College - Grover,MO

Stop taking the easy road! It leads to boredom and regret.....
Getting a degree in just something that you truly do not want will be useless, especially if you get a job that you hate! Go for something that you really like... It won't be too difficult if your heart is in it. Education is an investment. I had a BS in social work because I had the credits and wanted to graduate -- after a year of working, I knew I wanted more -- so after 3 years I returned to school. I loved it, dont regret it.... just the student loans though..... =(
But I love being an occupational therapist now -- and the job market is awesome, jobs come knocking at my doorstep on a daily basis.... in case you like the medical field, therapy is a great field to be in right now. And the work load are very flexible -- I've switched to part time to spend more time with my kids and still make good money.

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Well, I would never advise anyone to take a job that they really don't "want to do" so I'd say why not work toward the degree you really want, right?

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Hang in there. You might want to take one less class if you're feeling burnt out and don't let your fear and anxiety keep you from what you want. My biggest mistake was quitting school when I was burnt out. Eventually I went back and it took 10 "quick" years to finish. Also, what are you in school for now? What would you rather be doing? As parents we do have to weigh our dreams against our children's needs (of clothing, shelter, food, and love). All the rest are extras.

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Well, here's how it worked for me..I double-majored in college: Music, emphasis on vocal performance (what I loved and spent most of my college life focusing on), and psychology (what I liked). I felt like I could fall back on psychology if the vocal performance didn't work out. When "life" happened, and I got married and started a life, it was much easier to find a job in psychology, although I still did a lot of performing on the side. Then I went to grad school..for forensic psychology. I figured that although I really wanted to do music, I wanted to be able to live comfortably more, for now. So I graduated with my Master's, and I'm using it at my job. I'm happy, and I feel like I made a good choice. We own our house, we live comfortably, and we're getting ready to start a family. Had I gone straight for music, I'm not sure where I'd be just now. I still do a lot of music on the side, but not quite as much as I used to. It will always be a part of my life, though, and my children's lives. I can always go back to it later.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while you are working toward a major you're not 100% committed to, you can always keep what you want in your life--it's good for you to be well-rounded. You've gone through a lot of credit hours, so you're probably close to some kind of a degree. I bet that once you have a degree in hand, even if you choose to continue for a different degree afterward, you'll feel much better knowing you have gotten something out of it. You need to reach a milestone, because you'll feel more confident. Just keep pushing. Good luck.

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Do you have all your lower division, general ed classes taken care of? If so, and you are not sure of what you want to do, wait a while, and finish up the last two years of college when you are more certain of what direction you want to go in.

Just finish up the lower division classes now, because you don't want to go back and do them later, once you've decided on a direction. Then at least you will have those classes done.

However, if you are in the middle of classes right now, finish them up, don't quit. There are only a few more weeks to go in the semester.

I have been in scientific sales for 20 years, studied biology, zoology, chemistry and veterinary medicine in college. You would not believe the colleagues I have come across with majors that didn't quite fit but they were wonderful employees. Do you know what you want to do? Can you take some additional classes or volunteer in the area you eventually want to end up in? In my very specialized position (genomic specialist for a large clinical testing laboratory). I should have been a pharmacist, nurse practitioner or a med tech supervisor at the least. Somehow I convinced a lot of people I could excel in this position. So far, so good.

Most things in life aren't easy. A couple years of school will be hard BUT it will put you in a place to do what you want. I just busted my butt over the last 2 years to get As in all my science classes so I could get into a highly competitive nursing program. I have 2 more years to get through the program but when I am done I will be able to do what I have always dreamed of. I won't ever look back with regret at my life because I stopped dreaming and started doing. Find what you love and make it happen, don't settle for 2nd best.

Would you have an associate's degree? Being able to tell a future employer that you have an associate's degree is better than saying you have "some college".

I think the thing you have to decide is, do you want to go to school now or work now? If you stop school now, it may be hard to go back. Try to perservere - you can get your schooling done before they go to school, and then focus on your career.

Good luck,
D.

How is it easy, if you don't get what you want? 60 years of doing something you hate just doesn't sound easy to me.

I think you need to modify your dreams a bit. Unless you get a LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC, I don't see how you could be anything but completely and totally overwhelmed. I mean, maybe 600 things = your dream of working and being home after school/ on weekends. Meanwhile pick a field, almost any field, and you can work that to tailor to your specific needs.

((And I'm not coming form the angle of having kids AFTER my degree. I started school when my son was 2mo old, and he's 9 now. I've taken some time off here and there, but with a triple major, and masters, and PhD in my future... I'm going to be in school for a looooooong time. There are many things you can do to work around burnout... I've always made sure to "pair" classes whenever possible; fun/hard, time intesive/easy, etc. I also never take more than 2 classes a quarter... but that's me. 3 is just way too difficult to maintain A's... but I've got an extroverted kid. Which means he doesn't do the quiet time thing introverts do.))

Go for what you really want. You are working hard to earn this degree, it should help you get a job that you are or will be happy doing. Otherwise what is the point?

There are some courses that will transfer to any degree. You don't say what your current certificate is. What do you dream of doing in 3y when you do go back to the work force? Medical? Receptionist? Sales? Teaching?

I would talk to your advisor and see what options you have using the current credits. I changed colleges 4 times and majors twice. I only lost a few credits in doing so.

I vote for sticking with it! I loved going to college, but some of the general ed. classes were extremely boring to me. It wasn't until I declared a major in elementary education that my classes really started to become interesting. Even after college when I got into my chosen field, my master's program, working the job itself and attending professional development conferences is when it all really became even more fascinating to me. There is just something about higher education that is such a valuable experience. You open yourself up to learning more about people, cultures, relationships and resources out there to help you solve problems. It seems to me that having a college education there really is no "dead end" career-wise. By choosing to become an elementary teacher I learned that I love people, especially children. I am creative and artistic. I have learned as I have gotten older that I enjoy volunteering, organizing events and fundraising. I also have good skills for marketing and business. In my opinion, college just makes a person a life-long learner. You learn how to persevere through the hard stuff and work with people. That is real life. There is a place and a respect for blue collar work for sure, but I often think people that live paycheck to paycheck truly feel that they aren't meant for anything else. That is so not true. Our country is based on the attitude that you can become whatever you set your mind to, but you have to be willing to work hard for it. Things are seldom handed to us for no effort.
My husband has a similar story. He went to college and decided on a major in accounting because he went to the want ads and it had the most job openings. Once he got the degree and a job in accounting at his company. He realized it bored him to tears. What he really has a passion for is information technology (IT) and after a few years applied for a job within the same company. He got the job in the IT department based on self taught skills but also had a realization that even though this is not in my degreed area, had the confidence that he could do the job. Higher education just somehow embeds that kind of mindset in people. Stick it out. You just don't know where the experience will lead you down the road. Good luck and God Bless!
A.

If the college you are going to offeres an AA degree, get that. Then if you want to transfer to another college, more of your credits will transfer. (I know, that doesn't make sense to me either, but that's the way it worked for me. They would transfer 58 or 59 units without the AA degree, but 72 with the AA degree.)

The old saying goes, "If you can find something you like to do and can make a living at it you'll never work a day in your life."

Good luck to you and yours.