Burned out on School

[doomed_one]

So anyway,as the title states I am burned out on school work at the University! I am currently a 2nd year Comp Engineering major.... and really the amount of work and the shear diffuculty is getting to me. I knew it wasnt easy when I started, and I have a regular study pattern. At first the study pattern worked, and I kept on the ball..... good grades, lots of hard work, but able to squeeze in some "Me"-time( parties, friends yadayada). Now it is just getting really overloading.... I'm no real genius... so the only way I every score an A/B on that tets is by studying hard But this "working" hard is getting to me. My last summer vacation was fabulous..... full of course work... like calculus in extremely hot weather(erm... saracsrtic lol).... my winter break was pretty much non existsent, and the week and a halfish I had off I pretty much slept becuase finals had worn me out. I have a continual full course load... and have no room to take any langauge courses(which next to computers is my super-duper-passion ) that and they conflict with all my courses... the next few months look bleak, I pretty much have a test/midterm EVERY week(even on my birthday!)... and on top of that crazy Engineering projects, technical reports, logic assignments, homework, and coding in general...... and then summer... well more sumemr school(technically I should be takng 6 courses a semester, but believe me 5 is already way to much, so I try and "balance" te course load in the summer") Worst of all... I have classes where the GUYto girl (hahah typo before) ratio is pretty much 20:1 and that 1 really is pretty much not anywhere on the attractive scale

 

The "Me"-time I once had has severly been cut, going to a party our out in general is getting very hard, that and well, believe me hit the physics and math books for 5 hrs and after that u just wanna sleep I prob should mention I live off campus, just because it saves me so much money... I mean its pay to live at dorms, or commute 2 hrs a day(1 hr there 1 hr back) I am pretty much always tired, and I now have developed love for all mighty coffee which probably keeps me sane and broke at the same time My day looks pretty much like this:

 

-Wake up 8ish

-Dress/Shave/Do hair

-Catch bus to subway

- School.............. School... DEAR GOD WILL THE DAY EVER END

-Home by 4ish

- make some dinner, clean up the house study

-break

-study

-midnight w00 sleep.

 

Saturdays involve work related things and sundays church and such with more study and catch up I know many ppl(like my parents lol) will say that just take it easy one day of no work and slacking off wont kill you.... I wish I could say that was true.... but with my current lineup of classes and work.... it will set me back a bit (ex. If I dont do my physics hmwk or at least look at it by fri, I will have a harder time understanding what the new stuff is in class.... and then have ot give up extra time to try and piece it all together.... as a aresult I lose time in otehr classes... and a savage cycle begins

 

I don't know, I'm not about to change majors because of my desire to have it easy... but if there are any engineers out there who maybe can give me some inspiration Id apprecitate it... I mean... the future looks really bleak work and social wise

 

~d1

 

P.S if you wish to donate money for my coffee fix, it is much appreciated

[Dako]

I was on track for mech engineering. Don't laugh, this was once worthwhile back before electricity. I dropped out to experience life and get away from all that work. Now I'm 53 and wish I'd stuck with it. My income is puny and I have few job prospects. Your brain is a sponge for info compared to when you get older. Use it while you can.

How's that for encouragement?

[CarnelianButterfly]

Oh, sweety you at least get 8 hrs of sleep. When I was an ugrad in astro engr I was lucky to get 6. Its rough to feel like all your time is lost to study and class, it can be maddening. If you truly want to do this for your life then you need to be willing to put your head down and push on. Engineering is not a fluff major, it is hard work and that will not change for the your whole career. Parties are not a requirement to make it thru school, its a big temptation to get to school with no parents and no rules. You need discipline and the foresite to see that one night of fun is not going to pay your mortgage. If you can't do that then cut back on classes, that degree doesn't say he took 4.5yrs instead of 4yr to complete it.

[cichlid]

Wow...all those girls in one class? In my classes it's nothing but lots of guys! Nerdy guys that go crazy over my TI-89 calculator...well, several do. At least there are plenty of chicks to chat with...sometimes I miss classes that at least had more girls. I'm an industrial engineer which is probably the easiest of the majors...but I am studying it because it is a very flexible when I need a job, and most my family are IE's (and they all love it) and it just sounded interesting. But the workload can be pretty bad...I took a computer science course and it was horrible! I got my first and so far only C in that class. I think you guys have to know a lot of programming as well. Good luck!

