3 years into course and I hate it

LegacyUser

Hi,

Im currently starting in my third year of a computers course and today I realized that I hate it. I don't understand anything I am doing!

Its a four year course and I just don't think I can do the next two years. I can't drop out as I dont have the money to do another course.

Im just wondering what other people think, is there any options for me?

php-fox

Don't like it? Leave, end of story.
Life is too short.

LegacyUser

hmm in my humble opinion- it depends OP, are you getting a grant? If you/your parents are funding it, then yeah fair enough if you hate it then you're better off leaving....

If you are getting a grant though...think long and hard. If you drop out well you won't get another grant, and while a few years ago, it may have been a different story, these days with the government increasing registration fees and whatnot maybe it would be better off finishing it and at least having a degree under your belt. Jobs are scarce these days and if you were to drop out it could be years before you'd have the funds to try another course, you may not be able to find a job once you quit college, believe me the novelty of unemployment wears off after about 2 months . That said you may not find employment even with a degree, but if the economy ever does pick up its better to have one than not.

Theres also the option of finishing the degree and working in the area you're studying and using this income to fund a career change, or using your degree as a basis to move into another different career which you are interested in through further study a masters or whatever. (Which is what i hopefully plan to do soon, got my degree in something i liked but didn't love, but now i have the option to get a masters in 2 or 3 related but very different fields of study which i have much more interest in)

Maybe defer the year (if its not too late) see how things go, take a year to think things over weight your options, still leaving the door open to finish your degree?

While its very easy to say lifes too short and although my heart would say leave if you hate it, putting my sensible head on, you're half way through, if you do drop out what do you plan on doing when you leave? Its better to spend those 2 years finishing the degree than wasting them standing in a dole queue (of course you could be lucky and find a job straight away)...

Exclamation Marc

It's a really tough situation I can only imagine.

Is there a councellor on campus you can talk to or a tutor you can explain your issues to? Maybe you're not the only one feeling completely at a loss? If you got through years one and two you clearly have some level of capability, and you might not be the only one struggling with whats going on. I've met plenty of people who thought they were the only ones struggling and when they found out that there were a lot of them in the same boat, they were all able to help each other.

Some colleges let you defer for a year as far as I know, which would let you take a year off and regroup if you want to come back.

I will say that getting a job is a nightmare at the moment so its a great time to be in education. Have you other qualifications to fall back on or could you get a job?

Qualifications aren't everything, but they are useful. Is there 0% chance you can finish your course out? Your happiness is crucial, but you wouldn't want to drop out and find yourself in a bigger hole.

If you only realised today that you hate, I would definitely say to give it a little time and not do anything rash, as you've 2+ years of not hating it behind you, so this feeling might be temporary.

sickofwaiting

toughyop wrote: »

hmm in my humble opinion- it depends OP, are you getting a grant? If you/your parents are funding it, then yeah fair enough if you hate it then you're better off leaving....

If you are getting a grant though...think long and hard. If you drop out well you won't get another grant, and while a few years ago, it may have been a different story, these days with the government increasing registration fees and whatnot maybe it would be better off finishing it and at least having a degree under your belt.

Nevermind the grant, he/she will be not be eligible for free fees next year if they drop out. That means paying out 20-30K over the next 3-4 years if they want to switch to another course. After 5 years out of the college system you become eligible for free fees again.

LegacyUser

I hated my course (Computer Science) and I really shouldn't have been able to get passed 1st year but I continued it as I had no idea what else to.
When I was in 3rd year I hated every single one of my modules expect for one (which ended up being my best result that year) so I said to myself I might as well try my best and I ended up getting a 2.2 that year even though I had little interest in the modules I was studying.
When 4th year came around I found that that the modules where a lot more interesting and started to enjoy my course a bit more and ended up getting a 2.1 which sounded impossible to me at the start of 4th year never mind 1st year.

Now that I have the degree I can now apply for conversion masters like I am thinking of applying to do an Electronic Engineering course that is only a year long and its funded by the government.

So my advice would be to stick it out and try to get the best possible grade and then once you have a degree decide on what you want to do.

All that said I dont think I would have stayed in my course if it wasnt for my friends in college.

LegacyUser

Yes I get the grant so when thinking about it I cant really drop out as I can't afford to start another course.

That is what bugs me, i am stuck in a hole where if I do drop out I disappoint myself and my family. Also then there is nothing I can do, no jobs or funds to start another course. I cant see anything I would like to defer to.

Then if I do stay, I struggle with the work, get stressed out and hate the next two years and then working in it afterwards. I always hated the course but thought wow there is plenty of jobs going after I get the degree so I can do it, get the money saved up have the degree and then do something I love.

There isn't many in my class, Most just talk about college work(that i cant do) if I ask for help they don't give any. Lecturers seem to expect us to know alot of the new stuff as most in my class have done a course on programming before this one.So if I ask for help they dont really give any. I guess I talk to two people in my class which helps. Better to have two people then none.

But the conclusion in my head is that I just stick it out if I can, if I can get this far when so many have failed then hopefully I can do it. It seems my only option

Exclamation Marc

hatemycourse wrote: »

Yes I get the grant so when thinking about it I cant really drop out as I can't afford to start another course.

That is what bugs me, i am stuck in a hole where if I do drop out I disappoint myself and my family. Also then there is nothing I can do, no jobs or funds to start another course. I cant see anything I would like to defer to.

Then if I do stay, I struggle with the work, get stressed out and hate the next two years and then working in it afterwards. I always hated the course but thought wow there is plenty of jobs going after I get the degree so I can do it, get the money saved up have the degree and then do something I love.

There isn't many in my class, Most just talk about college work(that i cant do) if I ask for help they don't give any. Lecturers seem to expect us to know alot of the new stuff as most in my class have done a course on programming before this one.So if I ask for help they dont really give any. I guess I talk to two people in my class which helps. Better to have two people then none.

