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Thinking about leaving uni
Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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Get a degree. It doesn't matter in what--pick something you enjoy. That is all that matters unless you want to clean dishes the rest of your life. And if you think it sucks now, imagine what it'll be like when you have no chance of a future.

I mean seriously. A college degree, on time, is four years long. That's it. You endured highschool, why can't you put up with college?

As for the environment: find ways to adapt. Either change your expectations for how people should act, or change who you associate with. If you can't do the second, tough it up for 2.5 years. You don't have it worse then anyone else. It's not that bad. At least you don't have to worry about being shot, raped, or stabbed every day, or HIV outbreaks, or poverty, or ...

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Crazy Photon
Member #2,588
July 2002
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I'm not even certain if getting/not getting any diploma would help/hinder finding a job

Everything helps, even if it's just a little bit. Hang in there, try to motivate yourself to finish what you started, you can do it 8-)

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piccolo
Member #3,163
January 2003
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first of all i was to say ignore Matthew and the others that are telling you to quit.

I went through something just like this.
basic the people in the dorm and the work load pluss the lack of funds and presure of no having the option to retake class because i was not a U.S. sit. pluss some other crap

I felt like killing the dorm people in the night, like something out of a horror movie.

It felt like everyone was targeting me because i was almost finshed.

Baisicly i just hung in and kept a low profile.

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CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
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I mean seriously. A college degree, on time, is four years long. That's it. You endured highschool, why can't you put up with college?

Wait, what? I just said I do want to start studying IT in college. I'm considering quitting my current course at the university (which is not IT-related).

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ImLeftFooted
Member #3,935
October 2003
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imagine what it'll be like when you have no chance of a future.

Wow that's harsh. So I have no chance of a future? I'll try not to get upset here...

Quote:

A college degree, on time, is four years long. That's it.

If your adult career (including college) starts at 18 and you retire at 60 this gives you 42 years to screw with. 4 years, after rounding, is 10%. However college is typically 5 years [1] so the real number is 12%.

People have varying amounts of ambition. For me, spending 12% of my career life on something of little to no perceived value is unacceptable. I would much rather spend that 12% studying something useful. This could mean anything from being a janitor in a building full of people I want to emulate to studying the startup of companies I want to emulate to working alongside people I want to emulate or even just watching companies start and reading them in newspapers and on their blogs. All of these things provide incredibly more value than a college could hope to do -- what's more they generally wont have a cost over 1% of your adult career.

StevenVI
Member #562
July 2000
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or HIV outbreaks

This may actually be more common on college campuses than you realize.

I just said I do want to start studying IT in college.

I think there's a cultural distinction being missed here. In the US, "college" and "university" are generally interchangeable. (The only difference is that a university has more than one campus.) I believe that in other countries, the concept of "college" is what we would term "community college" in the US.

Edit:

However college is typically 5 years

Good job indirectly citing Wikipedia, which does not actually have that bit of information anymore. ;)

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CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
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Yeah, I don't really know the difference. I just went with what bam described. I don't really know what it's called in English. You might call it a polytechnic school, an institute of technology, or anything like that. In any case, they teach practical application (like coding) more than theory and stuff like that.

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OICW
Member #4,069
November 2003
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Few more months to go? You gotta be kidding to give up now. I was thinking about the same not long time ago, but only as one of many options. I quit a part-time job to have more time (really stupid decision to accept 2/5 contract, but at least it gave me experience - be it working or that work and school doesn't go well together). So if I were you, I'd swallow my pride, got a degree and never looked back.

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).

Then the question is why have you began studying that? And more, why on Earth for 2.5 years (I presume)? Not surprised your co-students are jerks. Many people from these fields are strange and if you are interested in IT it just makes them stranger and vice versa. But still, I'm not sure if you've endured that long it is wise to quit prematurely.

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CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
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Probably not, but it is a lot healthier than not quitting.

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Dario ff
Member #10,065
August 2008
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<roleplaying_geek_mode>
I say we leave the decision to a d20.

EDIT: Sorry, I think all that I could say it has been already. You might regret not putting up for some extra months, but if it's something really unhealthy for you, you might just have to leave it.

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bamccaig
Member #7,536
July 2006
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Yeah, I don't really know the difference. I just went with what bam described. I don't really know what it's called in English. You might call it a polytechnic school, an institute of technology, or anything like that. In any case, they teach practical application (like coding) more than theory and stuff like that.

I didn't even know it was different in the USA. Wikipedia gives a general sense of my understanding of the word. Even then, I learned a bunch from reading the section on Canada (and the USA's section as well). :-X In general, I consider a university to be a post-secondary school where you write papers and do research; whereas a college is a post-secondary school where you learn practical knowledge and apply it.

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
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Then what I'm talking about is either the same (I really don't know) or more similar to college, than to a university.

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weapon_S
Member #7,859
October 2006
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Consider the following two (worst case?) situations:
-You have left university, but now it seems those couple of months and the ensuing diploma would have given you some sort advantage/chance you can never hope to get again.
-You stayed in university, got your life drained, and apparently missed out some essential rest/boundless ocean of possibilities.

Which one seems worse?

My humble experience with people you can't live with is: don't try to live with them. Confront them, call their bluffs. Confidently point out how they 'poison' you. In most cases the situation changes for the better.
And yes, you can do it. Just like you don't really have to stab somebody in the eye etc. You know you are stronger than that. You maybe got lured into believing keeping the order was best, but... wait am I just projecting my life onto yours :P

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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Wow that's harsh. So I have no chance of a future? I'll try not to get upset here...

