Don't know what to do

Avicus

So yea, I don't know what to do with my life. I finished high school last year with a not too spectacular result but still got into uni. My first semester of uni didn't go too well and neither has my second.

Now I'm 18 and I don't know what to do. I could keep doing uni and have a couple of extra semesters depending on how I do or I could drop out. But if I dropped out I don't know what I would do instead.

The reason I'm not going well at uni isn't because I am stupid, people are always saying the opposite. Is there a way to convert general smarts to uni smarts?

Docken

What course are you doing and why did you choose it?

Thats an important starting point.

The next question is; what are your general interests? What makes you happy?

One more for good measure; Where would you like to see yourself in 10 years time? As in, where in the world? What type of job? Married? Stuff like that, you know, thats not specifically applicable to the question of what Uni course to take, but knowing those answers could make all the difference.

Theungry

Best advice i can give- stay at uni. if you don't know what the hell you're doing with yourself, then this holds 2 big advantages.

1 - degree > no degree. no matter what, that piece of paper is useful

2 - if you're in where am i mode, the best place to figure it out is a place of learning. You can switch majors, talk to lots of people doing various stuff and seek career advice from professors who have escaped the real world to teach at uni.

3 - all it takes for a lot of people is one great professor to change the course of their lives. I know a lot of people who had one or two formative classes in college that made all 4-6 years totally worthwhile.

Theungry

also you'll learn to count to 3, just like me. :oops:

noobert

If you are into I.T. a better pathway to get a job is to do a programming course at TAFE to get some background then do the Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist (MCTS) Exam in .NET. You will get jobs over uni graduates every single time.

If not, what are you doing at uni? How long is the course? You may find that you just aren’t putting in the required effort into course. I know a lot of my uni mates are wondering why they are nearly failing when they are going out nearly every day and night.

Andrew

Talk to your counselors if you haven't already. Go to the office hours of professors who teach classes you are interested in and chat with them about the class, their research, and things you can do with a degree.

You aren't doing well and it isn't because you're stupid. It's probably because you're not motivated enough. Talking to professors is a good way to find what you like to do. When you enjoy your "work", you'll do better.

WildEEP

Avicus wrote:

Is there a way to convert general smarts to uni smarts?

Yeah its called a Humanities Degree. :P

Blake T

Theungry wrote:

Best advice i can give- stay at uni. if you don't know what the hell you're doing with yourself, then this holds 2 big advantages.

1 - degree > no degree. no matter what, that piece of paper is useful

To be fair though I think half a plan to what degree that is though would be usefull, you don't want to spend three years getting that paper than rack up a new group of student loans because you changed your mind.

Take a year off, figure out what you want. Travel, do some manual work, it pays good and you start early and get the afternoon off to do stuff. You just need direction, find something you want to do, even if it's learn how to ski, you'll figure out other things you want to do along the way.

Zonkytonkman

Man, if uni isn't really your thing, there's so much money in trades these days that it's a little ridiculous. I'm sure that there's other people who could advise you better, but I know that a talented welder lives like a rockstar in this day and age, and if you can weld underwater holy hell god.

vonPoonBurGer

Zonkytonkman wrote:

if you can weld underwater holy hell god.

Very true, but I hear it's really tough to get certified. I had a friend who tried for it, but he failed the test for lung capacity. Basically, if you've smoked for any significant period in your life, you're probably out of the running right there. Of course, there are plenty of trades on land that pay really well, so no biggie. You really need to be willing to go where the work is, though. My uncle is a welder by trade, he was barely scraping by on the east coast, he picked up stakes and moved to Alberta and now he's living high on the hog since there's so much work available in the oil patch. So it really depends a lot on the local job market. If the OP is interested in tradeskill work in his area, he should check the local classifieds and see what's in demand, maybe ask some recruiters for local companies that hire tradeskill workers what they're having the hardest time finding.

Munacra

seems like a lot of forumers are having trouble in college.

Blake T

Munacra wrote:

seems like a lot of forumers are having trouble in college.

God no, the average dropout rate for uni is about a third, fact of the matter is you don't see people posting on how to make their grades suck because they are going far too good.

As for trades the basic rule is, if you want a big sack of money working on the mines go for Boiler Maker, Fitter and Turner, Mechanic, Welder, certain electricians, and certain plumbers. Keep in mind though while all these jobs are hard work, on the mines they are fucking hard work in shithole conditions, that's why that hit you with a sack of money big enough to knock you out. Now if you want to earn decentish money staying in town I would recomend laying Roof slate, the tiling and plumbing about even.