I’m sure there are thousands of threads lile this, but I need some advice. I have been struggling through college since 2013 (when I graduated High School). Since then I have been to 3 different schools, changed my major from Computer Science, to Liberal Arts, then to Video Game Design, then back to Computer Science, then to IT which I am currently in. The first school I went to was a 4 year, now I am in a community college. This part is hard to explain: I really don’t enjoy college. I am really good at a certain video game and I know that Streaming is a thing now but that isn’t for me. Even though I don’t like college I want to complete it. But I’m struggling through a community college. It feels like every professor I take just cant teach any Computer related course correctly. I did really well in high school, graduated with a 92 GPA. I love computers, so I already know people are going to say the major isn’t for me. There’s nothing else I can do anyway, I’m really good at computers, I can fix and build one. I just want to graduate already, but even graduating it will feel like I learned nothing. My mom want’s me to graduate more than anything but it just feels so hard. I don’t study because i truely believe that professors should have to teach well enough so you dont have to study. Why am I paying thousands of dollars just to have to go home and learn it myself? I’m just getting sick of this already. There’s so much more that I want to say but I already know I’m rambling. Anyone have any advice?
How much further do you have to go, how many/what classes do you need to get your associate degree?
Can you elaborate on that?
That’s a problem. You DO need to study. You will need to study after school too, to learn new things.
That’s a great start. You can use those skills, and build on them. Maybe you can build networks, or secure them, or help people with tech issues. Lots of jobs in IT for that kind of thing…but often need a certification or degree.
Can you push through and finish so you can get those kinds of jobs?
Sorry dude. Your idealization of the world just doesn’t fit reality. You can quibble about whether your parents get their money’s worth in instruction (not you; I’m going to wager that you didn’t actually earn the money to pay your tuition), but in real life, nobody (besides your parents) are going to hand you knowledge (or anything) on a silver platter. If you aren’t willing to work hard at studying (or work hard at something), you’re going to end up living alone in your parents’ basement in your 30’s. You’ll have to decide if that is the life that you want.
Can you get a certification, or just work for awhile?
College is not for everyone.
Just don’t blame anyone else if things don’t go smoothly. There aren’t any guarantees no matter which path you choose. You can stack the odds on your side, or not, but ultimately the choices are yours.
I understand that you’re having trouble adapting to the way college is taught, as opposed to high school.
But it can’t be possible that every professor in each of your 3 schools is bad at what they do. At some point, your education has to be your responsibility.
As to the line about how profs “should have to teach well enough so you don’t have to study”— where on EARTH did you get that from? It would scare the life out of me if I thought for a minute that the doctor I saw 20 minutes ago hadn’t studied. Being exposed to information is what happens in a classroom. Sometimes understanding happens there too. But internalizing the information, making it part of you and something you really KNOW, that’s on you. That’s what happens when you take notes and study those notes and talk about them in a study group.
You know the advice I’m going to give, that most adults are going to give: make your education your priority. Get the degree you need so that you can follow the career path you’ve chosen.
OP, unfortunately there is no other way to get a degree. Doesn’t matter what you know or how smart you are. You need to study and do what the syllabus says. Do your homework, submit your papers, whatever. And yes learn on your own what the professor wants you to learn even if some of that stuff is not important to you. Agree or not agreeing is irrelevant. Every college, every major will be the same. In order to get out of the situation you are you have to believe that and stop fighting it. Once you are ready to go then you have to figure out HOW to do it. You can get a tutor to help you get organized or show you how to approach studying through textbooks. You can arrange your days with blocks of studying periods. You are not a natural studier so you have to find ways to “make” yourself one. You will be doing that in order to get a degree. That would be your goal. It might also be beneficial to see a counselor at your college.
Now if you don’t want to do that you can explore how to have a career without a degree. You can always go back and finish your degree but even then you will still need to do it the same old way, by studying and following your colleges rules. No other way around it.
Did you ever have to work in HS?
I know someone from work who’s oldest son got a 3.8 GPA in HS despite never doing any homework (evidently the kid was smart enough and the HS was unchallenging enough that that could happen).
He promptly flunked out of art school and is now working at a hardware store because skating by just doesn’t fly when you go up a level.
You see this in sports all the time, where a kid may dominate in HS basketball based on sheer physical talent, but if he doesn’t work and doesn’t improve, he not only doesn’t make the NBA, but often times drops out of college.
OP do you work on your own on IT related stuff and/or learn on your own things that YOU think are important about computers and your interests? Do you have a lot of personal projects? Do you have an IT job? What do you do during your time out of classes? I Know a few people in your situation and they work VERY hard on their jobs and projects. You can not accuse them of being lazy or not working hard. BUT that is not what they need to be doing to earn their degrees. You have to allocate time for studying and approach it as a “job” you need to do. Unfortunately there is no way around.
This is ridiculous. This belief exists only in your head. It is time you quit college and stopped wasting your or your parents money. Get a job and see how the real world works.
College isn’t middle school, studying is a must.
Instead of beating your head against the wall in the classes you don’t like, think about getting a certificate in computer repair. That might take only a couple of months, will get you a job pretty much as soon as you finish, and will give your mom a piece of paper with your name on it to frame and hang in her living room.
Do you want to be operated on by a doctor who learned everything in class and never had to study? I bet not. Do you want to drive over a bridge designed by an engineer who learned everything in class and never had to study? Probably not. Would you fly on an airplane being piloted by someone who thought the instructor should teach everything during class time with no need for study or simulator time?
You have a bizarre concept of how teaching, instruction, and expertise operate if you are blaming your professors at this point for your lack of progress.
College isn’t for everyone, and if you are not making progress towards a degree you are likely one of the people for whom it’s not that helpful. But you need a plan to become economically independent regardless.
My suggestion is to head over to career services at your college and have the folks there sit down with you and figure out what you need at this point to become employable in a computer related field. Are you one certification short? Then complete that. Do you need a course on a specific language? Do that.
And then get a job. College will still be there in a few years if you are ready to go back…
^ Yes, figure out how close you are to getting an associate’s or some certificate and go for it if possible so you don’t leave school empty-handed. The idea that the OP is an empty bowl and it is the professor’s job to fill him up with knowledge is total BS, but I think the OP knows this.
Have you considered working in an Apple Store and working your way up? You could end up on the tech.squad/
The professors expose you to the material in class. It is your job to learn it outside of class. You have to study to do well in college (any college). It isn’t the professor who is lacking.
Actually, your education is up to you. Professors provide the framework and some of the content of their topics - but a large part of learning lies with your engagement in studying.
So, you asked for advice. My advice would be to study.
You probably don’t like studying. That’s understandable - it is work. A way of developing study habits is to start small and build. You can study for 15 minutes, can’t you? Make a commitment to study 15 minutes a day, every day. Doing something you don’t like every day builds self-control, and this is the key to success.