My future

[Broncies_18]

Hey guys first time posting so I'll try and keep this as short as possible but this is my situation, as a first time uni student I entered the year happy and excited about the opportunity of entering uni (UQ business management). However half way through, the course and degree I was doing was complete rubbish and for me persoanlly I wasn't learning, felt lonely and missing my mates who were either doing a trade or at other unis. I applied for a transfer to QUT and got accepted and took that opportunity with both hands.

Throughout my schooling years I wasn't academically talented and found it hard but still got through with a B average and when I got to uni, the learning experience was not what I had expected and found it difficult to adjust. The month leading up to final exams, I showed signs of very bad anxiety and even had an attack at one stage. I think a combination of both loneliness, not seeking help and being miserable in what I was studying may have contributed to this but I'm not sure.

Starting a fresh at a new uni in a much more interesting degree I will hopefully be more motivated in my studys but if I still find next semester hard and unmotivated, should I defer for a semester to a year and undertake an apprenticeship (always had an interest) to get my mind off studying and be able to learn new things and experience more in life other than uni.

Cheers

[geoff]

hi Broncies, thanks for posting your comment and after reading your comment my answer doesn't have to be long because if you start at a new uni, maybe different course sounds to be exciting for you, but you won't know how you feel until you are well into the course and swamped by anxiety once again there's no point to continue on, so I would suggest for you to defer for whatever period of time you feel you need to, and then go out and get an apprenticeship in what you have always wanted to do, it's sounds to be what you want.
If you are at uni your mind may probably be on applying for this app/ship then that's what you should do, to experience the world and learn a trade, and that's what I feel is all you want to do.
Let us know what happens and it's not good to keep procrastinating, go and do it.
You can always study later on but once you have a trade who cares. Geoff.

[Broncies_18]

Thanks mate, I will be studying property economics so it's quite interesting and I have a lot of my mates doing it so certainly won't be as alone as I was at UQ. Uni is certainly not the be all and all and if it doesn't work for me then so be it, doing a trade wouldn't hurt at all.

[geoff]

thanks Broncies, good on you, I'm pleased for you and you have another option tucked away which is even better.
Can I ask what type of trade interests you. Geoff.

[Broncies_18]

I have been looking at plumbing over the last couple of weeks and it seems pretty interesting. At least doing a trade I will pick up practical skills whilst being paid for it even though it might not be great, I will still feel like I'm doing something rather than learning about stuff for 13 weeks racking up 5k in debt along the way only to then stress about not passing and find out just before the next semester starts that you have failed one or two subjects and having to repeat them extending you time at uni.

I'm not like a lot of my mates as I'm thinking about my future 10 years down the road instead of the now and where I want my future to be. And uni for me is a thing that my family expected of me to do rather than what I wanted to do. I attended a private school in Brisbane, I have had a stable upbringing and my family thinks that uni is the only option and in entering uni, I have found that it is not the case despite what my parents think.

So plumbing definitely interests me and so does being a sparky so I'll decide in the next 6 months or so what I want to do I mean I'm still young an fit and may as well use that to my advantage.

[PatT]

Hey Broncies,

If uni has got you stressing as much as it has then yeah, I'd consider doing looking at something else. I remember starting uni and the first year was such a period of disillusionment. I was pretty bummed out and lonely, didn't really enjoy it, thought it was so much more important than it was. Ended up transferring to a different uni, still didn't enjoy it but I've just put up with it.

I think some people really enjoy the whole university experience - meeting people, learning new stuff, going out and partying with people from uni, having a social life there. I've never really related though and I know a bunch of people that feel the same. Plus you have the advantage of pretty much guaranteed employment with a trade. I'm halfway through a masters in public health and I have no idea what I'm going to do when I finish besides trying to pay off the last 6 years of studying.

University isn't what it's made out to be. If you're worried about your parents response then explain to them how you're feeling because you've made a pretty good case to us.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Broncies 18,

I agree here with PatT. If uni has you stressing and you feel pressured to complete a degree, I don't think that you're doing it for the right reasons.

In my experience, lots of my friends went to uni because they wanted to study the same courses and be together; and ultimately uni is not always like that - friends drift apart sometimes, you get partnered with other people, might be in different lectures. So while the idea of being with your friends studying at uni is great - at the end of the day, it's you, your debt and your uni degree.

Deciding whether to do a trade or a uni degree is not an easy decision, but it's only your choice to make (not your parents). Plumbing and business management are very different pathways to take; have you thought about what sort of work environment you'd like to work in a few years down the track?

Yes - uni has the 5k debt, but the techniques you'd learn about business would enable you to work in quite senior management and business roles. With this degree, you'd be more likely to have to work in the city rather than the country for career outcomes - depending of course where you wanted to work. It's very much an inside job - lots of meetings, interacting with people, networking.

Plumbing on the other hand - career outcomes are generally good because it's needed in both the city and the country. You're still interacting with people but not at the same level, a lot more working on your own, less deadlines/meetings, but the work environment might not always be a lovely airconditioned office 😉

Something to think about anyway. Good luck

[Broncies_18]

Yeh I will see how I got next semester because I've always been interested in the business world and I think I just picked the wrong degree first up and property seems very interning as its both financial and construction focused which sounds interesting to me for sure.

The good thing for me is im guaranteed a job if I finish my degree as my dad is quite successful in the property world and he said i would have no problem getting a job. Problem is am I going to finish that's the question and I unsure at this stage after hating first semester at Uq time will tell if next semester I will enjoy it or not.

[Broncies_18]

In regards to environment, I couldn't really care too much because at the end of the day your employed to do a job and you need to do it regardless of the environment.

Also that business management degree was complete BS and thus I transferred unis to a different degree called property economics and by looking at te subjects, it looks very interesting and best part is that most of it is practical apart from the few theoretical subjects.

Doing a trade can give me some very practical skills and I think growing up my parents and wider family were deadset on me attending Uni therefore I attended private school. My wider family are all very successful business wise like my uncle is a CFO, my dads a director and my grandad owned his own real estate company so my family has always been in that sort of industry. I guess my mindset is different in life and the fact that I have been considering both options is a testament to that in the sense that I am different from everyone else.

I mentioned to my mum the other day about my uni struggles and lack of motivation and stress and she said its all natural and I'll be fine and when I mentioned that if I struggle next semester, I would consider deferring for a year and undertake an spprenticeship, she sort of scoffed at the idea as if I wasn't being serious.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Broncies 18,

Yes that's true - at the end of the day you are employed to do a job and you need to do it. You're absolutely right. But I still stand by what I say; the working environment is what you spend maybe 7 or 8 hours a day in, 5 days a week. It's a fair chunk of your time. I know I personally would rather do a job I enjoy in an environment I like then just a job that pays the bills.

It sounds like you have a pretty good insight into what you're interested in and what you want to do.

Good luck