No Desire to Stay in University

[russelhn]

     So I'm a 19 year-old who's just started their second semester of University and feel like I'm completely wasting my time and (more importantly) my money here. I had no real desire to enroll in University in the first place and really only joined due to the immense pressure put on me by my family. I have no desire to be here, have hated school since a very young age, constantly miss class and therefore have laughable GPA. It's not that I don't WANT a degree its just that I have no idea WHAT degree I want to go for. The only major I have any real drive for is Music, but I don't see myself ever using that degree. I've looked through the programs offered here multiple times, but all the degrees that seem interesting have little to no real world use, and those that do either don't interest me or would require me to be in school for the next decade and accumulate unfathomable amounts of debt.

     I wouldn't consider myself lazy; I'm extremely competitive and have tons drive, but only for things that I'm interested in. I also graduated within the top 5% of my class and got into one of the best schools in my state so I wouldn't consider myself dumb either, I'm just lacking direction and would like a little bit of advice before I take on anymore debt. (I was given a very generous financial aid package so my current debt could easily be paid off within a year or so, I just don't want to take on more) Right now I'd really like to drop out of university and take a couple years of community college to at least get all my Gen Eds out of the way and then either decide to return to a 4 year or go to trade school with an associates, but if anyone has alternative suggestions I'm all ears. I'm really just looking for possible suggestions or options that maybe I haven't thought about before I make a final decision so whatever suggestions you guys have, whether they may work for me or not, please post them!

Thanks!

[nancy33]

Maybe get a part time job and take as few classes as you can in order to still get the financial aid package. Take only classes that sound interesting. Use the experience of the part time job along with the classes to figure out what interests you.  It is a luxury to attend a top college with a good financial aid  package.  Can you study abroad for a semester ? I wouldn’t expect at 19 yrs old to have anything figured out about my lifelong career.

[MrThatsDifferent]

MMM has a list of careers where you don’t need a college degree. My thinking is, you need something. Prospects without future a degree or some training or skill set is limited and you don’t want to handicap yourself. Would you consider teaching English overseas? Plenty of programs in Asian countries and elsewhere that you could do that. Or, you could learn a language fluently like Spanish and find some career associated with that. Or join the armed forces. I just wouldn’t be aimless. I have 2 godsons who are a couple years older than you, convinced themselves they didn’t need college and both are dishwashers, and struggled to get those jobs. You don’t want to make life harder for yourself. Shame you don’t like college, I tell every young person, you will never have more freedom and less responsibility in your life than College, so enjoy every moment because those 4 years go fast, but the joy of it lasts a lifetime.

[innkeeper77]

As someone who wasted a four year degree with a terrible GPA, degree I didn't want, a FIFTH YEAR.... who is now going back to college for a degree I actually want with a good GPA, internships, etc- don't just keep muddling through!

Tell your family it isn't working, and you need to regroup so it isn't a waste of time and money. If you are able to be a good student when it is interesting, take ONLY gen-eds that interest you for a semester, drop out temporarily, or like you said, go to a community college Don't be me! Although I am happy, met my wife, etc, it was a MASSIVE waste of time and money, and stressful at the same time, and now I'm back in school but too old to enjoy the "scene" - I'm at a commuter school because of this. College was a ton of fun.... but as a young person you can still drop out, come back in a year or two, and get the exact same fun experience. (The fun comes from your peers, not your classes outside of the occasional gem)

In my opinion, unless you are VERY talented, you need a degree. However, muddling through college isn't the right way to get it, and there is nothing wrong with taking a year off or more. You were a good student, I'm sure you can manage to go back and do well even with a gap year. It might make sense to talk to someone at your current school, explain your situation, and ask about the logistics of pausing for a semester to a year so you can figure out what you want to do, interviewing adults in different fields, etc. Perhaps you can take one or two gen-ed classes and simply go down to part time at your good school, while boosting your gpa? School choice isn't everything, but I imagine if you are at one of the top schools in your area that there are benefits that you could use from being there.

Lastly, I know quite a few musicians who ended up in Computer Science, which is an in-demand degree. It may work for you, or not work at ALL for you, but consider it! (It's a hard degree, but not impossible)

[MilesTeg]

     So I'm a 19 year-old who's just started their second semester of University and feel like I'm completely wasting my time and (more importantly) my money here. I had no real desire to enroll in University in the first place and really only joined due to the immense pressure put on me by my family. I have no desire to be here, have hated school since a very young age, constantly miss class and therefore have laughable GPA. It's not that I don't WANT a degree its just that I have no idea WHAT degree I want to go for. The only major I have any real drive for is Music, but I don't see myself ever using that degree. I've looked through the programs offered here multiple times, but all the degrees that seem interesting have little to no real world use, and those that do either don't interest me or would require me to be in school for the next decade and accumulate unfathomable amounts of debt.

     I wouldn't consider myself lazy; I'm extremely competitive and have tons drive, but only for things that I'm interested in. I also graduated within the top 5% of my class and got into one of the best schools in my state so I wouldn't consider myself dumb either, I'm just lacking direction and would like a little bit of advice before I take on anymore debt. (I was given a very generous financial aid package so my current debt could easily be paid off within a year or so, I just don't want to take on more) Right now I'd really like to drop out of university and take a couple years of community college to at least get all my Gen Eds out of the way and then either decide to return to a 4 year or go to trade school with an associates, but if anyone has alternative suggestions I'm all ears. I'm really just looking for possible suggestions or options that maybe I haven't thought about before I make a final decision so whatever suggestions you guys have, whether they may work for me or not, please post them!

Thanks!

Something that a lot of young people are never told it's that university is not a place to go to get job training. It's a place to go to become educated and expand one's horizons. Sounds like what you need most is to find your direction. University isn't a bad place to do that, but not if where you are going is expensive.

