Changing Degree, woes about general young adult living

[JohnJohn]

Sorry if this reads like a rant but I’ve been the most stressed in my life for the past few weeks. I have recently decided to switch out of engineering because I hate (and frankly not that good at) the technical cad/math side of things. Up to this point I had never really thought about my career, I’ve always just had the plan to go into engineering since I’m ok at maths and science (at least at a high school level). I think I was stunted since I could cruise through schooling without having to study while still achieving good grades. Every career path I look into is either going through periods of low hiring or are going through drastic changes due to ai (idk if it’s just recession market or it’s going to be like this forever). I was potentially looking at accounting or data science but both of those industries seem to be in the gutter for entry level due to offshoring and ai. The only career that I could see as enjoying and has ok job prospects are geology or social work. That excludes the matter of me graduating at 23-24 while my peers are already years into their careers. All of this accumulates to me feeling like a bit of a failure, wondering if anybody has similar experiences or words of wisdom, I’m desperate…

[randomxx]

Hi there op.

Tbh, l feel really bad for a lot of younger people now bc the world is changing so much. But in this country too life is also just so insanely expensive but plus, we also have the most useless gov that is destroying business, housing, any innovation, costs of living, the whole box of rocks. l'm saying that bc although not good news for you, l just want you to know that things aren't all on you or all your fault.You did ok at school by the sounds, you must've past everything and got ok marks but it;s not always just about that stuff. Read stuff all the time of some that literally have more marks or paperwork or quals than any average but even for them there's other problems , so ease up on yourself.

You internally panicking right now and things always stack up when we get that way.

But funny, well sorta, back in the day everyone thought l was gonna end up a dole bludger but a bit like you l always had a lot of potential. l was good at things but at 24 l'd still just been in and out of work and different apprenticeships , unemployed, since l left school where as anyone else had long finished whatever their training and been working for yrs and ahead.

One day l just saw an opportunity in an ad, won't say for what, but l knew right there l could start my own business with that and probably do pretty good. So finally l'd found something l knew would work for my l started my business and by the time l was 27, l had a job l quite like , nice cars and a hobby farm just out of Melb. At 24 l had nothing and bomb cars and l borrowed $1500 to start the business. l did that 15yrs, then took a break, then started another one,.

Point is, so you just never know, and early 20s is nothing, some of the biggest names in the were still flat broke into 30s even 40s but then they found something that worked for them and took off.

Soooo, l know it's hard, but even in this world now, things can still happen and one wy or other you would find you niche. 

lt might take more time, or it could be just round the corner, but your trying and that's the thing, it'll happen.

Hang in and try to remove some of that self imposed pressure eh. 

Good luck

rx

[Guest_45934529]

hi,

personally it sounds like taking a step back might help. mostly thinking about the job prospects is very overwhelming especially when u start thinking about the pay, the stability, status etc. 

something i can think of from the top of my head is for u to meet or talk to other people doing the same work. gauge their lifestyle, working styles, literally anything ur worried or curious about to fill in all these questions ur shouldering urself with. 

choosing a particular course with the restrictions u mentioned does sound difficult but i hope u understand that a single degree doesn’t mean ur bound to that career. many people pick something similar, or entirely different at times. 

lastly, i think sometimes it just comes down to reaffirming the simple steps. don’t compare urself to others, remember to slow down and always be active in asking the people around u, just like u did uploading ur thoughts here 🙂 

best of luck,

fellow student 

[DesertSchmezert]

Hey man,

Tens of thousands of people in Australia alone drop or change what they are doing at university because it isn't the right fit for one reason or another, so don't feel like you have failed at anything. This is completely normal.

I know people who finished their entire engineering undergrad, stressed themselves out to find a graduate role, started working, and then realised engineering wasn't worth it for them. I clearly remember having severe anxiety during my undergrad about needing to be on the "right path" (a fictitious concept, by the way), and when I dropped to part-time for a while, I thought my future was completely ruined. It turns out it wasn't over at all. That cliché you hear from mentors about careers not being linear actually turns out to be 100% true.

The important thing is that you keep moving and trying stuff, but at your own pace. Frequent, manageable activity is way better than forced panic.

The job market is rough right now, that's true. I wish I could change it so we didn't have so much offshoring and AI anxiety, but that's out of our hands, and we are all feeling the impacts of it. Don't take the broader economic climate personally, just keep swimming.

I don't know what state you're in, but if you already live in WA (or don't mind moving to the state with the best beaches in the world), the people I've met who study geology are doing really well. My friends work in consulting, and a lot of the senior consultants moved into those roles after working on-site as geologists. WA is always looking for geologists, and the university career stalls from mining companies are almost always recruiting them. They're in solid demand, so while I'm not an expert and you should definitely reach out to people in the field, it's a very realistic path.

Lastly, the whole anxiety around graduating at 23 or 24 is such an Australian concept. I lived in Denmark for a few years, and if you start university before 26 over there, you're practically the odd one out because the norm is taking several gap years to work and explore first. In the eyes of the workforce, you are still at the very beginning of your journey in your early twenties. Feeling "behind" at 23 is just an arbitrary cultural pressure and complete nonsense.

You are completely fine to graduate in your mid-twenties. Take a breath and take your time.

Bon Courage, 
C

[AceHD]

Hey OP! 
It’s not abnormal to switch study paths, especially in early adulthood. When I first started a course straight out of high school, I felt very much the same way. In the end, I didn’t end up doing well with that particular path right off the bat, despite also being an excellent student in school, for the most part, but I do believe I learned a lot from the experience.

A. Trying out new career paths and opportunities is an option. I had a classmate in their early twenties that had jumped around through several different classes and courses before eventually settling on something they were happy with.

B. You’re never too old to try something else. My class alone ranged in age from 18 year olds straight out of high school to parents in their thirties and older people in their seventies. They were largely treated as any other member of the class, if anything, they were respected more simply for being there. Those guys really seemed well put together.

C. You’re not a failure for not knowing what you want to do right away or feeling a path isn’t the right one for you at this point in time. We’re all still learning about life and ourselves, you’re not always going to be a good fit on your first try. You may have the opportunity to loop back in the future if you feel up to it.

No matter what you end up going with, don’t feel pressured to be perfect or believe it’s the be all end all, you’re still working things out. 

Wishing you well!!