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I need advice. Excuse me for how disorganized this all is, I'm just typing. I'd like you guys to give it to me straight, tell me if I'm being a spoiled brat who

I need advice. Excuse me for how disorganized this all is, I'm just typing. I'd like you guys to give it to me straight, tell me if I'm being a spoiled brat who needs to grow up, or tell me if I should follow what seems right to me. I've made a throw away because I don't want this tied to my name, and my main account is my full name. I'm not doing well in college. I just came from a midterm that I almost certainly failed. I've not done well in any of my classes besides a bullshit social science course that anyone can do well in. In my real courses, statistics, calculus, and a theory CS course, I'm failing desperately. I don't go to class anymore. I can recognize that it's entirely my maturity and work ethic that is the problem here. When I do find myself going to class, I comprehend fully. I don't find it hard to catch up, even. When I leave class, I don't do homework and I don't study. This is the first time I'm admitting it to myself, but I don't believe I can succeed in this system. I don't know if I'm lying to myself when I say I love learning, or if I'm just much more subpar than I'm willing to recognize. It's not that I'm an unmotivated individual, it's just that I've always been a self-learner. I hate this whole system of, go to a class for 50 minutes and study a subject, spend an hour later in the day doing some homework in the same subject, and maybe do this every other day. When I learn, I'm much better at spending 10 hours really consuming the material, flying through chapters, and then doing that for 5-6 days in a row. Formal education doesn't cater to me in this regard. I love to program. The few hours in the day that I'm happy are when I'm reading mailing lists and and working on personal projects. I truly believe that if I was to drop out, I wouldn't waste my time doing anything else. I'd be able to really embrace the style of learning that works best for me. I think that a few years from now I would find myself more prepared for the real world than most of my friends, although, I think they would similarly find that they have an easier time finding work than I. But that doesn't worry me a ton. I've watched my father be an EE for his whole life, programming and managing for a boring company that makes controllers. I don't want to enter that ecosystem _at all_. I have watched him hate his life in exchange for a paycheck, and I'd like to opt out from that system entirely. What best fits that? The market for full stack engineers / web developers / app developers. And alternatively, the start up scene. I wonder if the reason I'm involved with coding at all is because it caters so much to my preferred style of learning. Maybe that's why I latched onto it so hard in late middle school. Anyway, thanks for reading. Let me know what you guys think I should do, or if there are any questions you think I should pose to myself to really figure this out.

justathrow2k 12y ago
I think if you're going to school and refusing to put forth the work to succeed ( do homework and study, for instance ) perhaps you should stop, it doesn't seem like its a good fit for you. Either that or step up your game so you're not wasting time and money. There's a lot that one can learn during their time at University, there's also a lot of time one can waste.
littletimmy 12y ago
I would suggest that you grit through and try to graduate as quickly and painlessly as possible. If you need to, take easy courses and use the extra time to do the self-learning that you actually enjoy. When you graduate, then you can take up a job which encourages self-learning. However, if you don't like the concept of structured work altogether then doing a job might also be hard. In that case, there really isn't any solution. Maybe join a kibbutz.
bradleyjg 12y ago
If you are near completing college (e.g. this is your sixth semester) I'd tough it out. Even if that means switching majors to one of those "bullshit social sciences". The piece of paper still matters, true most of all in the corporate world, but not just there. You are far better off having a line on your resume that lists a college and omits a GPA than having no education on your resume at all. If you're almost at the finish line there's no point in walking away now. On the other hand, if this is near the beginning of your college career, maybe it is a good idea to take some time off. It doesn't cost you anything to get a leave of absence versus just quitting. It doesn't obligate you to go back, but it leaves the door open. Use the time to find out if you are bullshitting yourself about willing to do some real learning so long as its on your terms. Find out what the job market is like. Figure out what it means to be responsible for your own schedule, with your ability to live (or at least live decently) on the line instead of just a bad grade. You'll either go back to school more motivated or you'll find that you are thriving without a college degree. In the latter case, if you ultimately do find you need the paper, there are increasing opportunities to do so for working adults (though life can make that really tough if e.g. you have kids). For what it is worth, I took a semester off after doing really poorly and worked as a programmer during the first dotcom bubble, then returned to finish my degree. Best of luck.

justathrow2k 12y ago

I think if you're going to school and refusing to put forth the work to succeed ( do homework and study, for instance ) perhaps you should stop, it doesn't seem like its a good fit for you. Either that or step up your game so you're not wasting time and money. There's a lot that one can learn during their time at University, there's also a lot of time one can waste.

littletimmy 12y ago

I would suggest that you grit through and try to graduate as quickly and painlessly as possible. If you need to, take easy courses and use the extra time to do the self-learning that you actually enjoy. When you graduate, then you can take up a job which encourages self-learning. However, if you don't like the concept of structured work altogether then doing a job might also be hard. In that case, there really isn't any solution. Maybe join a kibbutz.

bradleyjg 12y ago

If you are near completing college (e.g. this is your sixth semester) I'd tough it out. Even if that means switching majors to one of those "bullshit social sciences". The piece of paper still matters, true most of all in the corporate world, but not just there. You are far better off having a line on your resume that lists a college and omits a GPA than having no education on your resume at all. If you're almost at the finish line there's no point in walking away now. On the other hand, if this is near the beginning of your college career, maybe it is a good idea to take some time off. It doesn't cost you anything to get a leave of absence versus just quitting. It doesn't obligate you to go back, but it leaves the door open. Use the time to find out if you are bullshitting yourself about willing to do some real learning so long as its on your terms. Find out what the job market is like. Figure out what it means to be responsible for your own schedule, with your ability to live (or at least live decently) on the line instead of just a bad grade. You'll either go back to school more motivated or you'll find that you are thriving without a college degree. In the latter case, if you ultimately do find you need the paper, there are increasing opportunities to do so for working adults (though life can make that really tough if e.g. you have kids). For what it is worth, I took a semester off after doing really poorly and worked as a programmer during the first dotcom bubble, then returned to finish my degree. Best of luck.