[dottywine]

I am currently in a crisis. I feel like I'm "over" going to school. I don't like the impracticality of the things I'm doing. I don't like that I feel as if I am wasting my time. Time I could be using to work. To volunteer. To create a business (I know some college students create businesses while they're in college. I don't know HOW and I am amazed by them...). To live life.

And then, I would love it if some of you shared your experience wit this feeling and what life was like RIGHT after graduation. Did you live at home? Find a job? Couldn't find a job? Travel? Loans to pay? What happened?

[BishieAddict]

i graduated last year. Finding a job is tough. It's a nasty transition. No one cares about you.... no one holds your hands and finds a perfect placement for you. I have to pay for health insurance and etc... if I don't work, well I still have to pay. Took me a long time to find something, and it still didn't fit quite right. Now the market is so bad, no one's hiring (at least here). It was so hot a few years ago and changed 180. New grads are having it tough because even more experienced workers are losing their jobs. why hire us while others are cheap? Heck because my company's not getting that many new projects coming in, I think I'm the next one on the chopping block.

I envy my friends that aren't graduating this year - life as a student isn't that bad. Students get discounts and several things. I would have my health covered under my parent's insurance... Heck if I get laid off, i'm debating whether to go back partly to get health coverage.

Some of my friends traveled - are still traveling. They seem to be having a blast... but money runs out quickly.

Maybe you should switch your career.... I have a friend who finished her degree but didn't find it very practical. She's heading back to school.

[Prot]

4 years (assuming you're talking about getting a bachelors) feels like a long time after all those years of schooling of elementary, jhs, hs, and now this, but in the long run, a majority of jobs require bachelors degree as minimum and many in the science field require masters, doctorate, or just plain job experience on top of that.

You don't hurt yourself by getting a bachelors, but you limit yourself if you don't get it. Unless you know exactly what you want, I wouldn't recommend not getting a bachelors first. Or if you're not sure what you want to really study, maybe you need to do some research and take a term off from school but be sure you spend it researching not idling around and hanging out with friends 24/7. I have a friend who took a term off and just wasted it because all she did was party all day, hence, setting the clock backwards for the time till she gains independence. Otherwise, if you just can't stand the schooling process, you just have to bear with it, no way around that.

I personally feel like my life is being held idle, simply because I am studying for a bachelors, not earning money, accumulating debt, and using 4 years to do this. I want freedom and independence, not to be reliant on my parents 100%. However, since the occupation I want to pursue requires a bachelors, I just have to endure and wait patiently. And that is what I would recommend to you as well.

Waste of time would be to idle around and not know what you want and not getting a degree ontop of that.

Anyway, I have a year till graduation and I plan on getting a masters and living at home because its cheaper. I don't plan on moving out until I have a stable job and paid off debts.

[dottywine]

weird&short: You're scaring me. I think I am going to eventually BITE THE BULLET and get a nursing degree and work as a nurse until I find work or a more interesting HEALTH CARE profession! :S

Prot: Heh... I am getting a B.A. in Philosophy, a B.S. in Computer Science and I might as well get at least a B.A. in Math and a Masters in Computer Science. It will take 5 years. I'm on year 2 as of right now. And not looking good. I get bad grades. Its not a matter of choosing a degree I "like". I thought I liked Philosophy and I was kind of wrong (I like it well enough) so who's to say the next major is right? And I am fine with Computer Science, but I just wanted a practical degree that will give me a SKILL I can offer someone to hire me. Since the field is so competitive, I need a masters, as well. Its only an extra year and I can get a Math degree during that time (I like math). So I finally decided i just don't like the schooling process. You're right. I have to bear it.

I'm only in school because I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what to do in this world.

I'm going to live at home when I graduate, as well. Its going to suck. These 20-something years are going to suck. Oh, I just turned 20. The suckage has begun.

[BishieAddict]

healthcare.. might be safe. Unless the gov't decides to cut (but why would they cut healthcare in recession?). I don't know much about that industry - I work in the industrial sector. I felt the big cuts hence I'm cynical.

But... I know how you feel. I felt like quitting halfway through my degree. I stuck with it because I thought it would guarantee a job and I hadn't really thought anything else would suit me.Well the future wasn't guaranteed after all.

[dottywine]

Yeah, dude... maybe you should consider health care. You will ALWAYS get a job within healthcare. I know my parents give jobs for some people to take care of elderly people. A few hours a day, which ever hours work for you. 20 bucks an hour. All you need is a highschool degree and training.

