Anyone else?

b3t4

I'm in the fourth year of my degree. My final exams are coming up soon and I'm really starting to think along the lines that I do not want to do what I'm doing anymore.

I am still pretty good at my subject area which is I.T. but I don't have the passion I once had for it. I am getting A's, B's and my dissertation was nominated best in the year. I just don't care about it anymore.

If I do decide to focus on another area, I believe it will only be a very short time before I get tired of that too. I'm feeling a little lost right now. Two years ago I was certain sure that I had made the right decisions and that I would be happy to remain in the IT area for the rest of my life, now I'm not too sure anymore and unaware of what to do.

I'm sure something like this has happened others before. What did ye do to combat these feelings? Did taking up a side hobby help? Did ye turn yeer life completely on its head and do something else?

Thanks for reading.

gom

I feel that i've been done a similar road as yourself. I too studied IT(CS in TCD) for a while. Figured that it wasn't for me and left. I did leave earlyist(2nd year) and started another course. I don't regret it but it is a hard choice to make.

Seen as you are almost done in your final year I would say stick it out. Once your finished get a loan and go travel for a few months around europe. Hell I'll even meet you in a few cities if you like. You need to just take some time out and not think specifically about careers. Come back/or not and get a job. Any old job. Just a money maker. With a degree in IT you are more than aware of whats on offer. Don't think long-term. Just something doable that pays the bills and think about the bigger picture. With a degree in IT you are pretty much sorted for any job in an office. Money isn't a problem. Jobs are not your life. take it easy and don't stress. Eventually you will have a master plan spring into your mind and you will no doubt act on it.
It may involve further education. It will probably involve some business establishment.

Don't worry. Be happy. Go with the flow. I'm almost 100% sure that you are going to be completely fine Seriously. Don't stress too much. The world isn't that bad. Its actually a whole lot of fun

WhiteWashMan

yer just doing the same thing day after day after day.
it gets boring, you lose interest.

once you get out there and finish university, your passion should come back.

but remember that feeling, its what you get when youre in the same dead end job for too many years.

its just good you are coming up to the end of your time studying this.
hold out, youll get there, and then you will have a new challenge.

and thank god, another student will pay taxes

KlodaX

I knew from first year that I didn't want to work in computers, but as opposed to wasting a year I did all 4. I'm working as a support technician now (just finished college last year) .... and hate it.

You used to have a passion for your course so I suggest doing what gom said ... leave for a while travel. (this is what I'm working on .. money takes a while) ... but I'm pretty sure when I come back from my travels I don't want to work with computers. Running away never solves anything but it can give you a fresh perspective. I suggest finishing your course and taking next year to decide what you want to do. You have too much to think about now, focus on your studies ... just get it over with. May aswell at this stage.

An education is hard to get and easy to carry... isn't that what they say?

I think an education in something that you have no interest in is highly overrated and wasted.

b3t4

Thanks all. I feel somewhat better today.

I had no thoughts of not doing my final exams, if that is what came across in my post. To not do them would just be ludicrous.

I do have plans to head away to America for the month of June. I also start a full time job in July (paying taxes here I come) The job also has potential for relocation to Australia in 6months to a year.

Thing is everything is sorted and I feel very tied to things. What I'd love right now is a weekend where I didn't have to do anything. Every moment I've had since September last year has been spent concentrating/thinking about college work. Even this weekend I have to spend it doing another project for college.

Just a little tired is all.

Thanks again.
A.

LegacyUser

heya! oh the feeling goes hand in hand with four years of studying the same thing i think!! i am in my final year in IT too and have had the same feeling recently, wondering if i really want to work in this area for good. i am definalty not as enthusiastic about it as i was before...my boyfriend who is also in the degree has started feeling the same, as have another few class members. to be honest i'd say its just cos of all the study and stress. sure you are heading off to america soon so just see how you feel after that. the feeling of being tied to the job and the contract and all that might seem a bit crappy right now but sure once you come back you'll probably be mad to get into it again. and what better excuse to go to australia anyways!! and even if you dont feel like working in IT, it doesnt really matter...you'll have a degree so you will be able to get other types of work. just dont stress out too much. you dont need to ever have your life set out perfectly in stone, in fact thats part of the adventure!! xx

Third_Echelon

The final year is always hard. The exams are you goal, but the way i did it was breaking the whole year down to pieces. Take each month piece by piece and get the projects out of the way, then concentrate on the run in..

You are nearly there so hold on and do the exams. Sounds like you know your stuff. Quitting with the finish line in sight would be madness. A degree can take you so many places.