A lot of people in my social circle switched majors and/or went back to get a second degree after finishing.

The question you seem to need to answer is: what do you hate most?School, or the job opportunities and life that don't require any more school?

[wageslave23]

How much are your current net costs to attend the university you are at?  Sure you maybe should have gone to a community college first.  But since you are already there, it might not make sense to switch now.  If you dont have a desire to go into the trades then I would get a degree.  Take a bunch of different geneds in fields that might interest you.  As long as your student loans dont end up being astronomical dont worry about them.  $50 or 60k in debt seems like a lot when you are young, but ask the people on this forum who are in their 30s and 40s if $50k is life changing and they would probably say it's a drop in the bucket when you have or are shooting for a nest egg of $1M + compared to the value of finding a career that is lucrative and you dont mind doing.  Your career and lifelong yearly expenditures are much more important than any one time cost, especially for something like college which is a basically just a piece of paper but that opens doors for you for the rest of your life.

[Pigeon]

Unless you can get a refund for the semester, get your ass to class and finish out the semester with decent grades.  Quit rationalizing blowing stuff off, we all have to do things in life that don't interest us.  It's part of being an adult.  You've already spent the money, you might as well get some credits with a decent GPA that you may well be able to use if you do decide to go back, either to the university or that will transfer to the community college.

Spend your free time investigating your other options.  If you think you'd like to pursue a trade, actively look into it.  Contact the trade unions where you live and see what kind of apprenticeship programs exist.  See if you can shadow a plumber, electrician, whatever, or at least take some of them to lunch and ask them about their work.  Your state department of labor may list companies that offer apprenticeships on their websites.  If you can't find it, ask your librarian.  They will be able to help you find it.

Spend some time with the Occupational Outlook Handbook (google it, it's free online) and think about different career choices.  This will give you a good general introduction to different jobs, their employment outlooks, educational requirements, pay, working conditions, etc.

[Fru-Gal]

Agree that you should not waste any money you've already been disbursed. My son took his Gen Eds at community college, and I think it's an excellent option IF you don't have money and like my son aren't a great student. But you do have money and know how to study. Son was annoyed by the other students in Gen Ed classes and is looking forward to being surrounded by more dedicated or focused students in his major (which he has temporarily decided, but has just started coursework for this semester -- so who knows.)

I've been very successful without a college degree and so have my siblings, though we're the exception in our family. Also, choose a college for what it can uniquely provide, like specific science/sports facilities, specific professors, location. But honestly? College as a four-year tradition is going the way of the dodo.

It's great that you're thinking about the debt. Don't believe the hype -- $100k over your head for life is just not worth it. I'd say finish this semester, then reassess. Oh, and talk to a counselor at school. My son has found the counselors at community college to be great.

[BostonBrit]

The easiest way to FIRE is to earn a boat load of money aged 22-35 and save it all.

Probability weighted, the easiest way to earn a boat load of money is to get a degree.

How exactly you structure that between courses, semesters off etc. would be your call but simply getting the best degree result from the best college you can get one from is generally the route to go.

There are plenty of other routes and on this forum people are generally open to alternative routes but bottom line it's way easier and impactful to have a savings rate of 70% on $150k than $50k.

[thesis]

If you're getting a good financial aid package at a top school, you may as well just do your gen-eds there. I think it'd be harder to switch to community college and then back. Just stick it out and give yourself some time to build a plan.

My bachelor's degree is commercially worthless. But it was interesting. And I still made it into software development despite my "poor" college choices, even though that wasn't originally the plan. I very strongly believe that just having a bachelor's degree has helped me be employable. Some jobs don't care what your degree is, they just want to see you have one. I don't believe that's fair, or even makes any sense, but it is what it is. Granted, I did graduate with a few tens of thousands in debt, but I paid it off within 3 years. Bachelor's in ANYTHING + marketable skills = pretty good position to be in. If you actually work while you're in school, that could really help you out, especially if it's an internship that can get your foot in the door somewhere when you graduate.

Of course, college isn't for everyone, either. But halfway through college, I hated it and wanted to drop out. Luckily for me, most of my classes were the sort of classes that didn't penalize me for skipping :-). And honestly, the only thing that got me through was the fact that I found my classes very interesting. Even as a software developer now, I think I would have hated Computer Science, which I've always found stuffy and impractical and full of math that is irrelevant to what I currently do. Can't imagine taking Calculus III for writing CRUD applications.

The academic side of things too often isn't very practical, and this applies to many fields, I believe. But don't let that deter you from completing a degree. I think it's fairly normal to feel like you're wasting your time. Just remember that it's even easier to waste your time outside of school...applying for jobs, none of which you are qualified for. Stick it out, and you may be surprised to find that your time wasn't as wasted as you might have thought.

[Cranky]

Does your university have a career center of any sort? You need to narrow down what things interest you and how you get there.

Get your gen ed requirements taken care of, and since you are already there for this semester... you've got a project. And I hate to break the news to you but if you only do things that are super interesting every moment of the time you are doing them, you are going to have a boring life. Sometimes as an adult you just have to power through to get where you want to be.

You're interesting in music? A career in music can be many things, and most of them don't involve playing an instrument. Get over to the music department and start talking to people about what you might do. There are loads of people gainfully employed in the musical entertainment industry.

[mathlete]

How is your social life?

University is a good chance to surround yourself with other really smart people. So there are advantages to be had outside of what you learn in lectures.

Having a degree is better than not having one, so if you're seriously considering leaving school, I would have some other kind of plan lined up.

[utaca]

Shame you don’t like college, I tell every young person, you will never have more freedom and less responsibility in your life than College, so enjoy every moment because those 4 years go fast, but the joy of it lasts a lifetime.

This. If you think school sucks, you will HATE work.