But the conclusion in my head is that I just stick it out if I can, if I can get this far when so many have failed then hopefully I can do it. It seems my only option

Try and talk to a year head or consellor or even your lecturer. You'll be surprised how open and accomodating they'll be. They don't want anyone failing their classes either, it doesn't look good for them, so they'd be happy to give you some guidance.

MRBEAVER

Probably best to stick it out. many people stay in jobs they hate for years. You have only two more and if you leave now you will probably be finished with third level unless you have the money to start again and quite possibly end up in a dead end job that you dislike more than your course

George Orwell 1982

I think you should stick it out. There isn't a perfect course in college. Its more likely that you are feeling down because you have low self-esteem/depression and you are blaming your course cause you are feeling pretty negative about things in general. I don't mean that as a criticism. It has happened to me before. Maybe talk to the college counselling service. Don't make any rash irreversible decisions.

Being in college isn't all about your course. There are people to meet and things to do outside of your course.

KeithM89_old

OP im pretty much in the same boat as you , im 6 weeks into year 3 and hate it. Ever since semester 3 iv hated practically every module and am very seriously considering dropping out.

I was looking at starting fresh next year in a different college but am not sure if i can afford it - i havent been getting a grant or even applied for one ever buy id need one of i was to move away.

The way i see it is its a couple of years gone, but wasted and lifes too short to do what you hate.

implausible

I'd really try to stick it out if I were you OP. If you had a plan B i.e. another course or a job lined up, then maybe it would be ok to leave, but seeing as you don't, you should try to stick to it.

Why not try to get involved in other aspects of college to keep your interest up? You don't have to just socialise with people in the same course.

If, later, you decided to change career, many post-grads e.g. primary school teaching, require you to have a primary degree and the Gardaí prefer candidates to have done another course of study. A gap in a CV can also be awkward to explain to potential employers. It's better to have a degree in your back pocket than a chip of regret on your shoulder later and besides, college is the best place to be during a recession.

There are lots of people saying that life is too short but so is your time in college! You've only another six months (or less) to go this year and then you're in final year. 14 months in terms of a lifetime is a drop in the ocean.

kjl

hatemycourse wrote: »

Hi,

Im currently starting in my third year of a computers course and today I realized that I hate it. I don't understand anything I am doing!

Its a four year course and I just don't think I can do the next two years. I can't drop out as I dont have the money to do another course.

Im just wondering what other people think, is there any options for me?

I'm just going to come at this from another angle.

If it's programming you are having a problem with, can I suggest going back to the first set of programming lecture notes and learning from the very beginning. Start with attributes, then methods, then move onto objects. I know I have taught a lot of people in your position, there comes a time when it clicks and it all makes scenes.

I've seen people make huge a turn around and end up loving computer science. You must have picked it because you had an interest in it, so maybe you should give it a bit more time. When you get into the real world there isn't as much theory and it's actually a really interesting job.

woolyhat

toughyop wrote: »

hmm in my humble opinion- it depends OP, are you getting a grant? If you/your parents are funding it, then yeah fair enough if you hate it then you're better off leaving....

If you are getting a grant though...think long and hard. If you drop out well you won't get another grant, and while a few years ago, it may have been a different story, these days with the government increasing registration fees and whatnot maybe it would be better off finishing it and at least having a degree under your belt. Jobs are scarce these days and if you were to drop out it could be years before you'd have the funds to try another course, you may not be able to find a job once you quit college, believe me the novelty of unemployment wears off after about 2 months . That said you may not find employment even with a degree, but if the economy ever does pick up its better to have one than not.

Theres also the option of finishing the degree and working in the area you're studying and using this income to fund a career change, or using your degree as a basis to move into another different career which you are interested in through further study a masters or whatever. (Which is what i hopefully plan to do soon, got my degree in something i liked but didn't love, but now i have the option to get a masters in 2 or 3 related but very different fields of study which i have much more interest in)

Maybe defer the year (if its not too late) see how things go, take a year to think things over weight your options, still leaving the door open to finish your degree?

While its very easy to say lifes too short and although my heart would say leave if you hate it, putting my sensible head on, you're half way through, if you do drop out what do you plan on doing when you leave? Its better to spend those 2 years finishing the degree than wasting them standing in a dole queue (of course you could be lucky and find a job straight away)...

Very sensible advice toughytop. I second this advice

JonathanAnon

I was in a similar position to you a few years ago.. I was doing Applied Physics, just cos it came up on my CAO form really.... I hadnt a notion of what I wanted to work at when I left school.. In third year I failed a few of the end of year exams, I left and just got a job...

After having a load of jumped up employment agency pr1cks looking down their noses at me, I decided to go back to college and get my degree.. I completed the third year modules that I had failed by studying at night... At this time I had to either a) complete fourth year of a course I hated or b) transfer to another course.. I wanted to do Computer Apps (ironic, eh ) but they would only let me transfer to 2nd year .. If they'd allowed me to transfer to 3rd year I probably would have.. but not enough of the modules in AP were relevant to the CA degree... I ended up just finishing fourth year of the AP course..

I would think you have two options same as me... i) stick with the course and just put your head down, with a view to doing a postgrad in something more relevant... or ii) ask the college if it is possible for you to transfer in to a course that is more relevant.. you should not lose your grant in this situation..

It might seem like a huge deal at the moment, but it's really just one small bump in a longer journey.. I was in the exact same position in 3rd year.. I think the most important thing is to make sure that you get your exams (and keep your grant).. Then maybe defer for a year.. maybe work for a year... but DONT burn your bridges with the college or just drop out.. The people in the college are there to help you, you could also approach your course head and tell them about your situation...