I'm in a bit of a pickle

Egyptian

Hey there,

First off, thanks for taking the time to read this, and I really hope you can shed some light on my situation.



I'm currently repeating 2nd year Computer Science, and I'm having trouble motivating myself. I feel I'm heading in the same direction as last year. I've failed 4 exams already, which have to be repeated in August, and I have my summer exams to look forward to.

I'd really like to just get out of college, get into somewhere I can make some money (doesn't have to be much... €20,000/yr), and progress from there. That way I can focus on achieving goals, and make the most of my situation.

I'd really like some opinons on whether I should...

1) Drop out now, and look for a job.
2) Stay untill the repeats, and see how I get on.
3) Look at getting into a different course

For option number three, I'm at a loss at how I go about doing this, whether I'm too late in applying, or if it's possible at all. I'd like to see if I can go into a 2 year course, and just come out with a certificate or diploma, as alot of IT jobs require some 3rd level education.

Any comments, opinions, or suggestions welcome,


Please....



_

jetsonx

4 exams is not that much to repeat - it is easily done.

A less-than half finished course on your CV will not look good. Not many people will tell you this but half the battle of getting a degree is purely to show future employers that you set a goal and stick to it - no matter what type of degree you do.

Stick in there - the novely of low-paid easy work can wear off for a lot of people very quickly.

Theta

I'm just finishing Computer Science in DIT myself and I can tell you that by far the hardest year was Second year. You have 13 or 14 subjects with 2 assignments a week and tons of exams but after Second year things really start to get good as you specialise and you get more interested in the subjects your actually doing because you have some control over them!! So I would defo say stick it out at least until you do your repeats which is easily done with a little work.

Even if you stop when you have passed second year you can always go back into third year later or use two full years to get advanced entry into something else otherwise tech you have only finshed 1 year which isn't worth anything!

Marc

Binomate

I know exactly how you feel with the lack of motivation. Stick in there though. Motivate yourself during the summer to study for the exams you failed, but most importantly put them behind you for now and concentrate on what you're doing at the minute. Start to try attend all of the lectures and labs and stuff. I know, it's hard, but you want to try and cut your losses while you're ahead. There's others that are in the same boat as you too. Me for example. I failed Micro's and Maths, and I've attended sweet fuck all lectures this term. Still, I plan to make up for the exams I lost during the repeats. Have to get in tune myself these days.

Best of luck with what ever you decide though.

Strawberries07

Hello there,

I wanna tell you bout my situation, I'm 18, just finished school summer 2006, and have been working ever since, i choice not to go to college got a great job in an airline engine repair centre have my own car and my own wages at the end of the month. But I started a part time college course last october finishing this may/june and so I'll have something under my belt. College you can do anytime, part-time full time whatever, all I know is my bf is in 1st year DIT computer science and doesn't work and I support him. I don't have to worry about exams that i wont get back into me course etc, I'm happy, you could always take a year off after your repeats and join me in the working world to see what it's like. I know myself I have plenty of time to do all I want to do! My advice is don't be a waster and fall into the "I wont go to lectures I'll go pub and get wasted instead" thats just stupid if thats what your doing drop out now, there's no point of you even being there then.

Good luck

Andrewjdoyle

Hi Egyption...

DIT has a fantastic careers service that's free to all students (Phone: 01 402 3082, or email: careers@dit.ie).

They can offer you better advice than any of us. If you decide you want to move course, they can help you there, and if you decide you want a job, they can help with that too.

Best of luck either way,

-Andy

Stoner

for the record, in my first year in Kevin Street I failed 13 from 25 exams, I passed 11 of them in the repeats, Had to do first year again, in second year I failed 3 from 20 and passed them in the repeats. I've spent the next 10 years or so doing exams and haven’t failed one since, so failing can be turned into a good thing.
I was so shocked at being bottom of the class that it really hurt my pride. It all depends on what you take from it. A change of mind set can produce great results.

I guess it all comes down to what is it worth to you, if you think that watching classmates or friends getting on in college etc is something that wont keep you awake at night then you're sorted, but giving up on something having not given it your best shot can play on your mind. Any friends you have from college now could likely be lost if you pack it in, you wont want to hang around and listem to them talking about 3rd year exams.
To quote The Fat Lady Sings, "you've never been hungry until you have tasted regret"

If you are leaving to get a job then that could also be a good move, there are pleanty of people working in IT with little or no 3rd level qualifications, and there are some good IT courses in Oscail and DCU/LU if you want to return to study later. My only advice on this would be dont leave college for the short term gain of a few bob, if you are used to sparse funds at the moment then hang onto that gift lol.

Best of luck what ever you do, just make sure that you can see yourself happy with the choice you are making now, in the future, that's what really counts.:)

Spunge

Stoner wrote:

for the record, in my first year in Kevin Street I failed 13 from 25 exams, I passed 11 of them in the repeats, Had to do first year again, in second year I failed 3 from 20 and passed them in the repeats. I've spent the next 10 years or so doing exams and haven’t failed one since, so failing can be turned into a good thing.
I was so shocked at being bottom of the class that it really hurt my pride. It all depends on what you take from it. A change of mind set can produce great results.