[erure]

I think I'm in a similar situation myself. I'm pursuing a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and am getting there (graduating in 2010)... But I'm so sick of school. I really wanted to just take a quarter off and do something different for a change, but thinking about it was just a waste of time because there are so many things holding me back that I had not thought about. At this point, I'm just trying to stick through with it until I at least graduate, and then take a break. I know it's the worst time ever to end up with just a bachelor's degree and "take a break," but I don't care anymore. So now I'm just trying to get decent grades and graduate. I'm still going to apply to some schools next year just to see if I can get in somewhere (and if I do, well... I haven't thought it out that far haha).

[jphase]

I too am sick of school. I'm pursuing a B.S. in Chemistry and hoping to get into Pharmacy school.. I've looked at some of my poor grades and always questioned myself as to if I'm doing the right thing but.. I really can't see myself doing anything else so I'm just going to keep going at it even though I just found out I might have to stay another year to meet all the requirements T.T Hopefully taking classes over the summer could help me graduate in 4 instead of 5... Also since I want to go to pharmacy school.. although I dread the thought of going to school another 4 years, I feel like it would be one of the greatest rewards for myself since I'll be able to live fairly comfortably.

It'll be hard but just keep at it. If anything maybe take a semester off and then go back.. I'd love to take a semester off but admissions into Pharm schools are getting tougher every year so I need to keep at it

good luck with whatever you decide to do!! :]

[dafleur]

And then, I would love it if some of you shared your experience wit this feeling and what life was like RIGHT after graduation. Did you live at home? Find a job? Couldn't find a job? Travel? Loans to pay? What happened?

getting through undergrad was NOTHING compared to the quarter-life crisis that awaited me after graduation. it's like you're in limbo-land... you've been going to school for your entire life and now suddenly you're thrust into the "real world". you're constantly asking yourself, "uhhh.. well now what!?"

i took about 6months off btwn undergrad and having a "real" job. time was spent working at a part-time job, going out with friends, and basically just decompressing from school. got bored of that after a few months (bills were starting to stack up as well!) and found myself a job in my field which i'm pretty happy in.

[twinkl]

Sick of school? I wish I were BACK in school. God, I just graduated 2008 and stupidly did not look for jobs right away because I had a freelance gig going. It ended in September RIGHT when Lehman Brothers went down and people started realizing that they're screwed. If I had started job hunting before I graduated, I'd probably be employed right now. Probably. Not absolutely.

But anyways, I wish I could go back to school for a more practical degree. Architecture (from my school) apparently isn't practical enough. It was already a competitive field to begin with, but with this economic downturn no one can afford to build anything.

So savor school. Maybe by the time you're out people will be hiring again. School's like one giant vacation. No responsibilities, no obligations. Make the most of it and get some work experience while you can still afford to be an unpaid intern.

Maybe you're just not in the right environment? Not in the right school?

[kyaaax3]

Ugh, glad I'm not the only one feeling this way. I'm so over school (even though this is the end of my 2nd year), that I've been slacking through classes and getting average-poor grades. I'm so burned out. I just wish that I can take a semester off or something and travel, but my parents probably won't be too happy with that (especially since they're the ones paying for my education... room, board, tuition, everything).

I don't even know what I want to do. I want to study something that will almost guarantee a job (and that's decently paid) but I'm not very ambitious either. I'm studying accounting right now, and I'm already struggling (half of me thinks it's because I'm not putting all of my effort into it) on the basic accounting course. I don't even know if I see myself being an accountant. I do think that I'm doing this because my parents are rooting me to do it, but everything else that I'm interested in (languages, etc.) won't get me anywhere except for maybe teaching. My mindset right now is just to get my Bachelor in accounting and move onto graphic design or something.. just to work on my portfolio and then try to find a graphic design firm who'll hire me.

[Laxntiga]

I was in your shoes when I graduated. I graduated in 3.5 years double majoring in Econ and Chinese. I thought... I hate school so much, I just want to graduate and get on with my life, and I did.

Now... I regret it, I miss all that freedom. I thought "when I graduate college, its a race to get rich (or die trying)". Oh was I so naive. I wanted to work, work, work, save money, start my own company.

I didn't see it coming. Having to work EVERYDAY, ugh. Being told what to do and what I cannot do, ugh. Having all the prime hours of your day sapped by being part of the corporate life, ugh. Yes, I am sticking to my original plan, but I realized money isn't everything and I shouldn't base my life on money. Money is only a means of exchange and by making oodles of it doesn't make me all that much happier (Although I don't make much to begin with).

It's the freedom I miss the most. In retrospect, I was paying for that freedom, dam college loans!



Anyway, life is what you make of it. Its all up to you, you will reap what you will sow. Work hard, it will pay off one day or another. If not, at least you are doing something... right?

