# Did you go to college or are you currently attending?



## Deleted member 235437 (Dec 14, 2016)

If you did go to college, when did you figure out what you wanted to do and what did you graduate with? if you're currently attending, do you know what you want to do? 

I don't really like talking about these things, it's a sensitive topic for me but I figured I'd ask you guys for some help. I finished with my bachelor's in biology last year, not the best GPA but I really just don't know what I want to do with it. It's been driving me crazy and has caused me to feel pretty worthless which is why I avoid thinking about it. But I really want to start this new year off right, and that mean working towards a goal. I just don't know what that goal is.

Reactions: Like 3 | Friendly 2


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## EJ (Dec 14, 2016)

glad i didn't go to college immediately after High School, since I didn't know what I wanted to do plus I probably would had dropped out due to expenses and my grades ending up being shit. i didn't take education seriously and only cared about making music

im taking college courses off and on now and my plan is to have a Bachelor's in Psychology within the next few years in which I will move on to getting a Master's in Psychology to eventually become a licensed Psychologist in the state of Maryland, New York or California.

what always puts me off at times is the fact that it's going to take over four years of education to get to that level but i remind myself "these four years are going to go by no matter what, might as well make what you can out of it".

it's definitely a killer at times managing a full-time job and being a part-time student, but i have to do what i have to do especially since i have the funds to go to college right now and not get into debt.


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## John Wick (Dec 14, 2016)

I've advised about a dozen of my younger family members on what they want to do and this is the advice I gave them hopefully it helps you as it helped most of them.

First of lets get this out of the way.

You graduated and have a degree, this is something to be proud of.

You need to ask yourself what interests you.

there's thousands of careers out there, so it first helps to know what you like to do? 

That's the rationale I used for deciding what I wanted to do in life, also I kind of knew what I wanted to do from my childhood.

I loved lego, mechano and model planes. I grew up watching transformers and gundam and dbz. So I gravitated towards a field where I thought I could do something to make my boyhood dream come true without being broke (I could have become a nuclear physisicst but my mum said she didn't want no starving scientist as a son)

When my brother was doing his A levels he didn't know what he wanted to do with his like kind of like you.

We sat down and talked about what he wanted to do. He wanted to help people who didn't have the same opportunities in life he'd been given, he wanted something challenging where he could fight and argue since he's an aggressive person. He wanted something where as he became more experienced he could do more to help rather than get further away from the people he's trying to help as he progresses with his career.

I told him to become a barrister focusing in human rights and child protection, since as he becomes more experienced and due to the Political correctness here in the UK as he gets more experienced they'll probably make him a judge by the age of 35.


Getting back to you.

What interests you in life?
What kind of role do you want? _You've said you work in retail so do you want something public facing, or no interaction etc_
What kind of balance do you want from your job? _are you more work driven or are you a balanced person that wants a balance between their personal and professional lives. My girlfriend is a barrister she chose that over finance because being in law means when we decide to have kids because she's self employed she can take time off to suit her and work as and when she pleases so her job is tailored around our life. It also means if I decide to give up work and stay at home she can go back to work if she wants to._
Are you willing to do something that might not be financially incentive? _One of my friends is a journalist for the guardian, he loves his job but he's a broke friend. _


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## Stunna (Dec 14, 2016)

Third year of college; still figuring some things out.


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## Virus (Dec 14, 2016)

Khaleesi said:


> If you did go to college, when did you figure out what you wanted to do and what did you graduate with? if you're currently attending, do you know what you want to do?
> 
> I don't really like talking about these things, it's a sensitive topic for me but I figured I'd ask you guys for some help. I finished with my bachelor's in biology last year, not the best GPA but I really just don't know what I want to do with it. It's been driving me crazy and has caused me to feel pretty worthless which is why I avoid thinking about it. But I really want to start this new year off right, and that mean working towards a goal. I just don't know what that goal is.



I have a bachelors in molecular biology so I think I am closest to your situation. I am currently in my last year in my masters in m.biology.

I understand your frustration and it is something that I too have felt theoughout my time in uni. I don't know what kind of biologist you are but both green and white biology have difficulties finding jobs in the industry. However in academia the outcomes are quite better. The majority of alumni from Lund university where I study have continued with a PhD. Some have become high school teachers while a little minority work in pharmaceutical industries. Don't know how it is in Canada though.

Personally I am currently doing my masters project in stem cell and neuro-oncology. Next term I will do a 6 month project in stem cell biology and after that (beginning of 2018) apply for a PhD position.

I really understand what you are going through. There are days where I think about the shitty economy I will have and contemplate if it really is worth it. I am almost starting to hate the environment and the people. I feel the best when I lab but the people not so much.

And I can't say that I am happy with my life rn. But this is mostly due to my social life being non existent.


So it really matters on what your goals are? Are you interested about research? Will you start your masters and in what subject?

All the best!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Bender (Dec 14, 2016)

While I am largely passionate about Anime/Manga,comics music were a huge influence in my life; the times however, have switched my interests. 

There's such an insane amount of injustice in society that if I stuck to something as minuscule as being an Anime writer/director, Mangaka, or music artist I'd regret my opportunity to make a mark on society forever.

And as I've told everyone millions of times before: going into law enforcement is my idea of making my mark on society. I love people and believe that mediating and preventing escalating disputes is a good way to protect the people I love.

