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How do you stay motivated? I find myself in college just very bored. My classes are Spanish 2, Calculus 3, Physics: Electricity and Magnetism, Computer Science: Discrete Mathematics, and Computer Engineering: Digital Design. Spanish, I basically know everything from high school, and it's a complete waste of my time. Calculus 3 seemed rather useless for most of the semester; however I was starting to understand the underlying principles the other day. The class is basically very difficult as well; I got a 95 on the first exam, then an 80 on the second, and I have absolutely no idea how I did on the exam I took just yesterday. Then there is Physics which has been a complete ball buster ever since I got into college. It's completely different than what we did in high school and just takes every ounce of energy out of me. I can't do the homework on my own most of the time, and it makes me feel very stupid. Computer Science as with all computer science classes I have taken in my life is really easy, likely because it's a low level class. Then Computer Engineering, the exams are simple; however the circuits I have to design are sometimes difficult.
I don't know what all of this means. I seem to have been struggling a lot these last two semesters. I ended up getting all A's in my classes last semester though. I just feel that the whole college experience is pointless for a major like computer science when programming is all about practice and actually writing things. Classes like Calculus 3 and Physics take away from this practice because they are difficult and most likely would be failed if the appropriate amount of time was not put in.
I feel I could be learning a lot more practical programming on my own and a lot of these classes are distractions. Should I just say screw it and learn on my own and whatever happens in those classes happens? Should I try to get straight A's and look good on paper and learn about things that aren't interesting or useful to me? Should I just drop out completely and call it a day? How much would that affect my chances of finding a job as a programmer? Should I switch majors even though I am good at the computer science classes but struggle with the other stuff like Calculus 3 and Physics?
Has anyone else had this experience? How do you stay motivated?
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Greg says:
Coding music...
Greg says:
Hmm...
Greg says:
I wouldn't rule it out. 
Chris 3.0 [New features? Yes.] says:
Greg says:
If you think about machine code it's a bunch of 1s and 0s
Chris 3.0 [New features? Yes.] says:
Anything is possible.
Greg says:
Yeah try to code Metallica
Chris 3.0 [New features? Yes.] says:
Yeah, I'll get right on that... right after I learn to fly.
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I feel I could be learning a lot more practical programming on my own and a lot of these classes are distractions. Should I just say screw it and learn on my own and whatever happens in those classes happens? Should I try to get straight A's and look good on paper and learn about things that aren't interesting or useful to me? Should I just drop out completely and call it a day? How much would that affect my chances of finding a job as a programmer? Should I switch majors even though I am good at the computer science classes but struggle with the other stuff like Calculus 3 and Physics? Has anyone else had this experience? How do you stay motivated? Not too long ago I was going through pretty much the same thing. The feeling and motivation is pretty similar, but I have a feeling the circumstances are a little bit different. For me, I already had work at a programming company. I was at one point in time flown up to Ohio for an interview with a firm there. The point of this is that I already had offers on the table at this point in time, not just the potential of offers. A lot of getting jobs and offers comes down to your ability to demonstrate your experience, but not having a degree definitely limited the number of options for places that I could apply. That's not to say that you can't get a job without a degree, because I did, but you have to be excellent and interviews and able to show them just how skilled you are. That said, it is possible to get a job without a degree, but you might find that you want to get one anyways. Though I chose to drop out of college, I intend to go back to a school higher on my list now that I can afford it. When, I don't know, but I will go back at some point in time. That said, if you enjoy programming, then stick with it. You shouldn't have too many more crap courses. If you feel it's too much could you take fewer classes? Although everyone wants to get done with school as soon as possible, if you need the time to focus on some of your classes, take less (if you aren't hindered by scholarship requirements and such [don't those suck]). If you are getting sick of that line of classes, take a semester and just take whatever courses you want to take. If you want to learn an instrument, take a music class, an art class, a language class, an interest class. Whatever, don't feel like you have to just do the classes that are on your graduation plan course list. Ultimately the choice is yours. When I was thinking about dropping out I talked to a bunch of people (friends, high school teachers, people further in the career than me). While they did give me some guidance, the choice came down to me. You can't really let anyone else affect your decision.
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I don't stay motivated. I almost didn't graduate (I found out I was graduating...on graduation day). As for college, I knew I wouldn't stay motivated, so I joined the military. That way, if I don't motivate myself, someone else will "motivate" me.
The only place I stay motivated is at my work (both current and past employers). I'm working for a tangible reward (money), so that motivates me to work. I want to keep my job, so that motivates me to work well. I want people to know they can depend on me, so I try to go out of my way for people, work for them whenever I can and they can't, so on and so forth. I figure they'll return the favor should the time come that I need to. So yeah. School doesn't really matter because whether you pass with and A or a D, you still pass and you get the same diploma. In the workforce, you have immediate, recognizable consequences to your efforts (or lack thereof). So I have no problem staying motivated at work. Just school. Which is why I said 'fuck college'.
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I dropped out. I had to. High school killed me near the end. I mean, quite literally to where the last month, I went to school maybe 2-3 times a week, and only stayed for two out of my four classes. People thought I wouldn't graduate, but I still graduated, and with honors. So whatever. They completely underestimated me. But just going right into college, tormented me. I wasn't ready for more schooling, and with everything else I had going on, I had lost my love for writing. And I've yet to gain it back. So majoring in journalism wasn't going to happen. From there, I had no idea what to major in, and I still really don't. So when my grades started getting extremely poor, and whatnot, I talked to people around me. My brother thought it was a bad idea, my sister supported me, my fiance supported me, and so did my mom, and friends. The whole "you'll never go back" thing isn't necessarily true. It's only true if you let it be. I just wasn't motivated. I wasn't ready for more schooling, and I just wanted to experience life without the stress of homework, tests, etc. etc. That and I didn't feel like wasting money on classes when my major was undecided. After all, who knew if those classes would even count towards whatever I end up in. And so I dropped out after second quarter (community colleges do three quarters, and summer is optional, so four all together). I told everyone I'd be going back next fall, but I'm still not any closer with choosing a major. I've had a few ideas here and there, but I'm just not sure how ideal they are yet. But we'll see. Basically my point is, taking time off is a choice you need to make. I agree with Eric, don't let anyone influence you. My brother is someone I've always hated disappointing, and he made me feel horrible for making the decision I made, but after a while it just sunk in that it's my life. Not his. And I know he was looking out for me, and trying to push me to do what he never did, but I need to do at my own pace. I have my whole life ahead of me, why waste the money and just fail because I lack the motivation? Good luck, hun. And if you ever need someone to talk to, you know how to get a hold of me.
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Wow, you people type a lot. o.o
I mainly just have trouble doing things I don't want to. The whole long-term reward vs instantaneous gratification thing really applies to me. Recently I've been getting better at doing things I don't want to, but I still need a lot of work.
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#intj (Mastermind)^
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