A year to graduate and I'm dealing with major anxiety

Mykonos

I'm not sure if I'm looking for reassurance or a reality check, but regardless, being as I'm graduating a year from now I'm kinda stressed out by my career outlook in the near future. For some reason, I can't shake the feeling that if I'm not pulling a 4.0 cumulative gpa and aquired job experience a mile long, chances are I'll be stuck at some mediocore job living in a cubicle, awaiting a midlife crisis from hell and eternity. It also doesn't help that my family is from D.C and I want to work there, yet I go to school at Baylor University which is in texas (mommy wanted me to be a doctor, Jesus decided against it). I've had anxiety issues since grade school, but now I find myself losing sleep, smoking more, not eating and losing weight, and becoming increasingly dependent on my adderal for a moment's euphora (but i never go beyond my prescription).

Currently I'm an Economics major with a 3.0 GPA, with recent job experience that includes being a business tutor for the Athletitcs department, faculty assisant at next door law school, and a bartender. Chances are I wont be able to land an internship next summer due to the fact I'll be stuck in summer school trying to make up for all those worthless hours spent in science courses, and thanks to being bi polar and add, I can't spread myself out to thin or I'll implode.

Anyways, anyone ever go through a period like this, where you dread about the future and job outlooks? If so, how did you cope with the stress and anxiety. Also, did things end as bad as you feared? Worse? Better?

Edit: I would also like to add that see a therapist, a psychiatrist, and a life coach. Two of each actually, one for DC and the others near school.

The Cat

woo, second year blues. At least you're not a borderline alcoholic as a result . Don't sweat it, anyone who actually cares about what they're doing generally freaks out at this point. It will pass, and you'll feel a lot more confident at the end of your course. Also, there's no way to just wind up in a cubicle. You have to get there on purpose.

And I say all this despite you dissing my major. You'll be fine, just focus on the here and now.

The Cat

and shit, if you can afford three paid support personnel, you're doing okay.

BlochWave

I can't shake the feeling that if I'm not pulling a 4.0 cumulative gpa and aquired job experience a mile long, chances are I'll be stuck at some mediocore job living in a cubicle

I graduated in physics with a 3.5(rounded up to the nearest tenth! 3.475 in fact)with basically no relevant experience, no internships, no crap like that, and three months after graduating(just this May)and I'm making 50k a year at a job and am presently on break from a NASA teleconference I'm listening to in my office ^_^ and no I don't work for NASA directly

There's a reason they call Cs "average", and that's because the average college student graduates with like a 2.7 or something(although this can vary wildly, my major was physics and a 3.5 made me third in my graduating group under two EXTREMELY smart people)whereas that'd be super fail for like business, but yah, anything at or above a 3.0 is nothing to be ashamed of

I wouldn't worry about "wasting" time in science courses. An economist who only knows how to do economics is pretty useless, and those science classes, being basically raw electives for you(maybe, I think)are good resume fodder.

So you're doing just fine, better than most, and you need to let things ride more. The more you try to carefully plan your life the more you freak out when it unravels, even if it's doing just fine but not going with the plan. So you wanna work in DC, what happens if you find a job elsewhere? No big deal. Life will be very much simpler if you accept and welcome that you might end up somewhere you don't expect doing something you don't expect. Considering you apparently expect to be in a cube crunching numbers forever, that's not a bad thing!

People who have trouble finding jobs usually are doing a few things wrong, often bad resumes(inexcusable when google will practically walk you through one)and not being willing to move(it's a big country and there's no rule that says there has to be job availability near you!) Also people who get stuck in dead end jobs tend to dead end themselves. If you find yourself in a job you hate, stick around maybe to gain some experience, and get the hell out. Ok meeting break's over!

Mykonos

thanks for input so far, it always helps to hear other's perspectives. Also, with regards to the science courses i took, when I first enrolled in school I majored in bio with intentions of going to med school. So my first year was spent in all these science courses, hence, after switching to business halfway through my sophmore year, all those hours spent in bio and chem courses has set be back about half a semester. It was especially rough emotionally dropping pre med, primarily because I turned down the navel academy after recieving my appointment because I was adament at the time at becoming a doctor. Of course, as most learn the hard way, you can't go into a career as demanding as medicine or law unless you have the right intentions or passion for it. I guess the best thing atm is to stop dreading on past decisions and move forward while letting things naturally fall into place.

