

In need of advice - thewest

Hello strangers I am here in need of advice. Some background; I started college doing chemistry&#x2F;physics half way having all the pre engineering completed I decided to switch over to the engineering department--it was a last minute thing my sister convinced me to do. Meanwhile I have also been dedicating time to a part time job I found at a small non profit that deals with educational mobile apps. These are mostly browser based apps that are being ported from flash&#x2F;java. I find myself most of the time stressed out and with no direction in sight. Even when I go out with friends to grab a drink there&#x27;s just no incentive to try and talk to women or meet new people, this is all I think about. I gave up on this semesters course load because it was just becoming a grind and I found myself hating it. I feel like a worthless piece of shit. I don&#x27;t know what I am doing. I don&#x27;t have a direction in my life and its freaking me the fuck out. That little stupid part time job is the thing that probably keeps me going. I have been thinking about switching to computer science but even so I am not sure. I really just want to dedicate time to SOMETHING. I WANT TO DO. I don&#x27;t want to sit around and whine and think about this shit; I don&#x27;t know what to do. Most of all I fear I will never accomplish anything and will just end up settling for a wage. Well that&#x27;s it I suppose.<p>PS*
After reading this Im thinking this might sound suicidal or something lol..I am just unhappy that I have nothing going for me, I feel most of the time I am wasting the potential I have--its driving me nuts.
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pedalpete
Have you been thinking of switching to computer science because you enjoy the
part-time job you have coding? Do you love coding? Is it something you kinda
enjoy, but are thinking it might be a good career?

I didn't go to university, and am damn happy that I didn't. I was very
fortunate to work for a large conglomerate when I was 20, where every few
months somebody would come along and say " we need somebody to do xyz
(Customer Service, Retail Buying, Food & Bev, Accounting, IT, Marketing,
Public Relations, etc, etc). This gave me experience in a huge diversity of
areas, and was a ton of fun and constant learning.

The reason I mention this, is maybe you need some time away from university?
I'm pretty sure most universities offer their students a way to take a
semester off or something, don't they? If you took 6 months off, could you
work in two different areas that interest you for 3 months each, and see what
you like?

Or maybe you could continue at uni, but reduce your coarse load while you
figure out what direction to take.

You may even decide that university isn't important. I think I'd struggle to
get through a Google interview, with all the data structure type questions,
but I've built some cool industry leading stuff and have a great time in my
career so far.

You want to dedicate time to SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO, than dedicate time to
finding what it is you want to do.

My one other bit of advice is this. If a university degree is something you
always thought you'd have, and something that you truly want, don't take too
much time working in the real world. I think it gets tough to go back to
school after a certain age or time has passed. Also, you get used to have a
(hopefully good) income, and you won't want to loose that.

Lastly, have you spoken to your friends about your not wanting to talk? Have
they noticed a difference? The reason I ask, is it is important to learn how
to ask for help, it is important to talk about these sorts of things your
thinking with your inner circle. You may find that everybody is feeling the
same way, which may go a bit to alleviate your feelings. If not, you can be
proud that you didn't cower away in the corner when you've had an issue.

Hope that helps.

~~~
thewest
This is much help! A university degree is not something I thought I have
always wanted. The only reason I even started going to school was because it
was already paid for so I decided to take some calc/chem/physics since I was
not sure what I wanted but I knew a liberal arts degree was just a waste of my
time. Then when I was taking some of the upper level physics I really just
found it boring so when I mentioned to relatives they just said hey go into
engineering, you are already half way there and finding a job wont be that
hard.

This semester the engineering courses are just as boring as the physics one.
Its really just rinse and repeat from certain principles, which is what boring
means for me. I find the part time job really far away from the rinse and
repeat stuff. You can always optimize your code, you can always find a neater
way of doing something--its just cool. I also have smart people around me so
when ever a have a hunch I am going about something the wrong way I usually
consult with them and I always end up learning something new.

Regarding the friends thing, I feel a strong pressure in my stomach all the
time, this shit has really been driving me nuts--cant sleep etc.... When we
end up going out I try to just motivate them to talk to girls and have fun.
Being social has become a chore for me because all I am thinking about is what
the hell am I going to do. The friend I did speak to said to me I just look
like I always do lol--that he also has that fear of settling for a wage and
doing something more fulfilling.

~~~
pedalpete
Happy to have helped. What a part of the world are you in? If you don't mind
my asking. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. My e-mail is in
my profile.

~~~
thewest
I am located in the US, went to your profile did not find an email address.
What I see:
[https://www.dropbox.com/s/0pbj465wf4fn14n/pete.PNG](https://www.dropbox.com/s/0pbj465wf4fn14n/pete.PNG)

~~~
pedalpete
Sorry about that, you are correct. I just added my e-mail and linkedin details
in my profile. Or pete [a] kitchon.com

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logn
I don't think switching majors is that important. The important thing, at this
point, is just graduating since you're already in a BS program. Switching
majors takes a lot of time, and a CS program can be very daunting. An
engineering degree, or even chemistry/physics, will get you past many of the
HR filters. You'll miss out on some entry level jobs that filter strictly on
comp sci graduates, but with some experience and a BS I don't think you'll be
at much of a disadvantage.

