Has anyone else been in the position of feeling like the college course/degree they took wasn't for them??? I'm currently in the second year of a three year Product Design course and it's really starting to get me down :sad
Before my degree (and for most of the first year) I was really self-motivated, enjoyed what I was doing and generally was happy with my work. Now my motivation is gone, I feel I'm just doing to work to satisfy my tutors and get an ok grade and I feel out of place! At the end of my last term, I told my tutor about how I felt and he was really nice about it and asked how we could get me motivated....I couldn't answer, I just don't know!
Also, I've got a work placement with a large greetings card company to go and work as a card designer for a couple of weeks in July. I'm so excited about this and feel that's what i want to do at the moment. If all goes well with that, there's a small chance I could be asked to join the team there :grin: If they did ask me, I wouldn't hesitate to wave bye-bye to college....but if they just say "nice working with you, goodbye" I'll have to go back to college for the final year of my degree. I can't just quit because I'll have nothing! I'll end up looking for a job in the difficult design industry without a degree, so I might aswell just do the final year and get the qualification. But that means being miserable for another year...a much harder and work-laden year. Argh!!!!!

Sorry for the long rantiness...has anyone else felt a bit lost in college? Blah.

Hi Flaming Bunny, I think what you are feeling is extremely common! University is hard hard work and it is understandable that it wears you and your motivation down. It is also difficult to do the same thing for years when there are so many other exciting opportunities out there. However I think that in being excited about the work placement, it shows you still have passion for what you're doing which is important thing #1.

When I first went to University, straight after high school, I completely lacked the drive and motivation required to get a degree. As a result I dropped out and worked for five years. I'm now 23 and I started University again in January. I am absolutely loving it (I NEVER thought I would ever say that!!!!!!) and feel very passionate about what I do (learning about groundwater hydrology, btw!). It took me that long to actually figure out what I might ever possibly want to do with my life and by the time I have my phD I will probably be 30- but that's okay.

Are you able to defer your course for a semester or year at all? This would give you the opportunity to go out and work and clear your mind of study-clutter and hopefully be inspired on the study front again. Although it's not necessary for every job to have a degree, I think in a lot of cases it is certainly beneficial as it is concrete proof of both your skills and dedication.

Good luck with whatever happens and whatever you decide- remember that life's too short not to love what you are doing and if you feel it's not just a temporary thing, there's nothing wrong with giving something else a shot!

I wish I could with you but for me I have had little trouble staying motivated, except of course for the last few weeks before summer. I entered a program (criminology) that I had been interested in since I was 6 years old. It sounds like what you need is a break, a little time to just relax and refresh. What works for me is scraping up some money and taking a little mini vacation. I usually scrape up a few hundred and go on a tour a civil war battle fields.

I've felt disillusioned with academic study too many times to count. You are lucky enough that at least your course is directly related to the design career you want in the future. I'm doing English literature...and lord knows what I'm going to do with that.

I desperately wanted to drop out in the second year. There were family troubles and I couldn't muster up any passion for the subject at all. I would rather cry in bed than have to read ANOTHER book. But the thought of a future without my degree spurred me on. Qualifications are a lifetime safety net. And now I'm at the end of my final year and I'm glad I stuck at it. A long rest over the summer put things in perspective and I appreciated the subject after I got back.

I can't promise you the same thing, but if your placement at the card company over the summer goes well then it might motivate you for that final year. You can think 'this is the kind of great job I'll have at the end of it.'

There are many times in life where the excitement for a new endeavor gets replaced by feelings of ordinariness after you become accustomed to the new thing, and it's no longer new anymore. This is so very common. You don't see the downside of the new thing until you've been in it for a while, and your feelings level out. This happens in relationships, after you move, when you start college, when you get a new job -- all those new paths in life that seem like the sky opening up with a rainbow pointing toward your great destiny. After a while, it seems more ordinary, sometimes even humdrum.

Not meaning to put a cloud over anything, but the internship could very well be one such instance, just like going to college was when you started it. However, you've seen the warts of college, but you haven't seen them at the greeting card company. Unfortunately, there probably are warts there, too.

Right now, you don't know for certain that the greeting card company will invite you into a permanent position, so that's a consideration. Keep your options open. Also, realize that it may have factored into their decision to give you the internship because you are perceived as dedicated to earning your degree. If you quit that, it may not reflect well on you, and this could affect future offerings.