[dottywine]

dafleur: How were you able to find a job? Did you live in an apt. by yourself?

twinkl: Thanks for the advice! I will certainly keep that in mind. Lots of job hunting my senior year. And you're making me feel more secure about my decision to major in computer science. But don't say its a vacation. It certainly isn't. This is creating a path for my future. My responsibility is to make myself as best of a person I can be so I can be employ-able. I have to make good grades, make some money on the side, and explore my passions. These are huge responsibliites. I see college as a time to get to know yourself and having less important stresses (making an F and having a bad GPA is not as bad as not having any money to pay rent kind of stresses) and people to help you so you can do it.

kyaaa: I highly recommend you get a nursing degree. It only takes 2 years and you WILL make a lot of money.

Lanx: I too only crave freedom. I feel like university is restricting my freedom. I feel like if I got a job, maybe it would suck for a few months, but I'd have money saved up and I could find other jobs or even start something else. I'd have the freedom while I have that job to do what I want AFTER work and ON WEEKENDS instead of dedicating that time to more schoolwork. You know what I mean? That's how I feel. I've had an 8 to 5/6 when I was younger. It sucks. It drains all your energy. I personally ENJOY being told what needs to be done, doing it quickly and taking another task but most of the time working sucks. At least the job I had (I had no window or anything. But the job was fun when I started to run errands around town like an intern). I loved weekends because I could use the money I earned to do something I am passionate about.

[Raito!]

life is kind of blue and cloudy for me after graduation, I graduated last summer with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. I didn't do much of job hunting prior to graduating since I already had a job at that time. Few months later I got laid, so I got another job, few month later I got laid off again O__O;; then I got another job but the pay is kind of crappy. I don't have much of friends since I usually one of those typical Asian student who study their butts off and get scolded by their parent if they get bad grades and stuff and don't have much of a social life.... I use school as a way to meet new people but I can't stand doing projects and not getting paid for it.

I did plan to go to graduate school and obtain a masters but then after finishing all the application and getting the references I though to myself 3 things: 1) what good is a master degree if the economy is banged up in turmoil 2)i hate doing project and hw and not getting pay for it 3)related work exp is worth a lot more than what education is valued. ex: Likewise 4 yrs of development exp in PHP is worth more than a degree in C.S. since one is more narrow toward your career and the other is soooo broad. Off course, I been told that some company likes to mold ppl into whatever they want so they might like the broad one rather than the narrow.

In regards to loans and stuff, I didn't have any to pay in fact I got so much financial aid that they(the govt and school) are practically paying me to go to school lmaoooooo. So now I am just polishing up my skills with this company and looking more other jobs at the same time. When I get back from work, I sleep and just ponder the roof of my room bc I am soo exhausted from working 2 jobs and my eyeballs are burning from staring at the computer screen all day. My eyesight is really trashed =___=;; and the pay doesn't even cover the damage.

[709394]

You guys who are still in school and getting sick of school...hah, I was the exact same way, but just wait until you graduate college and come into the 'real world'...then you'll wish your back in school.

I'm also going through my 'quarterlife crisis' right now...its literally, wtf do i do now?! everyday is a rountine ...it sucks. I miss in college, having all my friends around, being lazy when I want to be...

[cathycasi21]

I used to be in the same position as you. I'm 24 years old turning 25 in a couple of months and you can say with the amount of post secondary education, I could have a masters degree..hahaha with everything just give it time. I was able to travel when I was in school. I think I went to the Philippines two years ago and Maui last year. I'd say keep with it because once you finish school you'll wish you could go back. just know that what your feeling, your not alone. I have two jobs and a full course load (5 courses) but you just have to find that balance for school. I'm currently taking my bachelors for Computer Information System and Business but I made quite a big jump to that extreme because I have a diploma in Paramedics. hahahaha Things are going great now. Things may seem impossible to climb but you just gotta keep pushing through.

I think you might be a little burned out from school. My advice is take a step back and just set aside an hour of free time each day. I found that working out and exercising helps clear my head so I can focus on my homework better.

Hope this helps

edit: Just reading through your posts in this thread and for Computer Science there seems to be alot of jobs in this field so I wouldn't worry about that. Live in the now is what I always say..hehehe

[Fifi]

I really do feel the same way as you right now. I'm 20 and will be graduating mid year 2010... right now, it's my 3rd year of a business bachelor (majoring in marketing and minoring in IT). Since coming back from a 3.5 months holiday break from uni, I've been feeling so tired of studying and actually, going to the place itself to sit in rooms for lectures/tutorials. Because graduate programs here in Australia will be like the starting point for new graduates, I will be applying for them next year... meaning that after I graduate, I'll have half a year or so to either continue working as a checkout chick (provided that I'm not sacked by then) or find a marketing related job to boost my skills and knowledge.

