i am 21 and i attend a four year university. i initially chose hospitality and tourism as my major because i just couldn’t see myself in another major. now i’m in my fourth year and i’ve been slacking off since my third year. i’ve barelh attended lectures and kind of just ignored all my problems. finally i broke down today. i don’t know what to do with my life because i don’t know what else to do other than hospitality. i work in retail and i currently love it like i have some really horrible customers but the work itself and my manager just makes the day go by easier. i can easily say it’s my favorite part of the day. my parents don’t understand and rightfully so because we were never one to discuss this so they had no idea that i hate my major. i don’t feel prepared at all despite taking four years of classes. i’m incredibly stressed and depressed all the time and i just lack motivation all together.
i forgot to mention that my parents pay for my college tuition and car insurance and because of my recent decision to temporarily quit school to figure out what to do, they kicked me out and i am now bouncing around friends’ houses.
Stop beating yourself up. You work in retail and love it! Thus, you should work in retail. Get an apartment. Pay your own car insurance. Take advantage of any management training programs that you are offered. Build a life. Get some therapy. It’s often covered by health insurance, and often offered on a sliding scale if it isn’t.
I know this is probably not what you want to hear but you should finish your college degree at least regardless if you’re going to use it for your career or not. There are tons of people out there who have jobs completely unrelated to their degrees but still benefit from them since many jobs require at least bachelor’s degrees. Going back to school later in life sucks. I’ve seen my dad go through it. The best thing for you may be finishing your last year in college and working in retail part-time until you graduate.
I agree…I would see what it takes to finish up your degree…you don’t have to work in hospitality, but you have to have a degree of some sort for many jobs.
Also maybe it is time to get evaulated for depression or something.
I kind of understand what your parents did…they are saying “If you are done with school, then you are ready to go live your life so go do it.:”
You don’t have to be totally, 100% in love with your major in order to finish college.
You don’t have to work in the same industry your major is in after you graduate!
College is not meant to 100% prepare you for the career you will have afterwards. It prepares you to receive the on-the-job training you will get and to think critically to make decisions. It’s very common for new grads to feel underprepared when they graduate! It’s also common for people to change their minds about their careers, sometimes after they’ve even worked for a few years in a specific industry. That doesn’t mean you have to quit completely.
Are you interested in actually finishing your degree? If you were already four years in, that means you were pretty close to finishing and only have a couple classes to push through in order to get done. Talk to your parents about whether they’d be willing to give you another chance to finish up that last semester and get done. Then you can look for jobs that appeal to you.
Also, if you are incredibly stressed and depressed, consider seeing a counselor.
I agree with @basketball98 - get that piece of paper, even if it’s not what you wind up doing post-graduation. It’s about finishing and getting the degree. A college degree shows employers you have the ability to commit and stick with something, that you can prioritize and organize your time. Many, many fields do not require a specific degree to be successful. This is because a lot of learning how to do a job comes from DOING the job, not whatever you learned in school - work experience is the best teacher. I know many adults, myself included, who did not wind up doing what their major was and are just fine. Definitely get some counseling to get your head straight about how you want to proceed. You WILL feel better about yourself having graduated - it’s a big deal, because about 1/2 of college students don’t make it to the finish line. You are soooo close - get some help, re-engage, get your degree and move on in a positive direction.
i majored in Electrical Engineering and soon found that I didn’t like the hands on circuits stuff…but I graduated with an EE degree and I work as an Engineer but a more high level one where I really need the problem solving and logical thinking and technical background I got from an EE degree.
Totally agree with above posters. Finish the degree. MANY of my most successful friends are doing things completely unrelated to their degrees. Architecture major works for media company. Engineering major works in marketing. Chicano studies major is an agent for major league sports. Hospitality major who works in HR. Art history major who works in development. You’re so close to finishing! You can do it! See if your campus has free counseling and career counseling and homeless student services (most do). Take care!
And a lot of hospitality industry involves sales (I live in resort/hospitality centered area), so you may even be able to turn your degree into longer term work you enjoy. Finish.
Yes, finish a degree because that opens up options. If you don’t attend class, study, interact with other majors, you will not only screw up your GPA and learning, but also miss discussions with other majors. You likely will find many will have doubts that relate to your concerns.
If you are behind in credits or even not, consider selecting another major that you might prefer. You can pretty muchchange until you have signed up for graduation.
while you can technically pretty much change your major until you signed up for graduation a lot of majors have specific class requirements that if you have not fulfilled will put you off track and extend the time you are at college. so yes you can change it from my understanding but you will have to be in college longer.
Finish you degree. If you can take retail or business related courses without delaying graduation, do it but just finish as fast as possible at this point. There will be on the job training and you can do a graduate program if you find it helpful. Your degree in anything will open management level opportunities.
Just a contrarian thought that finishing your degree eliminates your ability to get more undergraduate financial aid.
I’d take a leave and try to build a life in retail. If, after learning about the opportunities, you determine that you need to return to either finish the existing degree in the existing major, or change majors to a business degree, you can decide that then when you have a clear direction. Otherwise, I don’t see the benefit.