Hate uni, really considering dropping it

[uperkurk]

I think for the first time in my life I am feeling really exhausted and slightly depressed. I'm studying computer science and I'm in my second year and I just feel completely exhausted and constantely tired.

I am really not enjoying my subjects and it just feels like a chore to learn something new. Not only that but because I have no drive to learn this stuff I'm not doing self study in my spare time just because it bores me to hell. It's getting to the stage now where I just think even if I stayed and finished uni, I'd hate to get a job in IT.

I'll be honest and say that I am a failure, I've tried a few things in my life and failed at them all, well I was in the navy for 2 years but left just because I could not stand living in a tin can with 40 other men in a room the size of your living room.

I just about scraped my way into year 2 and now it's just getting so difficult, and I don't know how much longer I can keep going like this for. The thing is I am a simple person and I'd be completely happy with a job in Tesco and my PC games.

I just can't bare to tell my friends and family that "I failed" at uni too :(

 

[Choppy]

Just because you tried something and it didn't work out, there's no a reason to consider yourself a failure in general.

It might mean that you just haven't found what you're really passionate about yet. It might mean you're not ready for the academic rigor of university. It might mean that you will in fact be happy with a job at Tesco and playing video games for the rest of your life.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you keep going on a course that you have no drive to finish, the longer you go, the worst things can get when you finally do decide to pull out.

On the other hand it's also important to keep in mind that everyone has slumps. Sometimes it's worth staying the course for a little while (ie. at least finishing the semeter strong) and then re-evaluating later. You may not be doing as poorly as you think.

 

[FreeMitya]

Would it be possible to change your study? To revise the romantic cliche: there is a subject out there for everyone.

 

[uperkurk]

Just because you tried something and it didn't work out, there's no a reason to consider yourself a failure in general.

It might mean that you just haven't found what you're really passionate about yet. It might mean you're not ready for the academic rigor of university. It might mean that you will in fact be happy with a job at Tesco and playing video games for the rest of your life.

One thing to keep in mind is that if you keep going on a course that you have no drive to finish, the longer you go, the worst things can get when you finally do decide to pull out.

On the other hand it's also important to keep in mind that everyone has slumps. Sometimes it's worth staying the course for a little while (ie. at least finishing the semeter strong) and then re-evaluating later. You may not be doing as poorly as you think.

Well I plan to finish my second year and then consider what I want to do, I can't change courses because in England student finance only provides you with 4 years of funding and I've already had 2, so to start a new course would mean having 5 years of funding which isn't possible.

On the note of finding something I'm passionate about, in all honesty I don't think there is anything that I'm passionate about, I'm the kinda guy that gets something into his head and then thinks "This is 100% what I want to do and I want to learn it inside out" then after a year or so I get bored of it and want to try something different.

The way I think of it is if you truly enjoy something then you'll do it in your spare time, you'll go to events and you'll talk about it whenever someone will listen to you. I don't get this with anything! The only thing I truly enjoy doing is watching movies, playing games and reading science fiction.

I also enjoy reading these forums and pretending I understand what you physicists are talking about :P

 

[seaofghosts]

If you show any proficiency in a programming language or two, you can go straight into a junior programming position. I got a job as an HPUX system admin just because I was familiar with Unix/Linux.

 

[micromass]

On the note of finding something I'm passionate about, in all honesty I don't think there is anything that I'm passionate about, I'm the kinda guy that gets something into his head and then thinks "This is 100% what I want to do and I want to learn it inside out" then after a year or so I get bored of it and want to try something different.

Does this only relate to school or did you try other things as well?? University is not for everybody: it is usually very abstract and distant from the real world. It might be that you just want a concrete job that you can work on, instead of learning things which might (or not) be useful later in life.

If you drop from uni, please do not consider yourself a failure. Other people might think of you like that, there's nothing you can change about that but it's best to ignore such people.

 

[uperkurk]

Does this only relate to school or did you try other things as well?? University is not for everybody: it is usually very abstract and distant from the real world. It might be that you just want a concrete job that you can work on, instead of learning things which might (or not) be useful later in life.

If you drop from uni, please do not consider yourself a failure. Other people might think of you like that, there's nothing you can change about that but it's best to ignore such people.

It isn't just about uni, I've had an interest in drawing, but about 5 years ago I watched 1 vieo on youtube and I was like wow, this is amazing I'm going to do drawing, went out and bought a pad, some pencils ect did it for 6 months and loved it then all of a sudden it just bored me.

The same thing happened with the gym, boxing, navy ect. I have it in my mind at the moment that I'm really into maths and I've been learning in my spare time, but after a year or so I'll most likely get bored of it.

Just sucks that I really don't have a genuine passion.

 

[micromass]

It isn't just about uni, I've had no interest un drawing, but about 5 years ago I watched 1 vieo on youtube and I was like wow, this is amazing I'm going to do drawing, went out and bought a pad, some pencils ect did it for 6 months and loved it then all of a sudden it just bored me.

The same thing happened with the gym, boxing, navy ect. I have it in my mind at the moment that I'm really into maths and I've been learning in my spare time, but after a year or so I'll most likely get bored of it.

Just sucks that I really don't have a genuine passion.

Hmm, that sucks for you
I have known people just like you. They always had a big passion for something and did a lot for it. They absolutely loved what they did, but then suddenly they got bored and quit. They ended up fine however. Maybe it is something that disappears when you get older? I don't know, but I certainly hope so for you.

If you get really bored in university, then there is no point in continuing it. Maybe you can take a real job for now, play video games, and think about the rest of your life??

 

[uperkurk]

Hmm, that sucks for you
I have known people just like you. They always had a big passion for something and did a lot for it. They absolutely loved what they did, but then suddenly they got bored and quit. They ended up fine however. Maybe it is something that disappears when you get older? I don't know, but I certainly hope so for you.

If you get really bored in university, then there is no point in continuing it. Maybe you can take a real job for now, play video games, and think about the rest of your life??

I'm 24 now so I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.

Thanks for your advice anyway it helped :)

 

[Saladsamurai]

I'm 24 now so I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.

Thanks for your advice anyway it helped :)

Hi uperkurk I am 33 now and did not go to uni until I was about your age now. I have learned a lot of interesting things about the world and about life. Like that life has a twisted sense of humour sprinkled with a heavy dose of irony. I dropped out of high school and went through my early twenties much in the same way you did (except that I lacked the stones to join the military). I would try this and then try that. I was what I thought at the time was what people referred to as "fickle." Looking back on things, I have discovered that I am just the opposite, and always have been!

I don't drop something because I find it boring; I drop it because I discover something else that excites me! My problem is not that I have no passion; my problem is that I have too much. While this is still a problem, it is not as bad as the former.

Perhaps you can relate. Perhaps you cannot. But what is certain is that life goes on. As it does, pay attention to it. Try to learn something from all of your experiences, good and bad.

If I had to offer any advice, I would say this: Stick it out for the rest of the year. Take a vacation for a few days. Even if you can't afford something fancy. Go camping; take a day trip; climb a mountain; row a boat... Just do something that does not require you to stress out. It might help you to view your predicament with some new perspective.

Best of luck

 

[turbo]

College was wasted on me. I learned more on-the-job after quitting than I ever learned in school. I had fun in school, but it was not a productive time for me.

I'm not necessarily recommending this approach, but it worked for me. Got to take chances and roll with the punches if you want to go this way, though.