[OtherJen]

Does your university have a career center of any sort? You need to narrow down what things interest you and how you get there.

Get your gen ed requirements taken care of, and since you are already there for this semester... you've got a project. And I hate to break the news to you but if you only do things that are super interesting every moment of the time you are doing them, you are going to have a boring life. Sometimes as an adult you just have to power through to get where you want to be.

You're interesting in music? A career in music can be many things, and most of them don't involve playing an instrument. Get over to the music department and start talking to people about what you might do. There are loads of people gainfully employed in the musical entertainment industry.

Yes to all of this. Or what about a career as a music therapist? There are two public universities in my state that offer music therapy degrees. I attended one of those schools 20-ish years ago and still regret not auditioning for the program, despite desperately wanting to study music full-time, because I didn't have the courage to buck my family's opinions (they believed that arts degrees were completely worthless). Some of my volunteer work is actually a type of music therapy and it's really rewarding.

[John Galt incarnate!]

It's not that I don't WANT a degree its just that I have no idea WHAT degree I want to go for. .

 I'm really just looking for possible suggestions or options that maybe I haven't thought about before I make a final decision so whatever suggestions you guys have, whether they may work for me or not, please post them!

Thanks!

I strongly (bad pun) advise you to take a Strong Interest Inventory Profile. It matches careers with one's interests and preferences. There may be careers you haven't thought of that suit you well. After taking the Strong you may find one and then you can find out  which degree(s) you need to best pursue your chosen career.

"The Strong Interest Inventory® Profile gives you a list of careers highly admired and highly chosen by those with interests and preferences similar to yours. It breaks down your preferences and inclinations into six General Occupational Themes, which give a broad record of what sorts of jobs you would enjoy."

[BostonBrit]

Shame you don’t like college, I tell every young person, you will never have more freedom and less responsibility in your life than College, so enjoy every moment because those 4 years go fast, but the joy of it lasts a lifetime.

This. If you think school sucks, you will HATE work.

This is the best quote on MMM

[FIRE 20/20]

... The only major I have any real drive for is Music, but I don't see myself ever using that degree. I've looked through the programs offered here multiple times, but all the degrees that seem interesting have little to no real world use, and those that do either don't interest me or would require me to be in school for the next decade and accumulate unfathomable amounts of debt.
...

What degrees are you interested in that have little to no practical value?  I have a bunch of very successful friends with theatre degrees, and a few with music degrees.  English majors are in demand. 
Just one article of many possible - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/business/liberal-arts-stem-salaries.html

[John Galt incarnate!]

Shame you don’t like college, I tell every young person, you will never have more freedom and less responsibility in your life than College, so enjoy every moment because those 4 years go fast, but the joy of it lasts a lifetime.

I'm an enthusiastic advocate  of  college education because I believe it prepares college graduates to better navigate life and have a better understanding and appreciation of the countless things they will come across  over the course of their lives.

[AMandM]

Unless you can get a refund for the semester, get your ### to class and finish out the semester with decent grades.  Quit rationalizing blowing stuff off

This is step one. You want options, and tanking your GPA reduces your options.

Right now I'd really like to drop out of university and take a couple years of community college to at least get all my Gen Eds out of the way and then either decide to return to a 4 year or go to trade school with an associates

I think it would help you to consider why this path is attractive to you. Do you expect CC classes to be more interesting than your current ones?  (If not, skipping class at CC will not put you in a position to transfer back to a 4-year school, much less with a generous FA package.) Do you want to work in a trade? Which one? If so, why not go straight to trade school now?

Consider the possibility of pursuing a degree you are interested in, not because it is job training but because a (any) BA/BSc is the admission ticket to a wide variety of relatively well-paid jobs.

What kind of life are you aiming for? Assuming that you are like the vast majority of people and no-one will pay you a high salary to do only what you're interested in, what trade-offs are you more inclined to make? Would you rather work at a high-paying job you hate, or do something you mostly like for lower pay? Could you put up with a more unpleasant job if it gave you more time to pursue your interests on the side? Etc.

Since you're at a good university, use the resources it makes available to you. Go to the career center and get help figuring out good career possibilities. Go to the counseling center and get help on how to push yourself through short-term boredom for the sake of your future goals. Go to the music school and talk to people there.

Good luck!

[russelhn]

Wow lots of replies here! Thanks guys! I've read all of them, but for time's sake, I'm only going to reply to a few here.

I think it would help you to consider why this path is attractive to you. Do you expect CC classes to be more interesting than your current ones?  (If not, skipping class at CC will not put you in a position to transfer back to a 4-year school, much less with a generous FA package.) Do you want to work in a trade? Which one? If so, why not go straight to trade school now?

Consider the possibility of pursuing a degree you are interested in, not because it is job training but because a (any) BA/BSc is the admission ticket to a wide variety of relatively well-paid jobs.

What kind of life are you aiming for? Assuming that you are like the vast majority of people and no-one will pay you a high salary to do only what you're interested in, what trade-offs are you more inclined to make? Would you rather work at a high-paying job you hate, or do something you mostly like for lower pay? Could you put up with a more unpleasant job if it gave you more time to pursue your interests on the side? Etc.

Since you're at a good university, use the resources it makes available to you. Go to the career center and get help figuring out good career possibilities. Go to the counseling center and get help on how to push yourself through short-term boredom for the sake of your future goals. Go to the music school and talk to people there.

Good luck!

The main draw for me when it comes to CC is that it would give me some time to figure myself out while still moving forward towards a degree, it wouldn't be as difficult, (I didn't have to do much of anything to excel in high school, last semester was a real shock as I had no study/work habits in place) and I'd be able to work part-time and start paying this debt off. Another big draw is that once financial aid refunds come in I would actually be MAKING money by attending there.