I guess it all comes down to what is it worth to you, if you think that watching classmates or friends getting on in college etc is something that wont keep you awake at night then you're sorted, but giving up on something having not given it your best shot can play on your mind. Any friends you have from college now could likely be lost if you pack it in, you wont want to hang around and listem to them talking about 3rd year exams.
To quote The Fat Lady Sings, "you've never been hungry until you have tasted regret"

If you are leaving to get a job then that could also be a good move, there are pleanty of people working in IT with little or no 3rd level qualifications, and there are some good IT courses in Oscail and DCU/LU if you want to return to study later. My only advice on this would be dont leave college for the short term gain of a few bob, if you are used to sparse funds at the moment then hang onto that gift lol.

Best of luck what ever you do, just make sure that you can see yourself happy with the choice you are making now, in the future, that's what really counts.:)

Nice post

when i finished reading it and saw your name was stoner i laughed

Dr Lektroluv

Egyptian wrote:

Hey there,

First off, thanks for taking the time to read this, and I really hope you can shed some light on my situation.



I'm currently repeating 2nd year Computer Science, and I'm having trouble motivating myself. I feel I'm heading in the same direction as last year. I've failed 4 exams already, which have to be repeated in August, and I have my summer exams to look forward to.

I'd really like to just get out of college, get into somewhere I can make some money (doesn't have to be much... €20,000/yr), and progress from there. That way I can focus on achieving goals, and make the most of my situation.

I'd really like some opinons on whether I should...

1) Drop out now, and look for a job.
2) Stay untill the repeats, and see how I get on.
3) Look at getting into a different course

For option number three, I'm at a loss at how I go about doing this, whether I'm too late in applying, or if it's possible at all. I'd like to see if I can go into a 2 year course, and just come out with a certificate or diploma, as alot of IT jobs require some 3rd level education.

Any comments, opinions, or suggestions welcome,


Please....



_

Dont listen to people on this thread telling you to "stick it out" etc. I wasted 5 full years of my life in FT228. I knew very well after failing some subjects in 2nd year that this wasnt for me and I wanted to drop out and do something else, but I was young and impressionable and listened to people like my parents/relatives/friends/etc who told me to "stick it out, not long to go now, bla bla" - very annoying. Eventually just got completely sick of it, couldnt stand the course any more. I have zero interest in programming/IT/networks/etc. So here I am after 5 years doing that poxy course with nothing to show for it.
Completing 2nd year doesnt get you anything.
Completing 3rd year doesnt get you anything.
I have no cert/no diploma/nothing. Zilch. Make your own judgement based on how you feel, not people telling you "Ahh just stick out the repeats and go from there" because you'll get into 3rd year and still be in the same situation but the VERY same people will be saying "Ahh just complete 3rd year and then theres only a year left". Obviously because of my situation I am not going to come out straight and say "Drop out of the course" - do whatever you think is best like but I am just letting you know how my experience of doing that course went. Looking back I should have dropped out in 2nd year and got a job or apprenticeship or something. Least I would have had 3 years experience doing it now. Its not a good course to be doing when you really dont want to be there.

Stoner

Spunge wrote:

Nice post
when i finished reading it and saw your name was stoner i laughed

hehe

Anyway Dr Lektroluv you have made some good points, no point in staying somewhere is you dont like it, I'm just saying that its an important decission and it should be made for the right reasons.

BTW Egyptian, my time in college was great. I miss the freedom that a job takes.

Frankiestylee

dr. Lek makes a good point. All too often people stay in a course because they fear making the change because they might be seen as a failure etc.

I was doing engineering because it looked interesting and was a good profession to get into. Once I got into college I realised that engineering is pretty much 90% maths and it interested me as much as anything else does, I'm just inquisitive and like to know how stuff works... I don't like ploughing through a load of maths like an engineer has to. Same went for the computer element, I like computers, I like to think I know a thing or two, but when it came to labouring over pages and pages of code I just lost interest.

Thing is, I stuck with it for two years of boredom because I kept telling myself it was going to get better, when in reality it just wasn't the course for me. I was afraid of what the aul parentals and friends might think but eventually I just said "**** it" and took a year out to get my head straight.
Now I'm doing journalism and I love it. It's not as "secure" a course as engineering or as highly regarded as engineering, but that's just what other people think, I love it and that's really all that matters.