I urge you to stay the course and finish your education. Plod it out if you must, but in the long run, you won't have to do it again, as it will be an accomplished fact. There is a joy in accomplishing even mundane tasks, if for no other reason than that you persevered, which requires patience, maturity, and diligence, all worthy qualities that you can claim for yourself. However, the rewards will be greater than just those, of course.

It's the end of the semester, and burnout is happening to all of us. I'll second Lady Godiva's comments. If you enjoy the work, then getting the degree will give you more options in the long run, even though the schooling itself can get stressful.

From what you say it sounds like you DO enjoy the degree you chose or you would not be so excited to get to do some real work. It sounds like your just tired of school. Burn out happens to the best of us. Enjoy your time off from classes and your job, when/if you return it wont seem so bad anymore.

I'm doing English literature...and lord knows what I'm going to do with that.'

You'd be surprised. I work as a corporate instructor and technical writer, and I have an English degree :) When you are done, pitch your communication skills. That's your key.

flaming bunny, it's normal. I changed my Major twice. I went from Atheltic Training, to Pre-Med, to English. Go figure. The important thing is that you have A degree. Finish it off, no matter if that's what you go into or not. Even if you're not working in the field of your major, that degree is very potent on a resume. A lot of jobs will require a BA/BS, but won't specify what it has to be in. If things work out with that card company, see if you can finsih your degree with night classes, of if they'll let you do flex-time so you can finish it. The company I work for was really cool with doing that until I graduated. That way if it doesn't work out long-term, at least you still have the degree. That's important, and it seems you're not too far away from getting it.

My very best suggestion: stay in college. Bottom line, finish what you’ve begun since you’re so darn close! You will never regret having a college education, no matter how intolerable it seems right now.

It’s completely normal to be up to your eyeballs in it at this point and just wanting it over with. But stick it out. In the long run, you will be glad you did. If you are closer to the beginning than the end, you could consider changing majors, but do get that college education, and most importantly, that degree. Then you can take a break and consider whether you want to continue for a Master’s Degree later on. There may be an option to change majors, but if you're close, I recommend sticking it out.

Fundamentally, a college education directly correlates to earning power, and for the long haul’s earning power.

Here’s what college students don’t often know.

1) Everything Lady Godiva said….what seems new and sparkly and really exciting, eventually becomes ho-hum, ordinary, and just more of the same. It’s very normal to wonder why at this middle point. There will be moments of the original spark and more wonderful opportunities, but life is not a trajectory of one great thing after another for the average person. Actually, there’s something to be said for exquisite boredom.

2) A college degree is, if nothing else, is a permission slip: it opens more doors for you—and for a very long time over one’s lifetime.


3) I would even suggest that if this company does end up offering you a position, and you like the place, that you set things up such that you can work part time or some of it at home, if possible, and have a position ready to go when you graduate, or to work FT over summers or when time permits, yet meanwhile, you still finish college—and that is part of the agreed upon understanding. The priority is finishing that education and getting that degree. In fact, I would include negotiating the idea that they can help with some of the cost of finishing; many businesses offer reimbursement programs for education. Many internships turn into great employment opportunities. You could even agree, as some companies may require, a minimum duration of employment such as a year or 18 months in return

4) Many people get degrees in one field and actually end up doing something completely different from their degree for a whole variety of reasons that life presents them with. In the US, the statistics are that people switch fields they work in at least about 3 times in their life. But a college degree conveys a lot of information to potential employers, and even mates (believe it or not many people want a college educated person as their life partner; that’s a parameter many think about). Here’s some things it conveys to employers (even if you know this without the education, employers hold it as more reliable that you're trained in these matters):


a) you can meet deadlines, even if not fully ready
b) you can hang in there even when the going gets tough
c) commitment* - huge!
d) ability to see the larger picture v the immediate goal
e) ability to break down issues and process through to the end result
f) analytical and critical thinking skills have been developed
g) some basics about how to write and read (other basics too such as math, and common knowledge such as history or even common understandings applicable to a given field) likely in your field—maybe even some of the basic requirements of how to present material in a given field (engineers often have to write for journals in their field, as do medical personnel, and there’s basics of how to write this material)
h) some training about a given field or two to get you started that they can assume you have knowledge of, and not have to spend time/money on training you for those things
i) certification and/or licensing in a field—for example, graphics, you know how to use a set selection of software programs. The company doesn’t have to pay for you to get that training.
j) ability to work in a bureaucracy or structured environment
k) understand hierarchical structures (most western business are organized very similarly)
l) work with difficult people (not all profs are nice; same with fellow students)

5) A college degree of any kind always positions you to earn more money, and allows you to be viewed for higher level positions. A college degree gives you leverage and negotiating room, in the long run. Trust me: you do not want to work clerical-type positions all your life just because you didn’t finish your degree.

