Allegro.cc - Online Community

Allegro.cc Forums » Off-Topic Ordeals » Thinking about leaving uni

This thread is locked; no one can reply to it. rss feed Print
Thinking about leaving uni
CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

Before you comment, please read the whole post.

So yeah, I'm thinking about leaving my current course (is that the correct term? I have no idea) at my university. I'm almost finished with it, just a couple more months (if I don't go insane first) and it'd be over, but:

  • almost everyone on my year is constantly driving me insane with their problems/insults/ridiculous expectations (it didn't use to be so, and granted, while perhaps I made some/many mistakes, it's not like everything is my fault and no, I don't really care anymore),

  • I don't really get anything from those studies, just a paper that "perhaps" will increase my chances of getting a job,

  • it was really cool at first, but the atmosphere got more and more toxic and I can't stand it anymore, so now I'm just barely hanging on,

  • I fear I'm going bat shit crazy because of it all,

  • I don't really want to lose 2,5 years of study, but I prefer that than "accidentally" shoving a sharp metal object into somebody's eye,

  • I want to study something IT-related anyway (probably networking + programming),

  • I need about a year to just get a job, leave my country, go live somewhere else, away from everyone I know (not that everyone I know is a douche, but I need some breathing space), and away from home (I can't afford to live on my own atm, since I don't have a job), and only then return (or not) and start studying what I need to get a good job,

  • there are about 6-7 people (including me) on my year, so I can't just "ignore them", and they're driving me mad,

  • the teachers (is that what they're called in English, considering I'm talking about a university?) seem to hate us more and more (it wasn't always so, and some of them are actually quite cool, but like I said, the atmosphere is becoming more toxic, at least IMHO, and I just can't stand it anymore).

So yeah, what are your thoughts on this? I've layed out the pros and cons for you. My question is: is it worth losing a lot of sleep, health, mental health, sanity, self-respect, self-esteem and other stuff in return for a paper that really doesn't give me all that much (if anything at all)? I do want to study, but my choice was very poor and I don't even care about those studies. I have no idea what was I thinking at the time.

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]

kazzmir
Member #1,786
December 2001
avatar

So transfer somewhere else. Have you tried to get a job in the IT industry before? If you can get a job without a degree then ok, but a lot of places will quickly shoo you away without one, regardless of what you know.

Bob Keane
Member #7,342
June 2006

Can you take the remaining courses online? Can you convince your teachers (professors probably at that level) to give you assignments and due dates and let you do the work on your own? can you get an internship and go to school part time? Can you smoke some 420 or other recreationals and relax?

By reading this sig, I, the reader, agree to render my soul to Bob Keane. I, the reader, understand this is a legally binding contract and freely render my soul.
"Love thy neighbor as much as you love yourself means be nice to the people next door. Everyone else can go to hell. Missy Cooper.
The advantage to learning something on your own is that there is no one there to tell you something can't be done.

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

It's not a full degree, it's more of a half-way thing. Plus, I have no objection to working in a non-IT job for now, until I finish those IT studies. It's not like those are the only jobs available.

Bob Keane said:

Can you take the remaining courses online? Can you convince your teachers (professors probably at that level) to give you assignments and due dates and let you do the work on your own? can you get an internship and go to school part time? Can you smoke some 420 or other recreationals and relax?

I can't take online courses, for the single reason that there are no online courses available. We have only one professor, and she pretty much hates us all (she implied that on more than one ocassion). I can't get an internship, and I don't smoke. It's the people that make me insane, and we all know that short of butchering them nothing would really help.

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]

type568
Member #8,381
March 2007
avatar

Before reading what you posted- Don't even think about it!
Even though I'm thinking about the same, I'm sure I have to finish it.

@append:

After actually reading your first post. Man, to be honest it looks like the problem is inside of you, your view of what's around has somehow changed. It's unlikely, for all your surrounds to go mad. I know the grass was more green once, and the sky was more blue.. But it's all bullshit. Calm down, that helps ;)

Matthew Leverton
Supreme Loser
January 1999
avatar

Quit and do whatever you want to do.

Thomas Fjellstrom
Member #476
June 2000
avatar

type568 said:

It's unlikely, for all your surrounds to go mad.

Its not that unlikely. A single poisonous person can turn an environment toxic in no time.

--
Thomas Fjellstrom - [website] - [email] - [Allegro Wiki] - [Allegro TODO]
"If you can't think of a better solution, don't try to make a better solution." -- weapon_S
"The less evidence we have for what we believe is certain, the more violently we defend beliefs against those who don't agree" -- https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/592870205409353730

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

Yeah, but I was thinking about leaving for about half a year now. Maybe it is me, I don't know, but things have changed and I just feel like I can't take it anymore. If I liked my uni or was even interested in it, sure, but I don't (those IT studies I'm considering are on another uni, one that isn't so fucked up, and it's not only my opinion). So, is it really worth it?

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]

Billybob
Member #3,136
January 2003

If you're not already doing it, go take walks every day. It'd be nice if there were a park nearby. It may sound dull, but getting outside to just walk and think has been very therapeutic for me and other people I know. I used to just walk to the top of the parking structure at my University and walk around up there at night to help clear my head. It usually always made me feel better. The pressures were still there, but at least I could go to sleep and be ready to conquer the next day.

StevenVI
Member #562
July 2000
avatar

Make sure that what you desire to do with your degree is really something you want to do. If not, do what Matthew suggested.

__________________________________________________
Skoobalon Software
[ Lander! v2.5 ] [ Zonic the Hog v1.1 ] [ Raid 2 v1.0 ]

Neil Black
Member #7,867
October 2006
avatar

StevenVI said:

Make sure that what you desire to do with your degree is really something you want to do.