IMO I think it was the death of my cousin a while ago that made me think this way.


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## John Wick (Dec 14, 2016)

@Neurovirulent 

That's why I work in designing bombs and missile we're never going to stop murdering one another job security for life


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## Virus (Dec 14, 2016)

VAK said:


> @Neurovirulent
> 
> That's why I work in designing bombs and missile we're never going to stop murdering one another job security for life


Lol 
Dont want to derail thread but:
How do you feel about that?


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## John Wick (Dec 14, 2016)

Neurovirulent said:


> Lol
> Dont want to derail thread but:
> How do you feel about that?


Like wherner von braun said

It was successful but it fell on the wrong planet.

I actually wanted to work on space propulsion but long story short ended up doing something completely different. 

Besides stuff I work on ain't meant for people.


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## Biothrang (Dec 14, 2016)

I've always hated school and saw no point to it. I really should've failed a lot of my damn classes. But since my mother was a teacher within the district, my teachers passed me with a C- even if I should've had an F-. Went through all these years and then when I went to college, I had no idea wtf was going on because I thought the same shit was gonna happen--because why the fuck wouldn't it?--but it didn't and I got depressed anf flunked the fuck out. I wanted to take a year off of school but no one listened to me. Nope nope. So after that, I went to community college but dropped out after, what, two months after I got a job? So now I'm just working and working on getting a fanbase for a webseries I want to do. But if that don't happen in 5-6 years, I'm gonna go back to college and go through the system.


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## The Gr8 Destroyer (Dec 14, 2016)

Have a bachelor's, have an MBA, have another certification thing. I make good money but would not say I am doing what I want to do and probably never will.

I came to a realization after working now for 24 years and having a career for 13 years.  If you want to be happy you have to fall in one of two categories and both are perfectly ok. You either find a job that is your passion in life or you find a job that provides you with an income that allows you to pursue your passions outside of work.  The biggest mistake you can make is to think the only way you can be happy is if what you do for a living must somehow fulfill some passion and make you feel whole. That's crap make a living that's all you need.


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## sworder (Dec 14, 2016)

Biology? Is that like arts?

Seriously tho I got my BS in EE and I still don't know what to do with it. It's pretty normal, especially since not everyone gets the job they want straight out of uni

Go on careerbuilder and search around for random job openings and you might come across something you might like


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## Mider T (Dec 14, 2016)

I'm sure @Mael has something to say here.


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## Pocalypse (Dec 15, 2016)

Graduated in Forensic Computing last year.

Seems like I'll be getting a job in Networking and Cyber Security rather than digital forensics if my panel interview + one more interview goes right in about 3-4 months (this shit is a long process, start dates in September too!), it's not the field I wanted to get in but finding a Forensic job has been tough, it's still a new field and not many Forensic companies out there so I'm glad I learned Networking in Uni, working with routers, switches etc

IT has been my speciality so I went into that but I wish I had chosen a more popular field (Networking or Computer Science) to work with so I could've gotten a job during the year I graduated instead of waiting this long.


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## Saru (Dec 15, 2016)

I'm actually an interesting case. I went to college for a year, got a 4.0, then did a summer research internship (REU) at another uni before transferring to a different (read: higher ranked) school. The internship was really fun and eye-opening, but it made me realize what sort of options I'd have after graduation (and I wasn't really fond of them). After transferring, I didn't do so hot GPA-wise, and it was mostly due to apathy with my major.

Now, I'm taking a break from school to basically figure out what it is that I wanted to do, because I clearly had no idea before. I always said that I wanted to be a doctor, for example, and I took a lot of steps towards that (internship freshman year, research, leadership positions, etc.), but the more education and experience I got, the more disenchanted I became with that goal. I was going for a B.S. in Engineering BTW. I can give more details via PM, but I don't want to give too much information since it can probably be used to identify me. I'm planning to go back to school next fall, but I'm taking steps now to do something that caters more to my interests and abilities, and if I end up having a lot of success with these ventures, I may not go back to school.

My number one advice to you would be to figure out what your talents and passions are, then _*chase*_ after them with a renewed vigor. Getting job experience and doing more research about the kind of work you can do is extremely helpful. Chances are, there's a job out there that fits you like a glove, you just have to look for it. IDK about you, @Khaleesi, but I was always someone who just kind of went with the flow and was naturally good at match/science, and so my parents (and teachers, friends, family members) just had expectations for me to become a doctor. I think I let other people's expectations of me color my own expectations too much. I more or less had a yellow-brick road to success paved before me my freshman/sophomore year, but I didn't like the destination, so I went another direction. I want to do something that I'm both good at and enjoy (in terms of work and lifestyle), and I wasn't going to find that in medicine or engineering. Others may be different.

Like I said, if anyone wants to talks specifics via PM with me, they can. This is a pretty personal topic TBH.

Reactions: Like 2


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## John Wick (Dec 15, 2016)

@Saru

Become an engineer we're the rockstars of the world we get all the girls and are hella cool

Also I was going to do medicine because I was getting pushed towards it glad I didn't because I'd be miserable

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Mider T (Dec 15, 2016)

Also lol school.


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## Swarmy (Dec 23, 2016)

I miss university


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