You don't have to stick to I.T. your whole life. A degree is just a foot into the professional world. I work in the I.T. sector at the moment after graduating 2 years ago... I work with people who have degrees in chemistry, business, languages, biology etc... Just because you did an I.T. degree doesn't 'pigeon hole' you to that sector forever.

At the end of the day we all work for money. If its something that you are passionate about then that is a bonus. There are not too many people out there who work in a job that they are passionate about...

You sound like you have a flare for I.T. Use that to make money. After 2 years working now in a large I.T. multinational, I can see that its just a job and no more. There are some people who I see and they are married to their job. I don't want to be like that. They are not people with passion. People with passion have a life outside of work. Focus your passion into something that you like doing.. Art? Music? Football? Whatever...

I don't have a passion for my job. I do like my job though. I'm good at it.

I don't jump out of bed in the morning and say "yes, thank god its 8am again, time for work, woop woop"... I dont think there are many people that do.

I have found the way to keep yourself sane and somewhat interested is not to stay in a department or area or job for too long. Learn the ropes of an area. Stay there for 6 to 8 months. Move on... Don't get into a rut. Thats when you will hate your job!

You sound like you need to get your head sorted after college. Take that holiday, take some time off to get things in perspective..

And good luck

OY

I do not think that this is an uncommon feeling. I myself am returning to school after the summer and it will be my third different field. I started in arts, moved onto IT and now will be going into Businness.
I heard a quote somewhere that the average successful person changes careers 7 times in his lifetime. I am not talking jobs, i mean careers, entire directions in life. I am guessing that you are in you early twenties and i believe that life is not about finishing a degree and then getting a job from there.
Me, i have a good enough job from my last degree but i feel the exact same as you. It is not a forever thing and i want to move on. So starting in August i am taking morning classes and will be learning more.
At this stage though, i would recommend that you finish this degree and then just think about what you want. But you do not have to be sorted in the next year. It will all come together as long as you do not box yourself in.

PS I am noting that this is a real IT thing! I would be interested in any thoughts on that matter...

Repli

I am in 3rd year of an IT degree and like b3t4 have absolutely no intention of pursuing a career in IT.. It was only when I started work experience in 3rd year that I realised I have had enough.. I am gonna finish the degree though and try to get the highest degree result possible and then maybe go into Psychology or Counselling or something a bit more challenging.. Also I wouldn't worry about how old you are or anything, I'll be 20 in 4th year, but there are people in my class who are 25/26 and like it's perfectly normal to be still in college at that age in my opinion..
Anyway if you are going to spend your life doing something (40-50 years) you might aswell do something you enjoy..

Tru

b3t4 I'm in the exact same boat as yourself... 4 yrs on science degree (OY its not just an IT thing!!) on the horizon and zero motivation for anything coursewise anymore, handed up final year project a week ago and i think the slump is mainly due to extreme tiredness, as you said your stuck up in college doing projects and reports or studying and of course your gonna wonder is it what i wanna do for the rest of my life but i think what every 1 has to realise is that nothing is final. And you haven't wasted four years doing a degree that you wont use, whatever you degree is, as long as its a good one it shows that you could apply yourself to something for four years consistently. It shows an ability to learn and adapt, thats all... you can take that and go wherever you want afterwards... i will have a degree in physics and am thinking about going teaching next year or else travelling or working with horses, nothing is defininte you can go wherever you want and take as long as you need to find that...
R!

gosh even writing that down actually helped me!! great thread!!

steviec

I'm in the same boat too right now, I was generally liking my (IT) course for the last three years, but having spent the last month on Work Experience I'm really having strong doubts. Gonna finish the degree, travel, and come back and see what I want. Definitely not going to go straight from the degree into an IT job, I just couldn't face that right now. After a break though I might work in computers for a while at least, I know that I'm good at it and I do enjoy challenging projects but I don't want it to be my life.

Tobias Greeshman

To the OP, I've been in the same boat as yourself, during my last year in my IT degree I was starting to get increasingly sick and bored of it, although Im now working in the area of my degree was in and I love it. In general if you can find some part of what your studying that interests you just a little, I found that helped me like what I was doing, and gave me the drive to continue studying/working at the degree. Besides this close to the degree, you'd be mad to quit the degree, just try your best to get through it.

Perhaps when you finish your degree, you should take a year out and see where your head is at and where you really want to go career wise.

LegacyUser

another thing i forgot to say in my other post...you can always do another course after this if you'd like to get into another area. before i embarked on this degree i was studying food sciences, so i have done my fair share of switching and chopping and changing my mind! if you didnt go into IT, in an ideal world what would you love to do? maybe you could try doing volunteer work in this area to see if its really for you, or if its IT you would really like. i am also going to america for the summer, hey maybe the travelling will help us get over our quarter life crisis!!! xx