In the current economical climate, it is extremely difficult to save money for your retirement and other big purchases (house, car, kids) when living too close to the bone. It’s called the working poor. Just because one works does not mean they have their retirement saved up, ability to make larger purchases, or withstand the inevitable and always financially based emergencies that arise. Being poor is the most expensive proposition this country has to offer its people. Poor people pay much more in fines and such. And men die, easily, around 10 years before women, and women have to pay their own way for a longer span of time in older years. Women, in general, still earn less than men. For a lot of reasons, women as a whole, still need to learn to not wholly rely on men for their income. It can work for a time and for situations, but often enough, women are surprised when older and their mate dies, or they get a divorce, or someone in their family falls seriously ill, and now they have to go work. For example, I have a coworker whose husband has early Alzheimers, and she’s had to place him in a home. She is now the sole breadwinner in that household, and she’s doing it on a clerical type position income. Many women need to work to help out their aging parents. Many women are delaying getting together with an S.O., so they have only their own money to work with. Position yourself for the best choices, not the limiting factors, and for enduring for the long haul.

6) Further, unfortunately, the business world is now designed such that it cannot, except in unusual circumstances, give you a position if a degree is required for the position and you don’t have one – no matter how capable you come across. I know; I don’t have a degree. I attended for 5 years, and was nearly done and had a very serious trauma occur, and could never finish. No one can give me a management position now because I don’t have my permission slip, even though I am clearly capable for higher level positions. HR departments screen for the degree and your resume can be dumped simply for not having it. It doesn’t matter that I attended; it only matters if I had finished. I recommend keeping your options open.

7) Think long term and not just for today and today’s emotions when making this very important decision. It’s considered impetuous to decide based solely upon how one feels today. Once your life gets going, it’s very hard to interrupt everything, go into major debt and get that degree. Chances are, you’ll never have this time again. We only get one chance to live our lives.

Be wise.
heidi w.

flaming bunny your degree/course plan sounds similar to mine - I went to school for Graphic Design. I got my B.A. back in '03, and I've been working full time doing in house design for a small - med size company since then. I had an internship while in college too, and I can't tell how valuable the internship AND of course the actual degree was to me after graduation. I had friends with the same degree but no internship experience who had a very difficult time finding work. If product design is what you really want to do, you really do need the degree and the internship only makes your resume stronger. Also, if all you get from the card company is a few weeks internship - don't write off the connections you will have made by impressing them. Once you graduate, it's going to be just as important WHO you know as WHAT you know.

Hope that helps. :flowers: Good luck!

Flaming bunny, I am in a similar situation and I completely agree with what the wise ladies of this board pointed out above. They hit the nail on the head, even though it's hard to focus like that when you're inside the situation.

On a personal note, I'm glad I clicked on this thread, as I'm suffering from the same lack of motivation. Here in my country law school takes up 5 years of your life; in my university it's 6 years. I'm in the beginning of the 6th year and the load of little things and big things I need to get together at this point in order to graduate feels unbearable. Add the fact that I'm one of the 70% of law students that are only taking law because it's one of the very few areas that haven't been sorely affected by the permanent economic crisis here - I have no real passion for law, nor the talent. So... yeah. I've been studying non-stop for 20 years of my life now and I feel like I've had enough. But I'm pretty sure within a couple of years I'll look back and think it was worth it.

Thats completely understandable. I went through the same thing. I HATED what I was studying. Felt totally out of place. I had teachers that would tear down my work, use it as examples of what not to do for the class, ect. I formed a deep hatred of my major (fashion design) and wanted nothing but to drop out, change colleges, switch majors, anything. I toughed it out though to get to costume design. Costume design, although I enjoyed more, formed an even deeper sense of hatred towards the school. I liked the study but it was so high stress that it killed my love for costuming. I'm JUST starting to unearth that love again. Illustration, my schooling burried that under training and I lost my passion in that as well. I'm trying to regain that. When you do NOTHING BUT something your passionate about, just to get good grades, not really caring about the context, you loose that passion for awhile. It begins to feel empty.

