I mostly hangout on Reddit alone but I wanted to see what other students had to offer on my current situation.
I’m currently a sophomore studying computer science in Miami at FIU. From an outsiders perspective, I have it very well here. I’ve got my tuition to FIU paid as well as a server job in which I spend 30 hours a week at. This job allows me to receive up to $2k a month as well as complimentary health insurance from the company (which requires 30+ hours of working per week). This extra money allows me to cover my living/food/car expenses.
The problem is, I don’t know for how much longer I can continue to work full time while also going to school. From what I hear, computer science coursework is going to get even more complicated than it is now; working full time will therefore affect my grades negatively due to the hours of study required for the major.
I applied to FSU’s computer science program to keep my options open for next year and I’m still not sure where to go.
Going to FSU might allow me to focus on CS better but it’s more of a risk on my finances due to not being able to definitely find a job there. FSU is also offering me $4500 less money for scholarships than FIU. Yet, FSU is out of Miami, in which I so desperately want to get out of.
Staying at FIU is more of a safer option for me. I have my tuition paid for. I have my server job with $20/hour. However, staying in Miami gives me that feeling of stagnation-where I’m studying but not really feeling like I’m learning anything useful for my major.
So I’m confused guys. I know it’s time for a change. But I’m so unsure as to what to do with my schooling for the next few years. Every other day I change my mind as to whether I should transfer schools or not and it’s just so frustrating. If you’re reading this I would really appreciate a stranger’s opinion on what I should do.
What do your parents think? Can you afford to change schools comfortably? It’s very apparent that you hate being in Miami and possibly FIU so transferring to a school you will enjoy more is definitely the right choice in my opinion. Just make sure you are well aware of the pros and cons of FSU and are 100% sure you will enjoy it there. Maybe get in touch with their career development advisers and see what opportunities for employment they can offer.
Working 30 hours a week is clearly affecting your college experience.
Add up your costs beweeen the two schools and see if you would save money overall by changing schools. Include the cost of health insurance in your budget since you really need to work less than 30 hours a week.
If you are not making use of your federal direct student loan eligibility, I would look into that as a way to work fewer hours as well.
Finally, while you are making good money as a server, you need to switch to a job in your field in order make the most out of your degree. It will probably be a one-step-back, two-steps-forward kind of thing. Getting that first CS job may be hard, but you should be making better than 20 bucks an hour quickly.
Did you look into summer internships in CS through your college career office for this year?
I don’t feel qualified enough for internships at this point. I literally only took one programming class so far so my technical skills are at an all time low.
I would try to figure out how you can drop the full time work in order to be able to concentrate on college.
If your parents have health insurance, you can stay on theirs until you are 26. Or you can get it through the college.
But I would pick the college that allows you to concentrate on college.
You can’t work those hours and attend school full time. You probably can’t attend school part time without a negative impact on financial aid. You need to work less. Maybe swapping a loan for work hours, maybe swapping schools to one with a lower price tag, but something.