As far as what kind of trade offs I'm willing to make; I'm definitely more inclined to do less enjoyable work if it gives me more free time to pursue my hobbies. I worked at a local chain of car washes for 2 years cleaning pits, scrubbing tires, and running maintenance on machines which most people would consider to be "shit work" but never minded it because the hours were flexible and the pay was great considering I was 17 and had no prior experience.

How much are your current net costs to attend the university you are at?  Sure you maybe should have gone to a community college first.  But since you are already there, it might not make sense to switch now.

Right now my PERSONAL net costs are only about ~$5k per semester though my family puts in another ~$5k out of an education plan they've been buying into since I was born. At my local community college though, my brother is getting an FA package that ends up with him having a net PROFIT of about ~$1000 per semester once his refund check comes in.

I attended one of those schools 20-ish years ago and still regret not auditioning for the program, despite desperately wanting to study music full-time, because I didn't have the courage to buck my family's opinions (they believed that arts degrees were completely worthless).

My family is another big reason I haven't auditioned into the schools music program. Definitely confident in my ability to make it, but definitely NOT confident in my ability to tell my parents.

Unless you can get a refund for the semester, get your ass to class and finish out the semester with decent grades.  Quit rationalizing blowing stuff off

Understood Mr. Pigeon. Will do!

[SugarMagnolia77]

You aren't supposed to know what you want to do right now! The first few semesters of college are about exploring. If you aren't going to class, you aren't exploring your options. You take a little of everything and that helps you a) get a whole-person education and b) figure out what paths you do and don't want to pursue.

You're experiencing what's called the Sophomore Slump a little early. The first semester programming is gone and you're now expected to buckle down and get to work. Have you gone to advising sessions? Career Services? The counseling center? I assure you that it is normal to be a little lost right now. Colleges have people who are used to helping students through these things. All you have to do is step up and take advantage of all those great resources you're paying to have access to.

Keep in mind that some of the data about people who leave college isn't great. There are sources that say you won't go back and earn the degree

[Linea_Norway]

I suggest that you ignore your parent's opinion of your educational choice. It is your life you are investing in, not theirs. Go to the music school if that is your preferred choice. I still regret not following my own preferred choice for a study, after my parents were not enthusiastic for it. They were affraid it wouldn't generate a job and I listened to them.

By the way, I didn't finish my whole study. That has always nagged me. It has been a nuisance to have to make up a good reason when you are at a job interview. Despite of that I have always had reasonably good jobs and made a 2 x average salary. Mostly by taking courses paid for by my employer to develop further. This was in IT.

[Just Joe]

You aren't supposed to know what you want to do right now! The first few semesters of college are about exploring. If you aren't going to class, you aren't exploring your options. You take a little of everything and that helps you a) get a whole-person education and b) figure out what paths you do and don't want to pursue.

You're experiencing what's called the Sophomore Slump a little early. The first semester programming is gone and you're now expected to buckle down and get to work. Have you gone to advising sessions? Career Services? The counseling center? I assure you that it is normal to be a little lost right now. Colleges have people who are used to helping students through these things. All you have to do is step up and take advantage of all those great resources you're paying to have access to.

Keep in mind that some of the data about people who leave college isn't great. There are sources that say you won't go back and earn the degree

I went back but let me tell you - it takes alot more work to do it with responsibilities like mortgage, new baby, marriage, etc.

I too would recommend that you dig deep and find a path to contentment now. However, leaving for a time to work and figure things out isn't the end of the world as long as you have a realistic understanding of what it will take to return. Plan it out as much as you can. I went off to the Navy and had a big adventure. I went back to college with a much better perspective, adjusted my degree to a different part of engineering, and worked my way through. Took longer to graduate but I did so with a solid resume.

I have been much more successful for it.

[jeroly]

I think it would help you to consider why this path is attractive to you. Do you expect CC classes to be more interesting than your current ones?  (If not, skipping class at CC will not put you in a position to transfer back to a 4-year school, much less with a generous FA package.) Do you want to work in a trade? Which one? If so, why not go straight to trade school now?

Consider the possibility of pursuing a degree you are interested in, not because it is job training but because a (any) BA/BSc is the admission ticket to a wide variety of relatively well-paid jobs.

What kind of life are you aiming for? Assuming that you are like the vast majority of people and no-one will pay you a high salary to do only what you're interested in, what trade-offs are you more inclined to make? Would you rather work at a high-paying job you hate, or do something you mostly like for lower pay? Could you put up with a more unpleasant job if it gave you more time to pursue your interests on the side? Etc.

Since you're at a good university, use the resources it makes available to you. Go to the career center and get help figuring out good career possibilities. Go to the counseling center and get help on how to push yourself through short-term boredom for the sake of your future goals. Go to the music school and talk to people there.

Good luck!

The main draw for me when it comes to CC is that it would give me some time to figure myself out while still moving forward towards a degree, it wouldn't be as difficult, (I didn't have to do much of anything to excel in high school, last semester was a real shock as I had no study/work habits in place) and I'd be able to work part-time and start paying this debt off. Another big draw is that once financial aid refunds come in I would actually be MAKING money by attending there.

As far as what kind of trade offs I'm willing to make; I'm definitely more inclined to do less enjoyable work if it gives me more free time to pursue my hobbies. I worked at a local chain of car washes for 2 years cleaning pits, scrubbing tires, and running maintenance on machines which most people would consider to be "shit work" but never minded it because the hours were flexible and the pay was great considering I was 17 and had no prior experience.

How much are your current net costs to attend the university you are at?  Sure you maybe should have gone to a community college first.  But since you are already there, it might not make sense to switch now.

Right now my PERSONAL net costs are only about ~$5k per semester though my family puts in another ~$5k out of an education plan they've been buying into since I was born. At my local community college though, my brother is getting an FA package that ends up with him having a net PROFIT of about ~$1000 per semester once his refund check comes in.