Rather than just doing 'nothing' for that half year, I'm planning to just occupy myself with as many things such as possible... like bring more progress into my hobby (crafts/drawing) and setting up an online store or something, or find a volunteer job? Any job possible will be good experience. During this time too, I'd have to upgrade my skills and all that ready for an actual full time job so hopefully, that'll all go as briefly planned.

Take up a hobby, anything of interest and work on that. I kind of find fixing the garden fun now... no idea how that came about but I guess because of my liking for the outdoors. Life's tough, especially now... but don't give up.

[AngieK]

Okay let's break this down.

Elementary school - 5 yrs
Middle school - 3 yrs
High school - 4 yrs
College - 5 yrs (assuming you're getting a masters)

So that's approximately 17 years of being in school, give or take. Now let's just round this up to 20 for an even number for easy comparison. Now average death age for a woman is about 80 - 85 yrs probably longer if you maintain a healthy lifestyle. My point is, 20 years out of 80 years. Meaning you still have a whole 60 years to do all those things you listed. As many others already pointed out, if you give up on school now you'll merely be limiting your options in the future. It's far easier to finish school now that you have no major responsibilities. Imagine if you stopped, created your own business or started working, then realized that you're not going to get where you want to be (or be respected like you should be) without a degree. By then it will be way harder and take a lot more time, and effort, to finish your education, since you'll be forced to juggle school, work, plus the stress that comes with being out on your own (rent, job security, family responsibilities, transportation, survival, etc.). School is nothing like the real world. And that's not something you want to realize after you quit school and it's too late to go back. But you don't seem like you're really thinking of quitting school. Even so, it's something to think about. It may change your perspective a little.

But in terms of being burned out from school, you probably need an outlet. You don't need to be studying 24/7 and you CAN volunteer and do activities while in school. You said you don't know how people have managed to create businesses in school. Well it's quite simple. They figured out what they wanted in life, stopped complaining and actually did something about it. It probably wasn't hard, took a lot of work and energy, but the most important thing is that they went out there and did it. If you don't know what to do sit down and think about where you want to be in 10 years. If you want to work for some software company, maybe you should be programming in your free time, building a portfolio to show future employers. If you think you already have a solid portfolio, get over your pride and make it better. One thing I've learned from computer science is that there is always room for improvement.

Finally, I just wanted to comment on one last thing. You said you were fine with Computer Science. Not that you enjoyed it. I'm not sure exactly how you feel about the topic but based off how you worded it I got the message that you're only doing Computer Science because of the security it may give you later on (in terms of a job). Let me warn you now. If you're just 'okay' with Computer Science and do not particularly enjoy it (above other things that is) you will probably burnout very quickly when the real world hits. The tech industry is not as financially secure as everyone seems to believe. It's like any other field. If you aren't good at what you do, your chances of getting laid off will be the same. There are plenty of people who graduate with a Computer Science degree...but how many of them are actually good at programming? Good as in coding style, commenting, working in groups, producing solid software, debugging techniques, testing, etc. Now I know the whole being good at what you do applies to all fields but it shows a lot more in Computer Science. By simply looking at sample code an employer can easily weed out good from bad programmers. Even if you bypass the interview coding tests, if you can't consistently produce high quality code you'll always be at a risk of being replaced by the more experienced programmers.

In any case, I hope that everything works out for you. Life's only started, don't give up.

[j00n]

You should do what you LOVE. I did, and haven't regretted it since. Also i managed to do quite well for myself financially partly because i excelled at it BECAUSE i loved doing it and worked on it as a hobby as well. For example those that become barista's, bartenders, or even skateboard/snowboard deck designers. The really good ones are the ones that love their job, love the product, love being with people...and guess what? They do quite well financially. See the pattern?

One trick of mine i used to "get through school" when i was burned out (and believe me i was!) doing a double major, honors, collegiate soccer/tennis, and multiple choir/bands and clubs. The way i did it was to actually scale back on studying. My freshman and sophmore years were the worst because i tried to do everything PLUS get a 4.0. I did it, but i was horribly burned out. My junior year i wised up. I decided i didn't HAVE To get all 4.0 and settled for B's and C's...and even Pass/Fail in the courses that i didn't need for my major. It freed up a TON of my time and schedule and i could enjoy just being a regular college kid and concentrate on my extra-curricular activities.

[nekkid]

j00n: That's a nice approach, but GPA does matter.