<p>I'm a junior in engineering and I'm burnt out and realized I don't like engineering anymore. I would switch majors, but I don't even know what I would want to switch to. I've been feeling so sick to my stomach the last few days cause I have no idea what to do. I can't even do my homework because I'm so disgusted with it. Did anyone else ever feel this way or does anyone have an advice for me?</p>
<p>Press on, soldier. You’re a junior. If you don’t have anything else in mind that is practical and similar, you’re gonna be doing a lot of catching up. I’d say just graduate and if you still don’t want to be an engineer you can go to grad school for something else.</p>
<p>^Agreed. Keep on with it. it’s just four tough years, after that life is eaaaaasy. I have a friend going through the same thing you’re going through, but we’re keeping him in the loop so far. Try to make friends with other engineering students. The support system makes all the difference.</p>
<p>The same thing happened to me in pharmacy school (in the 4th year of a 5 year program). I called my mother, sobbed, and told her I was quitting. She very wisely answered, ‘That’s ok’. The next day, I decided it was best to keep going, and I did. </p>
<p>Rather than starting over, I think it would be better to keep going and finish. You admit that you don’t know what else you would do, so I don’t think it would be beneficial to just ‘stop’. Remember: you do not have to be an engineer for the rest of your life, but the background and discipline will help you later, no matter what you do. </p>
<p>It’s always darkest before the dawn.</p>
<p>1st semester junior year is, mentally, the low point for many engineering students. The work load feels overwhelming but you are still far from the goal of graduation. What you are experiencing is pretty common and exactly what I went through. </p>
<p>Here is what worked for me - of course, YMMV:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Get rid of distractions. Send the tv home, uninstall video games, drop off of intramural sports teams, dump your girlfriend. No more parties except maybe Friday night, but get there late and leave early. Anything that is a potential time suck needs to go. </p></li>
<li><p>Work while you are fresh. I found I could get twice as much work done between 5 am and 7 am compared to 10 pm to midnight. If you have a free hour or two during the day, go to the library and do homework. Treat it like a job - between when you get up and 6pm, you are either in class or working. The idea is to get all the necessary work done before dinner.</p></li>
<li><p>Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Get to bed early, wake up early, eat your meals at regular times. Set a workout schedule and stick to it - I did M/W/F 7am-8am when things were relatively empty. Skip the caffeine and drink plenty of water.</p></li>
<li><p>Gain some perspective. Look for a co-op, internship or part-time job where you can use your skills and get some validation for the time you have put in so far. You are 20 months from graduation which, to an old guy like me, is not a lot of time.</p></li>
<li><p>Talk to someone and get help. The engineering personality generally tries to fix things on his own. There are way too many stories of kids struggling with undiagnosed ADD or depression who eventually hit a wall in their academics. Do not shell up and try to do this on your own or you may be calling your parents to come pick you up and move you home at the end of the semester.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I did all of the above except for the last one. I went from a 2.6 jr year to a 3.6 sr year. Hang in there and good luck.</p>
<p>Fantastic response.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses I definitely hit a low point there. It’s really because this is the first time I’ve actually had to put my entire life on hold just to get through a semester which had me thinking if I actually wanted to be an engineer and the answer was no. I’ll most likely stick with it since I’m not sure what I’d transfer into and I don’t necessarily have to be an engineer, but it’s just tough sacrificing all this time for somthing that I’m not interested in.</p>
<p>You are a junior. Have you gotten involved in any research going on at your school? Two years plus of nothing but classes in boring and would drive anyone away. You must have had some desire to do engineering to start down that path. </p>
<p>Research can make it fun again and give you some idea of what a career in engineering would realy be like; it isn’t all sitting in a classroom. The things you would be doing in the lab will then give the classes more meaning and even make them more interesting. Even helps in the job hunt after graduation.</p>