Do the math over the WHOLE college path, not just next semester.  My guess is that by switching to community college and then switching back, you'll be losing all of your current scholarships / grants and the last two years will wind up costing you way more than if you stay the course.

I suggest that you ignore your parent's opinion of your educational choice. It is your life you are investing in, not theirs. Go to the music school if that is your preferred choice. I still regret not following my own preferred choice for a study, after my parents were not enthusiastic for it. They were affraid it wouldn't generate a job and I listened to them.

With all due respect to Linea_Norway, I think that this is a terrible idea.

1.  Your parents know a thing or two more about you than random strangers on the internet.  While you shouldn't necessarily take their advice, you should certainly take it seriously - they obviously have some interest in your getting ahead and are helping you to get there financially as well.  You should probably also be factoring in the loss of some or all of their financial support into your calculations if, after due consideration, you decide to not follow their advice.

2.  The book "Quit Like a Millionaire" talks about some of your issues. 
- Feeling a lack of motivation toward your classes?  Well you're on this site so you probably have an interest in FIRE.  You can get there pretty quickly with a high paying job, and much more slowly, if ever, with a musician's salary (I'm assuming that you're not first-chair-in-the-NY-Philharmonic material).
- Having trouble figuring out a career?  Look over a list of (realistic) possibilities and go for the one with the projected highest salary.  That should motivate you.
- "Pursue your passion" isn't necessarily the best advice when it comes to picking a career.  If you plan to FIRE you may be able to have many more years out of the workplace than in it, and that will leave most of your life for your passions... AFTER you've established financial independence.  Moreover, even if you wind up with a very demanding career you will still have _some_ time available outside of work hours for music or whatever else floats your boat.
-----------------------------------------
As an aside, I was in a similar situation as you.  I started university without internal drive and without a particular major I was super excited about.  I then rejiggered things and took the following approach:

I.  I sampled a variety of courses in majors that could lead to employable careers.
II. I found one that was the easiest and in which I did the best.  Getting good grades boosted my self confidence and stoked my interest in doing some work on those classes to not just pass but to get A's.
III. I mostly just took courses in my major, save for distributional requirements. 

[GuitarStv]

The majority of people don't know what they want to get a degree in.  At least this is true of most of the people that I know.  Typically what ends up happening is that they pick a degree by some combination of:
- Seems like they don't suck at the work required
- Seems like it might lead to a decent job

Even if you love what you do initially, that will change and you'll grow to hate it (or at least only tolerate it) eventually.  That's the nature of being told what to do, forced to conform to the hours someone else randomly picks, and the typical ever changing human whims that we all feel.  Chasing a passion is a pretty common way to kill the passion.

If you only have drive for things you're interested in, then you're destined to be a tremendous failure.  Every human alive has drive for things they're interested in.  That's why hobbies and a multitude of fun distractions exist.  Hobbies aren't work though.  Learning to find drive to get the things that you're not so interested in, that you find kinda hard, that make you feel uncomfortable and push you to learn/try new stuff . . . that's how a person tends to end up successful.

University is difficult.  Especially if you were big shit in highschool . . . you're now in an environment where most of the other people were also getting top grades in highschool.  Finding out that you're not as smart as you thought you were, and that you have to work much harder than you ever did before to keep up with others can be very tough to swallow.  A lot of people decide that this means what they're studying is 'too boring' all of a sudden.  It's certainly going to be much easier to drop out - and that can work in some situations, but it sounds like you're considering dropping out without any real plan going forward . . . and that seems like a bad idea to me.

[OtherJen]

How much are your current net costs to attend the university you are at?  Sure you maybe should have gone to a community college first.  But since you are already there, it might not make sense to switch now.

Right now my PERSONAL net costs are only about ~$5k per semester though my family puts in another ~$5k out of an education plan they've been buying into since I was born. At my local community college though, my brother is getting an FA package that ends up with him having a net PROFIT of about ~$1000 per semester once his refund check comes in.

$5k per semester is not even worth talking about.  The hassle of switching back and forth and credits possibly not transferring is not worth it.  Plus you might not be able to get back into a good 4 yr university with financial aid after dropping out.  Learn to be an adult, go to every class, set time aside to study.  Everyone goes through this adjustment period.  Stop looking for ways out and just buckle down.  Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.  Forget a PT job, the little bit of money you will make is laughable compared to what you will make if you get a degree in a high paying field.  Spend the little bit of money to get a great degree and make $100k+ for 10 yrs after graduation and then FIRE and do whatever the F*ck you want to do.

I didn't write the above. I think the quote nesting got jumbled.

[zinnie]

The majority of people don't know what they want to get a degree in.  At least this is true of most of the people that I know.  Typically what ends up happening is that they pick a degree by some combination of:
- Seems like they don't suck at the work required
- Seems like it might lead to a decent job

Even if you love what you do initially, that will change and you'll grow to hate it (or at least only tolerate it) eventually.  That's the nature of being told what to do, forced to conform to the hours someone else randomly picks, and the typical ever changing human whims that we all feel.  Chasing a passion is a pretty common way to kill the passion.

If you only have drive for things you're interested in, then you're destined to be a tremendous failure.  Every human alive has drive for things they're interested in.  That's why hobbies and a multitude of fun distractions exist.  Hobbies aren't work though.  Learning to find drive to get the things that you're not so interested in, that you find kinda hard, that make you feel uncomfortable and push you to learn/try new stuff . . . that's how a person tends to end up successful.

University is difficult.  Especially if you were big shit in highschool . . . you're now in an environment where most of the other people were also getting top grades in highschool.  Finding out that you're not as smart as you thought you were, and that you have to work much harder than you ever did before to keep up with others can be very tough to swallow.  A lot of people decide that this means what they're studying is 'too boring' all of a sudden.  It's certainly going to be much easier to drop out - and that can work in some situations, but it sounds like you're considering dropping out without any real plan going forward . . . and that seems like a bad idea to me.

