Do you ever feel you did the wrong degree/course?

SideWinder

SideWinder

SideWinder

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Having a mild 'freak out' wondering about life and that sort of thing. I am starting my final year of my degree in September. Some parts of it i like but most of it i don't. I had wanted to be a psychotherapist or some form of counsellor but i realised i'm far too 'out going' and i love the idea of working with lots of people around me. I could hardly have a session with someone and then go out for a drink with them.

But thats a short summary...either way, i'm realising i should have listened to my heart when i was younger and gone into the fashion retail industry. (Dangerous saying something like
that on a computer forum! :o)

Admittedly i'm only 21 and i'll be 22 when i finish University but i'm actually starting to consider doing another degree - part time perhaps - or a post-grad.

Anyone feel as though they did the wrong course...?
 
Yep. I spent 3 years doing an AVCE in ICT. Its got me nowhere, because I'm currently working in a mental health hospital!

Nowhere would give me a job without experience, and how can I get relevant experience without a job? catch 22, so now i'm doing something totally different, and so is the majority of people i took the course with, which was a good 8 years ago now!

I have to say, having thought about it over a few years, I'm not sure I want to work in I.T now anyway!
 
Got asked this the other day by a recruiter; I did a Philosophy degree, finished last year and still haven't found a permanent job - had a couple of short term (3-6 month) marketing contracts, but nothing else.

I answered that I didn't regret it, as when you're 18 and deciding what degree to do you tend to look at what you will enjoy rather than what may stand you in good stead in the future, and I loved my philosophy degree; looking back I can't imagine studying anything else. It is also a well respected degree, and if the financial climate were better I genuinely think that I'd be up to my ears in job offers; it just happens that at the moment employers are after somebody who has done something more vocational.

So can I understand how it has held me back from getting a job? Yes - had I done a marketing degree, I'm pretty sure I'd have a decent job right now. Do I regret it? No.
 
I spent 3 years doing Games Design at a Uni up north (not putting the name until after i've got my degree :p). The prospectus promised a lot of hands on work with programs used within the industry and theory insight in to how the industry works and how works within it are influenced.

I can safely say that the advertisement was way off. Lots of creative tech (i.e. Flash) work and business involvement made the course feel like an introductory guide to running a flash based website :p. The course was also focused primarly on 3D Modelling and although I was naff at it, its not my reason for hating the course. Some of the theory work was great however there wasn't enough of it for me.

I'm graduating this summer but am unsure as to what exactly my degree will give me. I really enjoyed the University experience, however it seems like I will have no practical use for the product of my hard work over the 3 years.
 
Yeah, just did a BTEC national diploma for IT practitioners. Did alright, got a merit overall, but upon asking myself 'is this really what I want to be doing for the rest of my life?' I found the answer was a rather profound no. So now I'm doing AS levels next year instead of going straight to university.
 
Loads of people do things nothing related to their degree course. I wouldnt worry tbh as long as its a decent grade.
 
I was a genius at maths.. did my gcse in yr10, lvl 8 sats, clocked all those little tests school/college sent me to etc, etc.. but i decided to do Comp Sci at uni..

there were times after uni I felt I did the wrong thing.. but ya know what, i'm loving what i do now!! i'm not one of them accountants that have a rough day each day calculating numbers, etc, etc which i now find boring. instead i'm in a creative, exciting role allowing me to do much more!!

i learnt it aint about the monies that certain courses can lead towards.. its about what you enjoy!!
 
I dont really enjoy my course either but I'm gonna try and get a good grade and then do a masters in something hopefully more interesting!
 
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chiggz said:
I was a genius at maths..
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Brag much?

I got into a good University and am studying Computer Science. No idea if I want to work in IT but I like the course even though I've had to sacrifice so much. Technically I should have graduated but due to some failed exams and a year out I'm going into third year.

Admittedly there are times I have doubts but for the most part I'm happy with my choice and if it doesn't lead to a similar career it doesn't matter.
 
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I did do the wrong degree but changed, I started off doing Computer Games Technology at Abertay before changing to doing Law after the first year and now I'm training to be a chartered accountant. If the question is; do I regret it? Then no, not a bit of it, I've had some great experiences, made some fantastic mates and learned more about myself along the way - sure it hasn't been the fastest route from A to B but since I didn't know what I wanted to do (and still am not 100% sure that this will be what I do for the rest of my life) there's no point regretting the journey. A good percentage of people will end up doing nothing directly related to their degree, that doesn't mean they've wasted their time though, if the choice was right for them at the time then that is good enough, circumstances change, that has to be accepted.

Remember that you don't just have to go out people you work with, it's good if you can get on with them but it isn't the end of the World if you can't go out drinking with them (or in your case patients). I'll leave you with a bit of advice from Soren Kierkegaard - “I see it all perfectly; there are two possible situations - one can either do this or that. My honest opinion and my friendly advice is this: do it or do not do it - you will regret both.”.
 
Solac said:
Loads of people do things nothing related to their degree course. I wouldnt worry tbh as long as its a decent grade.
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Agree with Solac, in my old IT department only 1 of the 40 or so staff had a degree even vaguely related to I.T. Everyone else had random degrees or none.

If an employer is interested in your degree it's probably only for the grade, very few jobs will need specific degrees to match the job you're being interviewed for.
 
At the end of my 2nd year my motivation for the degree i was on was in a bad way, the first year was fine but the 2nd changed around too much and focused on elements that i had no interest in whatsoever. I just stopped the degree and went and got a job.
 
I'm studying CS and I'm glad I choose it. Do I love the subject no. Is it one of the best things I've done yes.

I'll get a decent degree from it, which gets me into the door in a lot of firms. I can also think about doing a masters in something else. It's also got me working abroad for one year with Siemens in Vienna, which looks great on the CV :D and has been great fun (two more weeks left).
 
I started doing Software Development Games Design and swapped shortly after the beginning of the 2nd year to Multimedia and Communication Design and it was the best decision I've ever made in my life.

I hated the first course so badly (the work was totally different to what was advertised in the prospectus) and barely scraped through to the 2nd year. I remember having some sort of phase test and basically knowing none of the answers, so I just walked out straight to the course leader and told him to withdraw me and I'll start looking for a new course.

Really enjoyed the work in the new course and ended up with a 2:1 :)

My advice would be if you're unhappy on your course just change as soon as possible and don't waste time doing it.
 
Having such a change of heart is very a scary moment. I remember the day in the labs when I realised that a career in science just wasn't for me - I just couldn't do tedious experiments for hours on end for, in my book, very little payoff. I took a semi-leap of faith and did law, and now I haven't looked back.

If you have enjoyed your degree, you haven't made the wrong decision. I don't regret taking a science degree in the slightest, I took it as far as I wanted to and that is the career I saw myself pursuing at that time. You are still very young and have umpteen years to pursue whatever you wish, with potentially several career changes.

Think about what you have taken from your degree that has made it a valuable experience. I have a habit of additionally commentating on wildlife programmes ("did you know that the living land animals which have the closest common ancestor to birds are crocodiles?") and become a semi-tour guide round museums occationally (much to the delight / annoyance of others :p). However, some of my friends find it odd that I can't contain my excitement when I see a Peacock :o
 
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