The majority of people who don't get college when college is easy, never go back. There's no dispute for that. I'm not bashing you, or anyone else who has made something of them self. But college is the most direct and easiest way to secure your future.

Almost every single person I've worked with at my job (as opposed to career) has their own sad story of why they never got a degree and ended up here. Moreover, it only gets harder and harder to get into college. You will have more and more responsibilities, and less and less energy as you age.

Go to college now, or go to college while managing kids, a wife, and a 40-hour work week, a car payment, a mortgage, utilities, health insurance, and various other random bills.

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Steve Allen
Member #5,789
April 2005

Katko said:

Go to college now, or go to college while managing kids, a wife, and a 40-hour work week, a car payment, a mortgage, utilities, health insurance, and various other random bills.

This. I'm doing exactly that and guess how long its going to take me to navigate that 4 years of school? Always choose the path that leaves you the MOST options. Working 40+ hours a week and going to class every day will wear your soul down 100X faster then dealing with some idiots for another six months. Take it from a guy who knows. Drink a beer, suck it up and do what ya gotta do.

CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
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The point is, that even if I did that, I would still have to start over in college (which I'm going to do anyway) to be able to work in a job that interests me. It's not like I'm considering dropping out and never going to college/uni ever again.

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Matthew Leverton
Supreme Loser
January 1999
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Quit looking to others for validation.

Billybob
Member #3,136
January 2003

Yes, please, look to the w3c for validation. I hear they're almost done with the XLIFE specification. :P

Timorg
Member #2,028
March 2002

Can you defer your course for 6 months or a year and come back to it? Or does it 100% need to be done now? How much money have you invested in this endeavour? Can you justify losing that money and have nothing to show for it?

Follow Dorys advice.

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CursedTyrant
Member #7,080
April 2006
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We have a different education system. I haven't paid a single dime for it, since this one in particular is free (I'm not sure how to explain it, so I won't even try :P look it up somewhere if you're interested in more details). And no, I can't come back to it later.

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Timorg
Member #2,028
March 2002

Personally I would leave then, the only reason I am still studying at uni is that I have spent years and years getting here, and spent a moderate sum of money.

I assume you are young, get a shitty job and dedicate time to a hobby that you love, then try and work out how to make money from it in future.

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type568
Member #8,381
March 2007
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So much to read :(
No.

Quit and do whatever you want to do.

That's in case, you really have something to do outside. If you wanna leave to be doing something, that's probably an idea. Otherwise- it's not.

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Portfolio is good, but a portfolio with a diploma is even better..

OICW
Member #4,069
November 2003
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The point is, that even if I did that, I would still have to start over in college (which I'm going to do anyway) to be able to work in a job that interests me.

However if you get a degree, then at least you have something in your pocket. It's like a driver's licence on your head. Think it through if you won't regret that those 2.5 years have gone to waste if you quit.

Moreover, try discussing this with some of your close friends or family.

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axilmar
Member #1,204
April 2001

CursedTyrant,

Could you please give us an example of how the other people are driving you mad?

Chris Katko
Member #1,881
January 2002
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The point is, that even if I did that, I would still have to start over in college (which I'm going to do anyway) to be able to work in a job that interests me. It's not like I'm considering dropping out and never going to college/uni ever again.

I'm not telling you to stay with a degree you'll be unhappy with. I'm not saying where to get a degree either. I'm saying get a degree. Whether you're in for 4 years or 10 years, get a degree first.

This is the most important part. It rules out everything else. Everything else is just opinion and preference.

Nobody here can tell you what degree to take or what to do. You're the only one with the information to make that decision. Nobody can make it for you. Moreover, college isn't about validation. It doesn't matter if anyone else believes in you or tells you that you're great. You have to make the best decision for you regardless of what people around you around going to think and say.

I switched from Computer Science after a year to Mechanical Engineering. This was in my favor. But now, with three semesters left, I'm wondering if I'm more of a business man. :o I'm going to finish my degree and consider a Masters in Business Administration. Already having a Major means I can get a Masters degree in business (a completely separate field) in 13-months. Either way, I'm guaranteed a job making more than $40,000 a year. I make around $10,000 a year at my job. And if I really apply myself, it's going to be WAY more than $40,000 a year.

My friend, however, switched from Computer Science to IT because "it was too hard." He always loved to play around with photography and video though. Then, late in the game, he realized he wanted to do photography and IT was just sucking his blood. Well, he stayed the last three semesters, got his degree, and now he's miserable at his first job. But it supports him, and he's buying up video equipment left and right and making a name for himself. He and a friend are going to be doing a commercial for a new local bar/club. If he keeps pushing himself, he will no longer be stuck at his miserable job. He will make something of himself.

So what can be learned from those two case studies? First, that either getting a degree you hate, or setting yourself back and getting another, are both viable options. The first one allows you to work with a decent pay to provide funds for his new potential career. His pay rate doubled and work load got much easier. All for having that "useless piece of paper." Second, setting yourself back isn't the end of the world, and you may realize later than your second "miserable degree" can be used toward a more powerful one.

The most important thing to realize from these case studies is that no matter what happens, if you have a degree, you're better off. After that, to succeed, you're going to have to find your own path. No one else is going to know all of the options present to your success. You have to be proactive in finding your own solutions for your life.

axilmar said:

Could you please give us an example of how the other people are driving you mad?

If I have any guess, it's completely internal to him and he's thinking that the world should change instead of adapting himself to exploit the world.

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