+1. Especially the part about pushing yourself through things that are hard and/or uncomfortable. If you wait to magically have the desire to accomplish something before you do it, you might look back on your life years from now and be quite disappointed. 

My advice: stay in school and study what looks interesting. There is really no better place to figure out what you want to do with your life than a university. I don't understand how studying at a CC while working solves any of your problems. Honestly it kind of sounds like you are rationalizing giving up because college is more difficult than high school was.

Source: Was an English literature major. Studied it because I enjoyed the classes. Had a conventionally successful career and am on track to retire by 38.

[mm1970]

It sounds like to me it's not a good fit.  It also sounds like you haven't figured out how to buckle down and work, necessarily.  I mean, work through hard things and boring things.

Follow your dream, your passion, etc...eventually, for most people, it becomes just work.

That said, most people aren't doing what they thought they'd be doing when they were 19 either.

Don't waste you or your parents money if you aren't going to work at it.  Is it worth it if you are going to blow it off and get crappy grades?

I'd go with a middle ground, which is - switch to CC, get through your gen ed.  ALSO - get a FULL TIME job and live on your own.  No help from parents.  Figure out what adulting is REALLY like.  You may find your passion doing this.  You may realize that college isn't so bad.

[L8_apex]

I didn't read all of the responses.

My experience, mindset, and potential were all just about the same as yours.  I will strongly say: if you're not motivated enough to do well in school, but know that you have the IQ to do well, get out!  I had to go work a shitty job and see how much that sucked to regain the focus to go to school and do as well as I should have.

So stop school, go find a job that might have some relevance to what you might want to do long-term, and see how that goes.  Just try not to pick a completely dead-end job.

[wageslave23]

How much are your current net costs to attend the university you are at?  Sure you maybe should have gone to a community college first.  But since you are already there, it might not make sense to switch now.

Right now my PERSONAL net costs are only about ~$5k per semester though my family puts in another ~$5k out of an education plan they've been buying into since I was born. At my local community college though, my brother is getting an FA package that ends up with him having a net PROFIT of about ~$1000 per semester once his refund check comes in.

$5k per semester is not even worth talking about.  The hassle of switching back and forth and credits possibly not transferring is not worth it.  Plus you might not be able to get back into a good 4 yr university with financial aid after dropping out.  Learn to be an adult, go to every class, set time aside to study.  Everyone goes through this adjustment period.  Stop looking for ways out and just buckle down.  Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.  Forget a PT job, the little bit of money you will make is laughable compared to what you will make if you get a degree in a high paying field.  Spend the little bit of money to get a great degree and make $100k+ for 10 yrs after graduation and then FIRE and do whatever the F*ck you want to do.

I didn't write the above. I think the quote nesting got jumbled.

Sorry about that.  Here is my response to OP:
$5k per semester is not even worth talking about.  The hassle of switching back and forth and credits possibly not transferring is not worth it.  Plus you might not be able to get back into a good 4 yr university with financial aid after dropping out.  Learn to be an adult, go to every class, set time aside to study.  Everyone goes through this adjustment period.  Stop looking for ways out and just buckle down.  Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.  Forget a PT job, the little bit of money you will make is laughable compared to what you will make if you get a degree in a high paying field.  Spend the little bit of money to get a great degree and make $100k+ for 10 yrs after graduation and then FIRE and do whatever the F*ck you want to do.

[mozar]

Hello there, I work in the trades. Like most fields it's becoming more important to have a degree. You can start out as a carpenter's helper framing walls but do you want to do that forever? You'll move up faster if you have a college degree. The trades are becoming very technical, at a minimum you will have to take a math test to get into an apprenticeship. Can you apply the pythagorean theorem? Can you calculate an angle if you only have the measurements of 2 sides? How do you calculate how much concrete you need? Can you read architect blueprints?

If you really are serious about the trades take classes in the architecture and engineering departments. And take a fair bit of math even just to review.
I also recommend becoming fluent in Spanish because all of the sub contractors (plumbers, electricians, tiles, painters...) are Hispanic in many places of the USA.

[lutorm]

I had to go work a shitty job and see how much that sucked to regain the focus to go to school and do as well as I should have.

This. At 19 you have no idea what life's like, and that's fine. There's no hurry going to college, get some non-school experience.

[LonerMatt]

Eh, defer for a year and see how you feel. Not every choice has to be productive to be good. Consider being less optimal and more satisfied.

If you were happy cleaning cars and doing what you want maybe do that again till you dislike it or are motivated to do different things.

[Lady SA]

My brother felt the exact same way after his first semester at university. Literally, word for word. His solution? Drop out and join the armed forces. He figured the army would pay him while he figured out what direction he wanted to take his life. Obviously that solution doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for him. 3 years later, he has his shit much more together and has a solid plan for his future career that he is content/confident in.

I had to go work a shitty job and see how much that sucked to regain the focus to go to school and do as well as I should have.

This is exactly what my brother said about his army experience lol!

[Lucky13]

I second the recommended for “Quit Like A Millionaire” book which has great financial analysis of whether college is worth it (bottom line: depends on your major).

[firestarter2018]

Realistically, there are very few industries and jobs where your major and/or GPA and/or the ranking/"name" of your college matter all that much -- these are mostly in law, medicine, engineering, finance and consulting, and virtually all of them require advanced degrees anyway.  For the rest of us, a BA is just a piece of paper that says "this kid can do something and stick with it for four years even when it wasn't all that fun." I have undergraduate and graduate degrees from two very fancy schools and they did f*** all for me given that my career interests ended up being relatively pedestrian. I've been involved in hiring committees for my organization and all that matters is "BA" on their resume, doesn't matter if it was from an online program, an Ivy, a state school, or whatever - as long as it's accredited and not, like, Trump University, you're in.