Suckafish

The best advice I can give anybody working towards a degree or diploma is to try your best to have an internship or co-op term in your field before you graduate. It gives you a chance to experience working full time, gets your foot in the door at the company you are employed at, and in the case of applying to other companies after graduating, gives you meaningful recent experience.

On top of all that it is usually much easier to get into a company as an intern than it is a new hire after graduating.

Edit: you are almost in the same boat I was... I went in wanting to be a Chiropractor and switched into computer science after a year. Between years 3 and 4 I did a 16 month internship and picked up a couple of night courses to catch up on the half year I lost taking courses not needed for the Comp Sci degree.

Sky

Joining the military helped me clear up my mind on what I wanted to do with my life.

Sky

Joining the military helped me clear up my mind on what I wanted to do with my life.

Sky

What the hell? Why'd multiple posts show up?

Kelsar

Mykonos wrote: »

thanks for input so far, it always helps to hear other's perspectives. Also, with regards to the science courses i took, when I first enrolled in school I majored in bio with intentions of going to med school. So my first year was spent in all these science courses, hence, after switching to business halfway through my sophmore year, all those hours spent in bio and chem courses has set be back about half a semester. It was especially rough emotionally dropping pre med, primarily because I turned down the navel academy after recieving my appointment because I was adament at the time at becoming a doctor. Of course, as most learn the hard way, you can't go into a career as demanding as medicine or law unless you have the right intentions or passion for it. I guess the best thing atm is to stop dreading on past decisions and move forward while letting things naturally fall into place.

Well i agree with the few people that have posted, and i think its good that you realize not to dwell on past choices. Dealing with the hear and now is probably the best thing to do. When you get so caught up in what may happen with anxiety it will only make it worse. when you find yourself in a situation like that just take a deep breath and try to relax. The only thing i want to add really is live your life for yourself, don't move to DC just because your parents are there. Don't take classes because someone wants you to take them. Go for what you want to go for, its your life to live not your life to live for someone else. My past mistake that i wish i could change sometimes is going to collage the first time for someone and trying to do what they were doing. I am much happier this time going to collage for something I want to do. Just take it one day at a time and you will be ok.

NotASenator

As someone living a great life and pretty much getting whatever I want, without have a college degree of any kind, I would suggest that your personal success does not hinge on your GPA so much.

However, I am effortlessly handsome and talented.

Mykonos

However, I am effortlessly handsome and talented.

Ah but are you tall? I hear height counts for a lot nowadays.

Uncle Long

Man, don't sweat it.

My first job out of graduation was stocking beer. That's right. I was a BA stocking beer; it's shocking.

I decided that, if nothing else, I wanted a better job. I walked into a computer store and, already having A+ certification and a decent understanding of tech, walked out with a job starting two days later, making 30% more and not doing manual labor.

Now I'm writing for a newspaper. It took me since last May but the guy who went in for his English degree is now working in a field which relates to that which he studied. Now I have an opportunity to write the news every day and work on my novels every night.

The only reason I got this job is because, while I was working as a beer guy and as a tech guy, I was constantly sending out resumes and learning from my interactions and interviews.

It may be tough the first couple months if you don't have something lined up right out of college; but keep at it and you'll find a crack in the seeming wall of denial.

And, to echo previous sentiment, try and get an internship in your field. And, to add to it, join clubs and interest groups that are related to your field. These things will expand your social network immensely and increase your chances of landing a good job proportionally.

I had a friend who ended up lining up a job right out of school working human resources. He had never done the full time thing and he's now welding to make a living while he rethinks what he wants to do with his life. If he had a chance to really see what corporate culture was all about there's a good chance he wouldn't have gotten gipped so hard.

The only thing that really sucks is the way people kind of sneer at a graduate without a job; but fuck that. Work, make money, move on.