Tired of school

College Confidential Community
1

<p>Hello,
I am a 1st semester sophomore and lately have not been enjoying my time at college. I am an engineering student and have yet to get into real engineering classes yet, but so far I have no interest in any of the math or physics that I have taken. I feel as though i am forced to stay in school so that I can get a job and provide for a family one day, and also because my parents are spending their life savings for me to have this opportunity. While most people seem to have the time of their lives at college, i seem to reminisce on my high school days or look forward to my adult life... Shouldn't college be some of the best years of my life? </p>

<p>Also, I have tried to enjoy college as much as possible by going out every weekend, joining clubs and everything, but I just can't seem to enjoy myself. I have considered switching majors and even switching schools, but even then, I'm not sure what I could actually see myself studying with enthusiasm nor could i see a career that i could be passionate about. It seems as though I am just going through the motions and I feel as though I am wasting a part of my life. And in finding out what i do and don't like, this past summer i had a full time internship as a project engineer for a construction management company, and I can't imagine what my life would be like if i had to do that for a living..sitting at a computer for the majority of the day with anywhere from 40-60 hour work weeks...thats a nightmare. Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone else has felt similar at times, or maybe even some of you have felt the exact same and found something that changed your college experience and life in general.</p>

<p>Lastly, I really enjoy exercising, which i looked to in terms of switching majors but the practicality wasn't quite there..and the school i am at now is a large university in a rural/suburban area with no major cities within close proximity.. In terms of some style of career i could possibly enjoy would be being my own boss by owning/starting a business that allows me to utilize my creativity OR allows me to harness my passion for exercise. Thanks for any and all feedback!</p>

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<p>If you still enjoy all the things you used to and are an otherwise happy person, then maybe you do need to make some changes. If you are uninterested in any of your engineering, science, and math classes then that is a sign that you are majoring in the wrong thing. You do not want to choose a career just for the money. It sounds like you are not going to be happy with this the rest of your life if you are not happy in college. </p>

<p>Maybe you would have a much happier life as a PE teacher or a personal trainer. I used to make a lot of money as a medical salesperson. However, I later went into something that I was happy with long-term. I teach SAT, and I love every minute of it, which is why I’m on College Confidential during my free time and I have never looked back. If you are creative about it, you can live a great life. I live somewhere where the cost of living is low and the demand for SAT teachers is high, so I live a comfortable and happy life. </p>

<p>I would also ask yourself if you would enjoy something related to exercise as a career, since you will be spending your time helping others exercise, so if you do not enjoy it as teacher/trainer, then it would not be a practical option.</p>

<p>I have some other advice for you, but I’d need to know more about you first (feel free to PM me). I have a few questions that determine what advice is relevant for you:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Aside from exercise, are you able to enjoy other things that you normally enjoy, or do you find yourself not able to enjoy activities you used to enjoy?</p></li>
<li><p>Did you choose to study engineering because you wanted to or was it because it was practical and/or what your parents wanted?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you live in a dorm, a fraternity/sorority, or an apartment? I made the mistake of living in an apartment when I first started in college, and joined a fraternity later, realizing that I was missing out on “the college experience” and was disconnected from campus life in my apartment.</p></li>
<li><p>What careers could you enjoy if you were not worried about money?</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>I put your comments in quotes and my responses right below each:</p>

<p>What is it you miss about your high school days or look forward to when you are an adult? That may help me get some ideas of what might make you happy. List any and all, even if they seem not applicable to your current life.</p>

<p>“Shouldn’t college be some of the best years of my life?”</p>

<p>That is how it is for many people, but not necessarily all. The college experience is an interesting facet of American culture and everyone may begin to have unrealistic expectations about what life should always be life. There are times in my life where I have felt that I was not having “the college experience.” </p>

<p>I can get into my suggestions for how I turned it around socially, but it is sounding like that is not at the core of why you are unhappy. If it is social as well, I can give you some suggestions on that.</p>

<p>“Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone else has felt similar at times, or maybe even some of you have felt the exact same and found something that changed your college experience and life in general.”</p>

<p>I do not usually share this on College Confidential because I am scared someone will take this as advice, so I’ll tell you what happened to me (it was a lucky “right place at the right time” thing), but I’ll make an exception if you promise not use it as an example :).</p>

<p>“The practicality wasn’t quite there…”</p>

<p>You sound a lot like me in the sense that, if you are not happy with your job or your studies, you are just going to be very unhappy (with one stipulation that I’ll get into in a minute). If it is making you this unhappy while you are in college, imagine how unhappy you will be if you choose a job based for more practical reasons. It seems like choosing a job that will guarantee you an 80k+ a year income will put you in an emotional situation that you (nor I) could tolerate. </p>

<p>Therefore, I think you need to make your first priority finding a major and a future career that makes you happy, that makes you want to get out of bed in the morning. You don’t like your math or physics classes and you hated the internship that matched your career choice, so I think you need to start going through your course catalog and see which classes you would want to take next quarter. </p>

<p>Really ask yourself if you would rather be happy with $40,000 (I’m just throwing out a number)/year or sad with $100,000</p>

<p>Give me your honest feedback about my earlier suggestion (it may help me give you some more ideas):</p>

<p>“Maybe you would have a much happier life as a PE teacher or a personal trainer. I used to make a lot of money as a medical salesperson. However, I later went into something that I was happy with long-term. I teach SAT, and I love every minute of it, which is why I’m on College Confidential during my free time and I have never looked back. If you are creative about it, you can live a great life. I live somewhere where the cost of living is low and the demand for SAT teachers is high, so I live a comfortable and happy life.”</p>

<p>"Also, I have tried to enjoy college as much as possible by going out every weekend, joining clubs and everything, but I just can’t seem to enjoy myself. " and “I’m not sure what I could actually see myself studying with enthusiasm nor could i see a career that i could be passionate about.”</p>

<p>I would also say this. I am not a doctor or a psychologist, but what you are describing sounds like you are depressed. I am not saying you have depression, and again, I’m not a doctor, but it seems like you really are having trouble enjoying activities you might otherwise have enjoyed. If I’m not getting too personal, is that a possible cause or would it at least be worth also seeing a counselor at your school?</p>

<p>I look forward to hearing from you.</p>

<p>Thank you,</p>