Knowing all that, I'm a big advocate for people going to whatever school is the cheapest and/or meets your other preferences like location, amenities, etc., and just spend your time sampling classes from a pu-pu platter of majors. Major in whatever you want and then find the best, most interesting electives in fields that both interest you and intimidate you. Find the best professors through word of mouth, RateMyProfessors.com, etc., and take whatever classes they offer.  Study abroad. Work a part-time job. Go to lectures, concerts, events.  Take a poetry class (or 5). Definitely take an art history class. If you hate math, take calculus and work your ass off at it. If you hated high school science, find some kind of science course that piques your interest.  You will never again get the opportunity to study Shakespeare/molecular biology/film/WHATEVER in a supportive environment and with very low demands on your time -- ever again. 

I realize that it's kind of quaint to still believe in the value of a liberal arts college education in this day and age when everything seems oriented toward career preparation, but you imply you like to learn/study when it's topics you're interested in. So go find those classes. Or transfer to another school that has them.  I would recommend against moving back a step to community college for someone in your situation -- if anything, you'll be even more bored and intellectually limited at a CC than a four-year college.  I would also note that the data show pretty clearly that many, perhaps most, people who take a year off from college get sidetracked and never return. Don't let that happen to you.

[ROF Expat]

What are your life goals?  What kind of life do you want to be living in 10, 20, and 30 years? 

I think answering those questions should be a part of finding your path forward. 

If you envision yourself being happy with a very frugal existence (the kind you can fund doing unskilled labor at the car wash) then you really have no need to waste time and money on a University education.  There are people on this forum who seem very happy living lives that require relatively little income.  If you envision yourself leading a more conventional lifestyle, you are probably going to need some job skills. 

Those job skills don't necessarily have to come from attending college, but they are going to have to come from somewhere.  And pretty much the first job skill everyone has to learn is showing up at work and doing something that isn't particularly fun.  That's pretty much the definition of work:  stuff they pay you to do because it isn't really fun.  If something is inherently fun, not only do you not get paid to do it as a job, you generally have to pay someone else for the opportunity.  The second job skill is learning to focus on the not fun stuff and do it consistently well.  That's what you hope moves you into jobs that are closer to fun (or at least better paying). 

It would be great if you can find something that you can be passionate about and that inspires you to work hard to become great at it.  But if you can't you probably need to learn to just lean forward and do stuff you don't enjoy, at least in the service of a longer-term goal.  That's pretty much what the RE in FIRE is about for most people.  Most people who are working hard to RE aren't doing it because they love their jobs... (motivations for FI are more diverse). 

To be honest with you, although you said  "I wouldn't consider myself lazy; I'm extremely competitive and have tons drive, but only for things that I'm interested in." I think lazy is exactly what you are.  Everybody has drive for things they're really interested in.  That would be like me saying "I'm not fat because I'm lazy, I have tons of drive for eating junk food and drinking beer, I'm just not interested in exercising or dieting."  This isn't really meant to be a mustachian "facepunch," more a gentle reproach or tough love.  You sound like a bright young person who didn't have to learn good work habits because you coasted through life by being a little smarter than the average bear.  Lots of us fit that description. 

I don't know what the path forward is for you, but if you can't bring yourself to focus on classes you don't love at college, what makes you think you'd be able to focus on those same classes at community college or excelling in a trade program?  Going to CC because the classes will be "easier" would seem to be a very poor choice.  And don't kid yourself, excelling in the trades (as an electrician or plumber, for example) requires more ability to focus and power through hard, unpleasant work than a University degree.   

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you only the best, but I encourage you to think about the idea that learning self-discipline is the first job skill. 

[wageslave23]

What are your life goals?  What kind of life do you want to be living in 10, 20, and 30 years? 

I think answering those questions should be a part of finding your path forward. 

If you envision yourself being happy with a very frugal existence (the kind you can fund doing unskilled labor at the car wash) then you really have no need to waste time and money on a University education.  There are people on this forum who seem very happy living lives that require relatively little income.  If you envision yourself leading a more conventional lifestyle, you are probably going to need some job skills. 

Those job skills don't necessarily have to come from attending college, but they are going to have to come from somewhere.  And pretty much the first job skill everyone has to learn is showing up at work and doing something that isn't particularly fun.  That's pretty much the definition of work:  stuff they pay you to do because it isn't really fun.  If something is inherently fun, not only do you not get paid to do it as a job, you generally have to pay someone else for the opportunity.  The second job skill is learning to focus on the not fun stuff and do it consistently well.  That's what you hope moves you into jobs that are closer to fun (or at least better paying). 

It would be great if you can find something that you can be passionate about and that inspires you to work hard to become great at it.  But if you can't you probably need to learn to just lean forward and do stuff you don't enjoy, at least in the service of a longer-term goal.  That's pretty much what the RE in FIRE is about for most people.  Most people who are working hard to RE aren't doing it because they love their jobs... (motivations for FI are more diverse). 

To be honest with you, although you said  "I wouldn't consider myself lazy; I'm extremely competitive and have tons drive, but only for things that I'm interested in." I think lazy is exactly what you are.  Everybody has drive for things they're really interested in.  That would be like me saying "I'm not fat because I'm lazy, I have tons of drive for eating junk food and drinking beer, I'm just not interested in exercising or dieting."  This isn't really meant to be a mustachian "facepunch," more a gentle reproach or tough love.  You sound like a bright young person who didn't have to learn good work habits because you coasted through life by being a little smarter than the average bear.  Lots of us fit that description. 