Just make sure you choose a course for your own reasons and just go for it.
There are loads of differant ways to live your life and all too often the system we're in directs us in a very specific way that's hard to contradict.

melekalikimaka

droppin out of eng for photography this year... woot

Frankiestylee

heh heh... viva la droppin' out of eng for something ya love!

strychnine

Hi Egyptian,
Im in third year of the computer science course and my honest opinion would be for you to get out now while you have only spent 2 years at it.
If your in a situation where your repeating 2nd year of a 4 year course and your finding it hard to motivate yourself then the subject is obviously not for you and you should get out.
There is absolutely no shame whatsoever in dropping out of the course, it has by far the highest drop out rate of any college course, dit wont tell you this but if you compare the number of people who walked in on the first day when i started to the number of those people who are there now, i estimate the drop out rate stands around 85 to 90%. Im deadly serious.

A lot of people feel when they leave school that unless they have a college education theyll end up cleaning streets for the rest of their life. That couldn't be farther from the truth. There are incredible oppurtunities out there with very good salaries for people with little or no college. If you put your mind to to it and get a good cv together, you will earn a hell of a lot more than 20,000.
A friend of mine who didn't even do the leaving cert just started in a managers position in Dunnes on 35,000. Not bad! He makes up for a lack of a qualification with a good attitude and strong motivation. It can be done you know.

muckwarrior

It simply comes down to whether or not you have a genuine interest in the course or not. Just coz your pissed off with it now and lack motivation doesn't necessarily mean it's not for you. i know coz i've been there. Literally.

I repeated 2nd year Computer science in Kevin St too and after I failed 2 of the summer exams in my repeat year I seriously questioned whether or not it was the right thing for me. But luckily enough i passed the exams (4th attampt!) and went on to do much better for the rest of the course.

I'm now workin as a developer which I genuinely enjoy, and am seriously thankful that I stuck it out.

Egyptian

Thank you for all the replies


I'm still unsure as to what I am going to do in the imediate future. As people have said, if you dont like the course, it's not going to get any better by putting myself through the exams and repeats not to mention another 2 years.

The thing is, I enjoy parts of the course, web development for one, which I have always done very well in. It's the maths, and seemingly unnecessary subjects such as legal studies that are overwhelming me.

The main thing that's really getting to me, is the fact that my parents really want me succeed with the course, and don't want to see me drop out. They hit me with questions like "What are you going to do if you drop out?" and "You've put alot of money and time into the course just to just throw it all down the drain?"

They're keen to support me with whatever I decide to do, but they're concerned with the fact that I don't know what my options are if I do drop out, and to be honest so am I.

I'm worried if I do quit, I'll end up having awful trouble getting experience, and getting anywhere near the same type of job/salary I could achieve by completing the course. To be honest I'd much rather have the option of getting 2 years experience in real world business, than torture myself getting through this course. It's getting me down, and I feel I'm missing the opportunity to show my potential in a day to day job. I want to stop watching days pass by, while getting no where. I just don't know where to make the first step...


__

muckwarrior

Egyptian wrote:

The thing is, I enjoy parts of the course, web development for one, which I have always done very well in. It's the maths, and seemingly unnecessary subjects such as legal studies that are overwhelming me.

Jesus, you sound scarily like me. Maths was the bane of my life too, and web dev is the one thing I always loved. Remember that after second year there are less of the "unnecessary" subjects and you get to specialize more in what you want to do. Also, (back then anyway) there was no more maths after second year.

strychnine

As it stands now there is maths in the second semester of third year (Quantitative Methods) and im told (by one of the games programming lecturers) if you take the games programming route in fourth year it involves a lot of maths as well. You doing a science degree, so you really cant escape maths.

As for not knowing where to start looking for work, put a good CV together and spend a few hours sending it out to places you like the sound of, there are loads of recuitment websites and agencies out there that deal with people of all levels of experience and talent every day. Its as simple as walking in and saying "i want a job, heres my CV".

There are also plenty of oppurtunities in Web Dev, that dont require the full degree. Again, if you show an emplyer you have a genuine interest in a particular area, it can speak volumes.

Egyptian

I emailed careers@dit.ie as suggested above, and I'm going in for a meeting with a guidance counselor on Monday.

Hopefully I'l get some idea on where my life is heading, and what I can do to change it.

Thanks again guys, for all the replies,


Will let you know how I get on, and what path I decide to take


__

Ivan E

My advice would be to stay in and suffer through it if that's the industry you want to work it.

I'm speaking as someone
1. Who is in the industry
2. Did the course
3. Transferred in from another course

You may not need the qualification and end up on your feet doing extremely well. However this is a safety net that will always help you in the long run. All the advice of getting out is fine if you don't want to work in IT.

The problem here is that most of these meaningless subjects will come into the job at some stage. You'd be surprised at how much they actually do. DIT courses then to cover all angles and where it is a pain at the time there is reasoning behind it. Also a lot of these outside subjects will work for you if you do tend to move away from the programming side of it.

Looking for a company or job that takes you on as is to give you that experience will be tough. Most places would like you to have some sort of experience to build on. But if you do find that, you may find it a hindrance to move on. And you could find yourself in a job that you really don't like. And that's not a good position to be in either.

I think either way, you will find yourself probably having to come back and any course worth its salt will have you doing something you don't like.