Feeling Burnt Out? Physics Degree Struggles and Advice

[nmsurobert]

hopefully its ok to post this here.

im in my junior year of my physics degree and I am feeling so burnt out and still have about 8 weeks to go in the semester. i pretty much only have 300 and 400 level physics courses to take and i have homework nonstop. hard homework too where a single problem will take me hours and sometimes a couple days to solve.
anyone have any advice on how to not feel so burnt out. or is this just the life i have to live until I am done with school haha

 

[lisab]

Your post gave me a flashback. I know exactly what you're going through - you're in the tough stuff now.

How are you sleeping? You need a full night's rest every night. Research on this is clear: missing out on sleep makes learning new material very difficult.

Are you exercising? This was a lifesaver for me. Helped me deal with the stress of juggling school with work.

I found that keeping to a strict study schedule helped immensely. Always at the same time, in the same place. Rituals help!

 

[nmsurobert]

my sleep is ok. i usually get about 7 hours of sleep a night. once every couple weeks though i get like 4-5 hours of sleep for a couple days straight haha but i slowly catch up.
ive started excersing over the last two weeks. just some mild cardio stuff. i was beginning to feel like a lazy ass so i started working out lol
my homework schedule isn't all over the place though. but that because its get home from school, work on homework, go to sleep haha i take thursday off because all my assignments are usually due by wednesday. so i have nothing pressing at that point.
i just feel like I am learning but i also feel like I am dying haha

 

[lisab]

Sounds like you're covering the basics well . Maybe you should consider joining/forming a study group. Personally, I didn't find this very helpful, but so many PFers have had great success with this, so my experience is not the norm.

So what do you do when you're stuck? Do you go see the TA or professor? Or do you just power through it?

 

[nmsurobert]

there is a few people in my physics classes that i text back and forth with from time to time. but study groups are hard to accomplish for a list of reasons. i don't mind studying alone though. i feel i get more done.
when i get stuck on something first i usually curl into a fetal position and cry for a bit haha kidding... i have no issue with speaking to any of my professors, a couple of which I am actually pretty cool with now so i usually talk to them. but i try to power my way through most of my assignments. i feel as if ill learn it better if i force myself to work through it.

 

[Victoreen]

Good luck. I remember going through the same thing. One quarter my Junior year, I spent 20-30 hours every weekend on a single class's homework. Work hard, and make sure to go out and be social when you can. Try going for a walk if the weather isn't too bad when you get stuck.

 

[Astronuc]

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

It's worth the journey.

 

[nmsurobert]

im taking a lab right now when its my turn to write the report for our group it pretty sucks up my entire weekend.

i feel like i did it to myself this semester though... intro to modern physics, modern physics lab(6 hours a week), intermediate mathematical methods, and 400 level linear algebra.

next semester ill be taking one bs elective so hopefully I am not drowning like i am now.

 

[nmsurobert]

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

It's worth the journey.

i think i see the light, i think that's why i haven't changed majors haha. that and i just love learning all the stuff physics and math stuff.