I don't know what the path forward is for you, but if you can't bring yourself to focus on classes you don't love at college, what makes you think you'd be able to focus on those same classes at community college or excelling in a trade program?  Going to CC because the classes will be "easier" would seem to be a very poor choice.  And don't kid yourself, excelling in the trades (as an electrician or plumber, for example) requires more ability to focus and power through hard, unpleasant work than a University degree.   

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you only the best, but I encourage you to think about the idea that learning self-discipline is the first job skill.

+1.  Excellent advice.

[MrThatsDifferent]

I second the recommended for “Quit Like A Millionaire” book which has great financial analysis of whether college is worth it (bottom line: depends on your major).

Unless you have some other skill or connections, life is quite hard without a degree,or formal training of some type.

[ABC123]

How about getting an education degree, with a minor in music?  You could be a music teacher at a school and get plenty of time off.  You said you are ok with a lower paying job.  Or you could offer piano/voice/instrument/whatever your specialty is lessons.  Does the current generous financial aid package transfer over to the community college you are wanting to transfer to?

[Eowyn_MI]

     So I'm a 19 year-old who's just started their second semester of University and feel like I'm completely wasting my time and (more importantly) my money here. I had no real desire to enroll in University in the first place and really only joined due to the immense pressure put on me by my family. I have no desire to be here, have hated school since a very young age, constantly miss class and therefore have laughable GPA. It's not that I don't WANT a degree its just that I have no idea WHAT degree I want to go for.

So I'm a lot like you except that I'm 10 years older.  I had no particular desire to go to University; I went because my mom told me that it was a good plan for my life.  My mom printed off a list of starting salaries for different occupations and told me to pick one near the top.  I did not have a better idea so I went along with her plan. 

I ended up getting a mechanical engineering degree.  At no point during my time at college did I ever have a burning passion for mechanical engineering.  The courses ranged from moderately challenging to extremely difficult.  University was not the best time of my life like so many people told me that it would be.  I rather enjoyed the first year or two and then was totally burnt out by the end of it.  That's my school story.

The point of this story is that life gets so much better as you get older and more independent.  Choosing a degree with a strong earning potential helps you become more independent.  I am so happy that the late teenage me stuck it out in school and got that degree.  I'm sorry to say that the first two years of work sucked for me too.  But that was worth it too!  I'm so happy that the early twenties me stuck it out in a dismal job so that I could get to where I am now. 

Right now, I have a job that is almost enjoyable and has given me so many unique experiences including travel and meeting interesting people.  I make enough money to pay for my desired lifestyle and save for FI/RE without feeling deprived of anything. 

My advice to you is to stay in school and get a useful degree unless you have a clearly articulated plan of how you are going to live life (pay bills) without a college degree.  Whether or not you feel any particular desire to get this college degree is largely irrelevant.

One last thing: my sister, who was always interested in music, also got an engineering degree.  After getting a job in engineering she went to school part time and got a music teaching certificate.  She has told me more than once that it was a good thing for her that she did not try to make a career out of music.

[GuitarStv]

FWIW, I hated most of my engineering classes in university.  I actually took six music classes while there (none of which counted towards my degree) and loved them all.  I'm very, very, very happy that I didn't pursue a career in music.  :P

[SEdude]

I can't offer much advice on university vs CC vs other, but I have a few recommendations that apply to getting through any school:

- There will always be some classes that you're not super into but have to get through anyways. Try to balance your schedule for each semester so that you have some interesting classes and some boring classes (I call this the shit-sandwich approach). I used this tactic in school, so I didn't complete my gen eds until the end of my junior year because I took 1-2 boring gen eds per semester along with more interesting in-major classes. I found the dull classes much more manageable this way.

- As many others have pointed out, most people don't know what they're interested in at 19. This is the perfect low-risk time to find out what you're interested in. I would take a wide variety of classes, especially ones that you haven't been introduced to in HS (finance? computer programming? education? health? the list goes on). What's easier, drop/adding some different classes in college, or changing careers in your 30/40s because you still haven't found what's interesting to you?

- For a week, record how much time you spend in class and truly studying / working on projects (and be honest, you know when you're actually just browsing instagram instead of studying). My guess is it will be considerably lower than 40 hours, which is how long you are likely to spend working each week in a full time job. Personally I was struggling in college because I wasn't putting in enough time, but I felt a major difference in my motivation when I mentally reframed my schoolwork as a job. Even putting in 20 good hours of work per week (ie going to all my classes plus several hours per day of real *focused* studying) helped tremendously. All for the time-cost of a part time job. I think it puts your opportunity cost (time-wise) into perspective.

[Lucky13]

FWIW, I hated most of my engineering classes in university.  I actually took six music classes while there (none of which counted towards my degree) and loved them all.  I'm very, very, very happy that I didn't pursue a career in music.  :P

haha I also took some art history and poetry classes but glad I didn't major in it. :) did you end of going into engineering after graduation and did you enjoy it?  or at least not hate it?  personally I never expected to "love" my career, just find it tolerable, I mean it is "work" after all, but I get that not everyone feels similar.

[GuitarStv]

FWIW, I hated most of my engineering classes in university.  I actually took six music classes while there (none of which counted towards my degree) and loved them all.  I'm very, very, very happy that I didn't pursue a career in music.  :P

haha I also took some art history and poetry classes but glad I didn't major in it. :) did you end of going into engineering after graduation and did you enjoy it?  or at least not hate it?  personally I never expected to "love" my career, just find it tolerable, I mean it is "work" after all, but I get that not everyone feels similar.

It's funny.  I got my degree in software engineering and have made my whole career in that field (switching to test automation a couple years back).  I always did well on the design part and don't really hate or love software development . . . but I'm decent at it and it pays the bills.  Pretty much all of my free time is spent writing music and riding my bike though.  :P