I second this.

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

StevenVI said:

Make sure that what you desire to do with your degree is really something you want to do. If not, do what Matthew suggested.

That degree wouldn't allow me to work at any job I would want, if any at all (I took it mostly because I always liked ancient civilizations, Latin and stuff like that, I guess I wasn't really thinking). I still have to finish something IT-related to work where I want, and I want to work with computers.

And walks in the park just won't help, because it's the people (which I can't avoid) that drive me insane, not the uni itself (tough it certainly contributes, just not as much as they do), and I just can't ignore them, since my whole year consists of about 6-7 people, from which maybe one or two actually tolerate me (even if barely so).

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]

Dennis
Member #1,090
July 2003
avatar

Quit and do whatever you want to do.

That and listen to Manowar, everyday, all day. Feel the power and just be awesome.

Bob Keane
Member #7,342
June 2006

We have only one professor, and she pretty much hates us all (she implied that on more than one ocassion).

If she despises you so much, it would be to her advantage to let you do independent study (coursework outside class). Otherwise quit. :-[

By reading this sig, I, the reader, agree to render my soul to Bob Keane. I, the reader, understand this is a legally binding contract and freely render my soul.
"Love thy neighbor as much as you love yourself means be nice to the people next door. Everyone else can go to hell. Missy Cooper.
The advantage to learning something on your own is that there is no one there to tell you something can't be done.

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

The problem is that my course doesn't have independent study. It's just not an option.

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]

StevenVI
Member #562
July 2000
avatar

It sounds like you've already made up your mind. Just get out of there, doesn't sound like it's useful for anything anyways.

__________________________________________________
Skoobalon Software
[ Lander! v2.5 ] [ Zonic the Hog v1.1 ] [ Raid 2 v1.0 ]

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

Yeah, the only thing keeping me from quitting here and now is whether or not I'll find a job without a diploma. I'm pretty good at making websites, games, stuff like that, so a good portfolio should do the trick, right? It doesn't have to be a huge mega-corporation, I can be self-employed for all I care. These studies don't open opportunities, but a degree might open a door or two (still nothing I'd want to do, but at least that's something), simply because it's there, doesn't even matter what degree it is.

I just want to consider all the options and hear what everyone has to say about this before I decide.

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]

23yrold3yrold
Member #1,134
March 2001
avatar

A couple more months? Tough it out, you big girl's blouse.
Seems like the sort of thing you might regret down the road.

--
Software Development == Church Development
Step 1. Build it.
Step 2. Pray.

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

If it gave me anything, I might. I want to do something completely different tough and I don't want anything to do with those people. Right now I barely ever sleep, I work hard, I am insulted etc., and I don't get anything out of it.

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]

MiquelFire
Member #3,110
January 2003
avatar

That last post makes it seem like you feel there's no real point to continuing, but you also feel that you're in a "too close to the trees to see the forest" situation and you want to make sure that's not the case.

At the very least, finish up the term, take a break to allow the folk you don't like to cycle out, or away, and restart.

---
Febreze (and other air fresheners actually) is just below perfumes/colognes, and that's just below dead skunks in terms of smells that offend my nose.
MiquelFire.red
If anyone is of the opinion that there is no systemic racism in America, they're either blind, stupid, or racist too. ~Edgar Reynaldo

bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
avatar

Perhaps your university has someone that you can talk to about all of this (what's best for you; what can be done about problematic professors and/or students)?

Perhaps you should consider a college diploma instead? The thing is that a college diploma is all you should really need to work in the computer industry (it's all I currently have). You may already have a lot of the skills they'll teach you so it should be easy to do too (and if you've survived a few years in university then nothing the college throws at you should be overly difficult). Once you've attained a college diploma, you can begin working in a field that interests you while saving up for further studying, like at a university. Or just decide that university is completely unnecessary for you and go on with your life.

In high school, we were recommended to first go to college and then go to university. The main reasons:

  • College is usually less expensive, so if you drop out or fail out or whatever you'll be in less trouble.

  • College is easier for most people; there's less bullshit writing and more applying what interests you. Instead of writing a 20 page paper, you write code. This means you're less likely to go bat shit crazy and drop out. :P

  • College usually takes less time. This helps to also save money and increase your chances of success.

  • Employers often prefer college graduates over university graduates. They're generally not as cocky and usually more experienced at actually doing what they're getting paid to do. I've heard some pretty ridiculous stories regarding university graduates being incapable of applying the most basic computer-related concepts. Employers don't actually care about the piece of paper you were given. They only care about what you can do for them (this isn't always true of course, but at least of the successful ones).

Once you have a college diploma then you can begin working and saving up for further studies if you decide you want to continue. Having both a college diploma and a university degree (in your area of interest, no less) is the ultimate.

I would personally like to get a university degree, but I'm not really the research nor paper writing type... :-X

ImLeftFooted
Member #3,935
October 2003
avatar

sanity, self-respect, self-esteem

The financial value of having these attributes is far greater than a degree.[1] I would not make the trade.

References

  1. The mental value is too, but that is a separate matter
CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

Sorry, I was thinking about college when talking about IT, my bad.

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]

23yrold3yrold
Member #1,134
March 2001
avatar

Right now I barely ever sleep, I work hard, I am insulted etc., and I don't get anything out of it.

Yeah, the only thing keeping me from quitting here and now is whether or not I'll find a job without a diploma.

--
Software Development == Church Development
Step 1. Build it.
Step 2. Pray.

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
avatar

I'm not even certain if getting/not getting any diploma would help/hinder finding a job. Like I said, I'm considering everything before I make a decision.

---------
Signature.
----
[My Website] | [My YouTube Channel]



Go to: