Current Events > I don't even want my degree any more

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Shit sucks and life is depressing. Started out in 2020 when I was teleworking and had all the time in the world and it was fun. And now I probably won't even complete the program until 2025. I am burned out, the classes feel like they are repeating themselves, I still don't have a vision for actually using the degree in a future career still, and my discipline and study habits are even worse than they've ever been which just results in a lot of unnecessary anxiety due to pushing deadlines on assignments.

I don't even know what I'm doing any more. Have to turn in a first draft of a research paper by tomorrow and I have a general idea on what sort of resources I need to incorporate in there but besides that I'm at a loss for how to even write and formulate my shit.

Need to rant because I have nowhere else to go.

Nothing wrong with needing to rant.

Is it studying itself thats wearing you down or the subject matter?

Yeaaaah, I've been there. That pretty much exactly describes my experience with online college so far.

Glob posted...

Nothing wrong with needing to rant.

Is it studying itself thats wearing you down or the subject matter?

I don't even know if you could call what I do any more "studying". I find myself skipping reading materials here and there because they start to feel like "nice to know tangential backstory". The last class I took, the text book felt more like a technical catalogue of sensors being marketed to private multibillion dollar companies rather than an actual exploration and explanation of the technology and techniques that are used in the field.

Subject matter is also kind of tiring. I just feel like I start a new class and there's some new information and then it starts to feel all very similar to what I've already seen and done. I don't know how many times I've seen the "Danger of a single story" TED Talk - don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful lecture. I just ... don't feel the need to watch it for the dozenth time before I write my introduction post about why I want the degree.

So. It's pretty much everything. Doesn't help my wife doesn't really seem to support me any more - I try to take care of her and our daughter as best as possible, I am the single source of income at this point in time so I'm trying to take care of work plus family plus school and then we're butting heads because neither one of us really has our own time for ourselves. I offer to stop taking classes and she tells me I need to keep going but then when I try to "schedule" some study time it's never convenient for her. So I end up doing what I'm doing tonight, procrastinating until midnight to get started on something and maybe getting a couple hours of work in on it so I can finish it tomorrow before the deadline.

Super_Slash posted...

Yeaaaah, I've been there. That pretty much exactly describes my experience with online college so far.

How far are into it are you and how has your experience been? Are you at least looking forward to finishing it?

Hexenherz posted...

How far are into it are you and how has your experience been? Are you at least looking forward to finishing it?

Like three semesters in. I enjoyed the first one for sure, but then the degree I was going for got moved to a transfer degree. Ever since, I've kind of hated it. It feels like a chore. I don't care much about graduating one way or another.

i was in the same boat, I started my masters program the semester before the 2020 pandemic. I was originally supposed to graduate in 2021, but after a few deaths in the family, the inability to go physically in person for some required lab work (im in biology), and hating every class online. I almost did not want to finish it. But I'm so close to finishing it now I can see the finish line. It just sucked when a 2 year program got extended to 4 years for me cuz of a global pandemic and personal issues.

Other than just sticking to your potential degree, if you're not feeling it rn, maybe take a semester or 2 off, maybe forcing yourself to go to isn't working and you're feeling dragged down by it. The best time to take time off is usually spring semester cuz iirc for a lot of universities, they dont count summer as a semester you've taken off and if you take too many semesters off you'll have to reapply to the university.

Super_Slash posted...

Like three semesters in. I enjoyed the first one for sure, but then the degree I was going for got moved to a transfer degree. Ever since, I've kind of hated it. It feels like a chore. I don't care much about graduating one way or another.

Have you looked into a different but similar degree? Sucks you hit that point at just three terms in

0Renegade posted...

i was in the same boat, I started my masters program the semester before the 2020 pandemic. I was originally supposed to graduate in 2021, but after a few deaths in the family, the inability to go physically in person for some required lab work (im in biology), and hating every class online. I almost did not want to finish it. But I'm so close to finishing it now I can see the finish line. It just sucked when a 2 year program got extended to 4 years for me cuz of a global pandemic and personal issues.

Other than just sticking to your potential degree, if you're not feeling it rn, maybe take a semester or 2 off, maybe forcing yourself to go to isn't working and you're feeling dragged down by it. The best time to take time off is usually spring semester cuz iirc for a lot of universities, they dont count summer as a semester you've taken off and if you take too many semesters off you'll have to reapply to the university.

Congrats on finding your second wind and making it this far, and sorry for your losses. Biology sounds exciting.

I did take off two terms last year, got back into it with the Spring term this year. Started with two classes, did fine, then tried with two classes again and ended up having to drop to one, and now I'm in my third term back.

oh and I didn't even get any work done last night beyond typing up the header for the page. great.

the worst is the countless hours of procrastination spent just screwing around on internet forums, not even relaxing and playing games or anything and stressing about assignments until I force something out and get it submitted with two minutes to the deadline.

Hexenherz posted...

Have you looked into a different but similar degree? Sucks you hit that point at just three terms in

I have, but meh. College is over valued by society and it's not even guaranteed to pay off. Most stuff you learn in college can be found just from searching on the internet so the only real point in attending school is to get a piece of paper that will, if you're lucky, land you a decent job.

I was too stupid to go to university so thats a regret Ill never have to have, thankfully.

Super_Slash posted...

I have, but meh. College is over valued by society and it's not even guaranteed to pay off. Most stuff you learn in college can be found just from searching on the internet so the only real point in attending school is to get a piece of paper that will, if you're lucky, land you a decent job.

I agree that a lot of this is all available online, and even for free most of the time. But I think college studies have been able to put a lot of the information into perspective and also guide my learning - I wouldn't know where to start if I wasn't taking these courses. I guess maybe now that I do know what's out there I could probably ditch it for self-study.

Though I've encountered several students now who actually have many years of experience in this field but who are coming to school for a professional certification, too, so I think there is still benefit in it all.