Need some opinions about education, jobs, and life in general

[TurboFreak]

I just wanted to get some other opinions about what I should do in the coming months. (I know ultimately its my decisions and thats what should and will matter but :aigo: this is hard)

Summary: I'm 20 and I'm in my 5th semester of college and pretty "burnt out" from it.

Story:
I went to my local Community College for a semester when I graduated high school because I didn't know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to be. I did well (3.0 gpa) that semester. I then transferred to Salisbury University (a pretty well known university around my area) where I did 3 semesters and got mediocre grades (Cumulative of ~2.5 gpa)
I decided I hated it there so I transferred BACK to a community college to finish off my general education requirements and think about what my next move will be. If you know me, you KNOW I have a problem with sticking with something for awhile(look at my sig for example). School is HARD for me. I'm more of a hands on person so learning theories, formulas, and abstract data is not appealing to me or easy for me to comprehend. Like I said earlier I'm just really burnt out from the whole school thing and completely unmotivated to continue.

So now I've got all these ideas in my head about what to do next:

• Go to community college next semester and get my Business AA Degree. Then get a full-time job meanwhile possibly pursuing a bachelors degree at night or quit the job after some time and go back to school full-time.
  
• Transfer to Towson, UMBC, or another local major 4 year school and finish my Finance BA in about 4-5 more semesters.
  
• Stop school for at least a semester and get a job for awhile. Who knows, it may take me to the career I want without even stepping into another school again.

Basically I think I need a break from school either after this semester or the next...

All I ever think about besides girls...haha...is automobiles. I just can't get excited about finance or any other degree offered in college.

Give me some of your opinions and maybe what you have done in the past.

And no offense but please don't respond if you are still in high school, you have NO IDEA what I'm talking about.

EDIT: Another thing is that I have no financial debt. My parents paid for my first two years of schooling(but won't be for the rest of it) and they are going to support(not financially lol) me in whatever I do.

 

[fixitman04]

go find a absolutely shitty factory job, work it for at least 6 months and truly listen to the old guys that you work with. discuss politics and life with them, and think about if you could really do this for the rest of your life...bet you will be back in school in no time and dedicated to it!

 

[Clip]

in my third semester at virginia tech doing materials science & engineering. the work is hard but if i get the salary im hoping for i can make stupid bets with friends like the one earlier today: 10 years, $10k, i bet i can make a 4runner better than you can make a jeep.

 

[aye mate]

I agree with fixitman. Knuckle down and get a straight up manual labor job. I personally enjoyed it when I had one and I still do it part time. I wouldn't recommend trying to make a career out of it unless you are willing to learn a trade, but that still requires some schooling to make it a career. Have you ever considered public service or the military? I did a few years at a CC and was going to go to UMD then decided it wasn't for me. My dad is a FireFighter/Paramedic in HoCo. so I started applying for FireFighter positions. I got hired in Frederick County, did 5months in the academy and now I work a 24hour shift have 48 hours off, great benefits, decent pay, my job doesn't depend on the economy and I can retire in 20 years. Police departments are similar if thats more your thing.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

go find a absolutely shitty factory job, work it for at least 6 months and truly listen to the old guys that you work with. discuss politics and life with them, and think about if you could really do this for the rest of your life...bet you will be back in school in no time and dedicated to it!

^ This did it for me...

*edit*
If you're more than halfway through a degree, you're a fool for not finishing it.

 

[Scot]

My 2cents... Find out what kind of degree you get with what you have earned. Focus on that and FINISH. If you like working with you hands, get a job with you local phone company, power company, etc. If you can pass a drug test and have a good driving record you will be hired.... You will have benefits and pretty good job security which is huge. That can be plan "A". The poor man's plan. If you want to know the rich man's plan, read Rich Dad Poor Dad, (do it today)..... Plan A is what I have been doing.... in the phone business. I'm 47 and do very well. I started pulling cable, moved up to the inside switching center, moved to a sales support, (because of my technical background). BUT, I am not financially independant... (Rich Dad Poor Dad)

BUT without a degree, it has limited my advancement. It is also keeping me from moving freely to another field or company where I don't have inside references. With a degree, you can enlist in the military as an officer... You can work at the phone company in the field and move on up very easily, but you HAVE to have a degree today. You are at the end of the tunnel. Don't quit now....

 

[benchwarmer]

I'm in the same boat TurboFreak. I have one year to go to graduate and I can barely force myself to attend class. The reason is different though. I have had two serious accidents in the last two years and took no time to recover from either. If I get any more burned out I'm not going to finish. But I know that if I stop going I won't go back.

So, what I plan to do is take classes part time next semester and work part time. That will give me days off of school that I really need while giving me something to do with my days off. It will set back graduation a bit, but I get a break from full time studying while still moving toward my degree. I don't know if that will help you, but it's what I plan on doing.

 

[mkiiSupraMan18]

^ Good plan... I'd rather see someone graduate in 2018 than drop out in 2008.

 

[IJ.]

