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Feeling abit lost as in what to do

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
Ok, so im in my second year of uni now doing Computer Science and over the last few months i've gradually lost interest in my subject and come to question is this actually what i want to do.

I try my best all the time and all that and im not being lazy with it, its i dunno .. my hearts not in it anymore. I find it a tough subject and my grades have been average and i still struggle with some aspects of it and im just thinking about what to do with it. I don't want to be doing just average and chugging along with it just for the sake of it.

Of course people will say ohh well you've wasted two years doing it, hasn't really been a waste. Not like i've not been going to uni and trying to learn and stuff i just don't think this is my area anymore. What can i do though? Its like the worst time of the year to be thinking like this so strongly as its coming upto exam time .

Then i thought .. well what else could i do .. and i seriously don't know. I wouldn't say im particulary good at anything. My brother left uni after his 1st year and became a carpenter and he's doing really well now but i'm no good at that kind of thing. Haven't really found an area im a) good at or b) i enjoy.

I have looked at maybe joining the RAF or the police but i dunno, i really don't know what i want to do, getting me down abit.
Post edited by JustV on

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have finished uni and still dont know what to do. It dont get any easier pal. :thumb:

    Maybe you could amend your course to another one which would be of more interest? If you have done 2 years you aint got much longer to go, might be worth sticking it out even if you dont want to do computer science after.

    In the mean time maybe think about jobs your enjoy or jobs that interest you (International lay-about ;) ).

    Push yourself to finish this year and see how you feel over the summer.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Personally I would say stick with it. You have come this far and your third year goes SO quickly, even if you only end up with a 2:2 I think that is loads better than coming away after two years with loads of debt and nothing at all to show for it.

    It doesn't sound like there is any other course you are particularly interested in or anything else you really want to do and personally I think it would be better to spend the time doing something productive while you look into potential careers. As Calvin said, it doesn't have to be computer science and uni is the best place to find out about possible careers and options after you leave.

    I know it is horrible when you get halfway through your degree and it hasn't all turned out the way you expected, but I think it is worth sticking with it in the end, or at least giving it a few more months and getting through the rest of this year and seeing how you feel.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Goodfella, that pretty much sounded like me couple of years ago, as I've also taken computer science/information technology as my first degree. By my opinion the extremely theoretical approach they teach you in Uni can get very tedious and boring, making you ask yourself if you want to do this. And yes, computing science is a hard subject, I don't even want to think of how many hours I've spent on technical assignments over the past years :P

    But, if you aren't already, have you considered applying for a part time job within computational science if it's possible?
    My solution was to start working part time with computer science in my University. I started out as a "student support guy" helping students with computer issues, after 1.5 years doing that I'm now into working towards employees and some internal software development :)

    Bottom line is that I don't think one can know how it's really like before actually applying skills in a professional setting. For me it got much more interesting.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hey, I don't do Computer Science, I do Computing for Medical and Health Science (basically Health/Statistics modules instead of the computational methods/algorithm design modules). Computer Science is difficult, my most difficult modules are in Computing, infact my first year was very similar to that of Computer Science and this year I have struggled to maintain my 2.1 even, especially going into the year wanting no less than 70, sitting on 63 is frustrating.

    I firstly think after 2 years you should complete your degree, in the final year (I'm not sure how your uni works, whether it is the same as Leeds?) you can get your teeth into a project and the modules get more interesting/specialised too.

    Secondly I agree with what has already been said, that you need to apply it. I can more than understand why you might be getting frustrated and bored with your degree. The reason I am not in the same position as you right now is because I apply Computing to Healthcare (NHS national project for IT) in my "Health Informatics" modules and I also work for the Centre for Health Informatics at the university. I can see how all the material I learn applies to my area of interest and as I progress through university I gain more knowledge that allows me to continue improving the way I do my job.

    I will be honest, I really enjoy my degree. There is no reason why you shouldnt! Get some experience. Have you thought about a placement?

    Steve
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hey thanks for the replies guys, forgot about this post :p

    Yeah im just abit up and down with it really. The theory side of things is fine for me, i pretty much understand everything .. the difficulty for me is the practical side. Actually do spend ages working on it but i find it really difficult. My exam results werent all that bad for my January exams it was just the coursework assignments i did poorly on that affected my grade.

    And yes im looking for a placement, its part of my course. The third year is an industrial placement with a company. I suppose i'm just abit worried about the practical side of things when it comes to a placement as alot of them want you to be pretty good at it. Of course i've tried to help this by going for jobs which aren't soley programming etc. I'm looking to get a software development placement, probably my best subject on the course.

    Cheers anyway though :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I did computer systems...it was basically computer science but more practical based than theory based. After my 1st 2 years I had no confidence in my own abilities and was slightly disheartened with it. I applied to the top companies none the less for my placement and was slightly surprised when I actually got offered jobs with them as I didn't feel I was good enough. Went into my placement feeling very nervous because of that, but suddenly found I could actually stand on my own 2 feet in the industry.

    I didn't realise whilst on placement exactly how much confidence and ability I had gained until I got back to my final year and suddenly everything seemed easy. It had all fit into place and I loved it.

    Stick it out and I think you'll find with industry guidance in the practical side of things you'll become much happier, able and confident in the subject. Things aren't quite done how they're taught in industry and it all makes much more sense ;)

    As others have said...you've done 2 years and are a long way through the actually learning, you don't have any idea what you'd rather be doing, so stick it out and see how you feel after some hands on experience next year.
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