained in. Absolutely love it, and so do the staff because I know what they're talking about, not just someone who has a management degree and thinks they know all about management.

Don't give up, you can change stream once you've got your ticket

[ranmar850]

The study, and the actual application of that study, can be poles apart, as someone said earlier. Try to do some summer work experience?