"Life's a bitch then you die"

 

[LilMissMkIII]

I was in the same boat after studying a double degree and double majoring in both (BA Commerce - Finance & Business Law, BA Arts - Economics & Politics)... Got WAY burnt out working 3 jobs + full time study + volunteering. I also couldn't afford to go anymore (books and travel were extremely expensive, and unlike all my friends, my parents couldn't afford to help me at all).

I got a full time job, and studied part time via correspondence. Was the best decision I ever made.

I fell into a great industry, and for the last 2 and a half year have been on the move up and up because I have been continuously studying. If I had given up school completely, there is no way I would be where I am today earning the money I am.

I now have a job that I love, and my boss is paying for me to finish my professional qualifications by mid next year, and then 12 months from them I will have my degree and more qualifications than he has, and if I keep working my ass off, I should get a $30,000 scholarship!

Sure, it's taken me a bit longer than my friends to graduate, but I have a resume most people in my field envy, and am earning pretty decent money because of the period of time I have been in the industry. I also have the satisfaction in knowing I did it myself, without the free hand out all my friends got.

 

[wade3570]

2 schools of thought-----"Do what you like for a living & you'll never work a day in ur life."
OR-----"Do what you like for a living & you'll end up hating it." Pick one & good luck!

 

[GrimJack]

I'm of the opinion that if you can't stand learning something, you'll have even less chance of enjoying actually doing it.

That said, you need to find out what you enjoy doing, and then tailor a learning plan around that. You need to learn in your chosen field, and ideally what you learn will be immediately applicable to your job.

 

[masterchief819]

Its all about finding your motivation to study man. I went to comm. college for 4 semes and the transfer to uni was ridiculous. My advice is to just bury yourself in the books for just a semester. Academics is like learning another language. At first, it seems so unnatural and nothing is easy. Over time, things start to come together and things you learn in one class coordinate with others. Then soon, you're fluent enough to have a life again at the same time as excelling in your classes. Go build that character

 

[TurboFreak]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm pretty sure where I'm headed to now. I'm going to talk to my career advisor tomorrow so that'll help too.

 

[MK3.0dudeman]

go find a absolutely shitty factory job, work it for at least 6 months and truly listen to the old guys that you work with. discuss politics and life with them, and think about if you could really do this for the rest of your life...bet you will be back in school in no time and dedicated to it!

I agree with this 100% cause right now I'm working at a super market as a cook.It's messy,back breaking(if you can belive it and I take a lot of shit from people.More shit and more people than I'm spose to be and all I think about is how I don't want to get stuck at a job like this when I'm 40

The reson I am not in school is I'm going to school for hvac and the school I'm going to is threw my fathers union and to get in you need to pass a entrance exam and I failed it the first time by 10 question.O did I mention how I fucking hate school and and always sucked at it and I almost droped out of high school 3 times.But this time I really relize that I need it.So the only thing I could tell you is stay in school but only if it's for something you like.

Sorry for the bad spelling you could tell I never paid attention in school.

 

[MkIII_Jeff]

At 26 I still haven't really figured out what I want to be when I grow up. Right out of HS I went to a tech school for IT. Since I had already been in computers and electronics it took me 13 of the 18 month program to learn anything. I hated being there day in and day out. I worked full time and went to school full time. Lets just say I burned out hard. I didn't finish the program.

I have worked a couple electronics related production jobs since and am very tired of it. I really want a job or career with some stability. I also would like to make more than $25-30k a year. I have worked with many people that have worked a lot of their lives doing the same shit job. I don't want to be that person.

If I could go back and do things differently, I would have at least finished the degree. Having just a degree, whether it's in a related field or not, will get you a lot further than nothing at all.

If you really like automobiles that much, how about looking into a program centered in the industry? Train to be a certified Toyota tech?

 

[Isphius]

Im in the same boat as you, except a com college drop out! I thought i was cool working, having a nice financed mr2 while all my friends were "stuck" in college. Now i regret every minute of it. I wish i still lived at home and finishes school. Im planning on joining the national guard...they pay for com college in NJ and will help with universities, plus kick-ins for full time students. I plan on studying something in the IT or business management industry. still have to find out what will work. In the national guard im going for an MOS in intel analysis or IT specialist. BTW, does anyone know a good army MOS that will help me get a job in the IT field? Like doing network support or something? I dont know which jobs are really out there just know i want to work in an office environment. Not concerned with being rich, just want to be able to afford some toys and a nice place to live. Thanks! and Good luck to OP.

 

[rtrdpenguin]

I'm of the opinion that if you can't stand learning something, you'll have even less chance of enjoying actually doing it.

That said, you need to find out what you enjoy doing, and then tailor a learning plan around that. You need to learn in your chosen field, and ideally what you learn will be immediately applicable to your job.

This is true. Find something you like, if you like hands-on stuff finance is probably not going to work out for you =\ I'm not a huge fan of studying either, but I really like mechanical engineering so it's not so bad =)