Here I am now, working on print design and graphics. Graphics, I've been doing since I was 15. It never occured to me to major in it since it came naturally to me anyway. The only thing my degree has gotten me is an in to the fashion industry, it's easier for me to get a job verses other graphic designers applying to the same job because I have the fashion background with the skills in graphics. Within the past year I've drifted around from graphic designer for a fashion company (ie, over paid copy girl and sounding board when computer issues acted up during major deadlines, which was ALL the time), to illustrator/photographer/graphic designer for a film studio. *shudders* Now I'm doing print design for t-shirts and they want me to start designing for clothing. Hopefully this'll give me a way of getting out of graphic design, after so many years of doing it, it's boring me to tears.

College is just a stepping stone, nothing else. It isn't the end all of success, it isn't a guarntee that doors will open for you effortlessly. I know very few people that are actually working in the field they majored in. Now a days, you tend to drift around more. You don't stay with your first job for the rest of your life. You may work there for 6 months, a year, before you move on to the next one.

I say stick with it. Any company that's willing to hire on a college student full time, to me, spells trouble. You could end up stuck there and they could be less willing to pay you as much as you DISERVE based on the fact that you don't have that oh so expensive piece of paper spelling out your degree. At CAL Arts, Disney is known for going in and hiring on Sophmore and Jr. at the college, waving what looks like to them a nice paycheck in their faces. They drop out of college and end up stuck. Under paid and unable to go elsewhere.

Tough it out, and make sure to take time off as well. Don't try to get through school in one sweep. I tried that... after about a year and a half I hit MAJOR burn out and had to take about 2 months off before I went back. You need the break.

College SUCKS! Espically when it's a design school, or your studying some form of arts. It feels like it's sucking the soul out of you, I know. Its frustrating, you feel like your just doing the work to get good grades, impress your teachers, deal with them until your done with their class. You will gain a lot out of the experience though. In the end you'll start shifting through what you learned, toss out what doesn't apply to you and keep what does.

Your almost done, so just finish it. The only thing that kept me from dropping out was knowing I was almost done, and that the thought of an extra year or so is small compaired to the big picture. Just form a tough skin and get through it.

Thanks for all the advice guys! I really appreciate it :flowers: I know I should probably stick it out...it just seems so long!
Oh and a couple of things...I DON'T want to stay in product design, the card design thing is completely unrelated to my course and is something I found due to the fact that I'm good at it and really enjoy it. At christmas I was worried about the lack of love and respect I have for product design, so I emailed the card company on a whim....and it went from there. And the creative manager didn't even realise I was still at college....the interest was from the work I sent so I don't think there's some scheme to get cheap labour :wink:

I don't know what I'm going to do, on one hand I feel (and kinda know) that experience is worth a bit more than a degree and that I don't fit in the product design world...but on the other I'd like to have a degree and it would be nice to have a BA(Hons) after my name :grin:

I guess I won't know until July when I have my work placement. They probably won't offer me a fulltime job (perhaps freelance stuff? That would also be cool) so I'll do my degree and try again afterwards. I hate adult- life changing issues...It was so much simpler when all I had to worry about was maths homework! :silly:

Thanks again everyone!! *mwah*

Having a degree plus a letter of reccomendation from a real-world company will probally set up your career much better than having an almost degree and some real world experience.

I experienced this type of feeling during my undergrad as well, but you really just have to get through it. You don't want to have 3 years of college on your resume with nothing to show for it, many employers will to look at it and think "why didn't she finish?" Anyway, college is hard work but you're soo close to finishing it's not even funny!!! That's my :twocents:

...has anyone else felt a bit lost in college?.I think a vast majority of college students feel that way for at least a while. I've never met one who claimed otherwise.

Thanks for all the advice guys! I really appreciate it :flowers: I know I should probably stick it out...it just seems so long!
Oh and a couple of things...I DON'T want to stay in product design, the card design thing is completely unrelated to my course and is something I found due to the fact that I'm good at it and really enjoy it. At christmas I was worried about the lack of love and respect I have for product design, so I emailed the card company on a whim....and it went from there. And the creative manager didn't even realise I was still at college....the interest was from the work I sent so I don't think there's some scheme to get cheap labour :wink:

I don't know what I'm going to do, on one hand I feel (and kinda know) that experience is worth a bit more than a degree and that I don't fit in the product design world...but on the other I'd like to have a degree and it would be nice to have a BA(Hons) after my name :grin:

I guess I won't know until July when I have my work placement. They probably won't offer me a fulltime job (perhaps freelance stuff? That would also be cool) so I'll do my degree and try again afterwards. I hate adult- life changing issues...It was so much simpler when all I had to worry about was maths homework! :silly:

Thanks again everyone!! *mwah*

Isn't it possible that, in part, this opportunity to do card design is because of your background in product design?