 

But you should get through it alright...it is hard work now but you'll enjoy it later. Plan at least one "me-time" outting a week. That's what I do...

 

Also your courses will get easier as your get through your major. I have been warned many times about certain semesters in the beginning being flunk out classes. Basically my uni accepts a lot of people into the engineering school then hit them lots of hard courses. I am through most those classes...also sometimes it's best to take some hard classes during the summer. Believe it or not but during the summer they are easier! I took calc 2 over the summer and it was the *easiest* class ever. The teacher offered lots of extra credit and only talked about the most important things. This summer I will be taking physics 2 for engineers.

[cichlid]

If you can't do that then cut back on classes, that degree doesn't say he took 4.5yrs instead of 4yr to complete it.

But be careful about what classes you cut. Some are only offered once a year and that can push you back a year. I am looking at 5 years to graduate because I was unable to get into calc 1 the first semester...it was a domino effect from there. Stupid math placement test put me in pre calc...if I had been a bit higher I would have been able to go into calc 1. But yeah...be careful and look at what classes need that as a pre-req.

[doomed_one]

Thank you for the posts Yes i am in the same pit... except for me it was physics, and it started a huge domino effect slowing down EVERYTHING I appreciate the comments, makes me feel better that I'm not just a studying lunatic I don't plan to cut classes....I cant Or my grad will be pushed too far back. Everyone I seem to know(from Engineering) somehow makes it seem so easy... it's like everything is a breeeze somehow, and they apparently barely study... and still get A++++++.... while here I am busting my * * * off and I started feeling really frustrated Thanks again

 

 

Ooops btw, I ment 20:1 guy to girl ratio... hahahaha 20 to 1 girl to guy ratio would be awesome My bad.

 

~d1

[CarnelianButterfly]

A girl I lived with for 2yrs made me feel like an idiot, she was a straight A student and I fought for every A and B I got. She made it all seem so easy, her hmwk would be done hrs before mine and she would blow me away on exams. For her it was always study time, she left our room for food and church. I was always studing with other people and tried mixing some social time in with that. I got to make alot of friends just doing hmwk together.

[melee18]

yeah engineering can suck as far as having a life goes. i'm a junior studying industrial engineering right now and it hasn't been easy. somethings that have helped me was to stop worrying so much about my grades and comparing myself to other people. as long as you know you did the best you could on something, who cares about the grade on the paper. when you should care about the grade on the paper is when you know you could do better and choose not too. i find people at my school are extremely competitive and cause extra stress on themselves because of this.

 

also being in a sorority and making sure i relax on weekend nights has been a big help. the ratio at my school is 3:1 so it is crucial to have girl friends. i've also found it helps knowing that everyone up here works hard and that everyone gets stressed. at my old school it was frustrating to see education majors do nothing and get a's while i worked my * * * off. something about being surronded by other people with the same amount of work as you is comforting.

 

computer engineering is tough, but the payoffs are nice. and the challenges and stress levels you're experiencing now will help prepare you for things to come. but make sure you take time out for yourself, especially on the weekends.

[hosswhispra]

Hang in there. I went through pharmacy school feeling exactly as you do right now. I did not have any type of "life" during that time. Looking at your day's schedule brought back many memories! However, I made it through and I am so happy because it was so, so worth it. I was 25 when I entered pharmacy school and many of my friends were not in school (they were doing "normal 25-year-old" things, while I got to hang out in the library every weekendl....I finished when I was just ready to turn 29. Now I have all the time and flexibility in the world to do basically what ever I want.

 

Pharmacy school for me = security!

 

Rest, exercise, eat well and keep time for yourself. Hang in there!

 

hosswhispra000

[cichlid]

Also I do not know where you are or you can really pick your proffessors too much. But...

 

 

 

 

I picked out my physics teacher through that and I had so much fun in his class. I miss his class...I had to take statistics so I could not take physics 2 taught by him and have to take it over the summer with someone else. Professors really make the difference.

[Caldus]

Well, I am doing Computer Science with a minor in Philosophy, and it can be pretty stressful at times too. But I mean, I enjoy both subjects a lot so I don't mind if I have to devote a lot of time to studying these subjects. If you're doing what you love, then you will be fine in the end. As for the whole social life thing, I don't even have one to begin with. Just a few friends here and there that just don't seem to want to ever hang out. So I end up just doing a bunch of work every week. Only way to make myself feel better sometimes.