And if you think another year and half or two is long, wait til you're really working the grind! Even in the best of fields or workplaces, there's always something that's tedious and booooriiiing. Think of being a Mom? That takes, at minimum, 20 years to grow a kid to a mature adult, with A LOT in between!!

And you know how you emailed the card company on a whim?... might it be possible to set up a situation for after graduation, or even during college... with that same amount of creativity? You aren't there yet, so don't think limiting thoughts. You don't know how much they'll like you and your work, or how much you'll like this company and your position. It could also turn out that you don't like it as much as you thought, or you like the work a lot, just not the people, or the company.

Remember, just because your background is in one field from college does not at all mean you have to remain in that field. It's the degree that will get you far; not necessarily the coarse of study. It's a permission slip that opens doors.

As for life-changing decisions: bad news - they occur all the time as we progress on our path. Trust me on this. And worse: we have to decide based on what we know and feel at the time as we can never know the outcome or the future. Often, too, we have to make life changing decisions for causes that we had nothing to do with! And when you hit 40+, mortality or the concept of being halfway done with one's lifespan hits you. People make decisions every day, weighing the pros and cons. Most times it all works out; it just never seems like it while we're busy making the decision.:twisted:

You're at the beginning of the rest of your life. Enjoy it as much as you can; you have room to experiment right now.

Well, good luck. Hang in there. In the end, you'll probably be glad you did this.

heidi w.

Just chiming in to commiserate. School sucks. I'm nearly done with the semester from h-ll, and am hating just about everything at this point. ;) Three finals done, one next week, and then three more the week after that. Someone asked me today if I was going to take Summer School. No flippin' way.

After this, I have another two years, probably three. And that's on top of the four I've had. And I will only have a bachelor's at that point. How bad does THAT suck? If I wasn't adding another teaching-major onto it, I coudl haev it done in two, easy. But oh well. THIS way, I'll get a job! I don't think foreign-language teachers (if that's all you do) are in high-demand in Po-Dunk Idaho, so I'm adding Math. It's bending my brain, but I like it. It's just another language, is what I figure.

Yeah, we all feel fed-up and tired of it all and wonder if it's worth it. There's not a week that goes by that I don't think "You should quit wasting your husband's money and just get a job scrubbing toilets or something, Lisa". But then I think "I'm going to see this through no matter if it KILLS me! I can DO this! I am NOT stopping!" One extreme to the other. Sounds like you're at the "just get a job" part of the swinging pendulum. It'll swing back the other way, don't worry. Think long-term, think of the investment this is into your future. (this is what my husband tells me: "this is investing in our future, so you can keep me comfortably rich in our old age!" He's not wanting to run a restaurant for the REST of his life, ya know!!!! ;) )

I think a vast majority of college students feel that way for at least a while. I've never met one who claimed otherwise.
I don't feel lost. I know exactly what I want to do and I am very motivated to finish with this degree. Of course most my family are industrial engineers so I was bit leaning toward it. But I knew I wanted to study this because it is such a flexible career. And I figure why not. It gets good pay, people that are IEs love it, and it's pretty marketable. This post isn't much help but if it makes anyone feel better I was actually lost before going to college. I had no clue what I wanted to study or do with my life but after deciding I haven't changed my mind. :smile:

Thanks again to everyone for giving me a bit of a reality check.
I've decided to stick with it. It's only a year and at the end of it I'll be able to get business cards with " *flaming bunny* BA(Hons) " on them!! (well...obviously my name, not flaming bunny....how weird would that be!? :lol: ) oh...and I'll have a good degree from a reputable design college. Can't forget that part :wink:
If I enjoy working at the greetings card company, and they like me...well, then I'll be worth waiting for, won't I? And I could always offer to work during breaks from college. And if they think I'm not quite ready as I'm still young, and can go back and show my persistance after I've graduated.
I'll probably curse and hate the year and a bit to go....but at the end I'll have a degree. And I'll keep my record of never quitting anything in my life :rockerdud

Thanks guys...I'm so grateful for having you all here :flowers: