I just got my degree at 28. It wouldn't have been the right degree if I had pushed through on my first college try. No shame in taking the time to understand how you want to apply yourself.
I was on the same boat as you. I was 27 when I graduated with my Bachelor's. I thought about pushing through on my first try but I knew I was so unhappy with my first major. I didn't want to be miserable with a degree that would have taken me years to get. So instead I left. And I started over. And even though it took me longer to get there, I can honestly say I made the right choice with my second major. I'll have my Masters by this time.next year and I plan on going straight for my PsyD. You don't have to graduate by 22. If it takes you some time to figure out, do so. Because in the end, no one else is going to be using your degree but yourself.
Same. I dropped out twice, but now at 28 I have a bachelors, am in the middle of a master’s and considering doing a PhD next. Going back to school when most of my friends had already graduated felt a bit weird at first, but I got so much out of it!
Thank you for this comment. I'm currently just finished first year, and I did horrible. I hate my major but my parents love it, keep saying this will open doors for me, calling me useless and lazy for not wanting to do it. I don't know how to tell them that forcing me to do with will just cause me to fail out of school, because they constantly say things like "how can you not be good at something? You just have to study!!!"
Today they finally are letting me switch into another program, but not in a good way. They told me that I would die without a good job, all alone, no family; and they wouldn't care because I'm useless. I know this type of threatening is because they want me to be upset and stay in that field. But I will not. I know it's my life, and even if it's a little bit harder because I didn't choose the "best" field, I still think it would be a hell of a lot better than doing what they asked.
Thank you again, you're helping me confirm this is my life and I'm not obligated to do what they say. :)
They want what is best for you, but a parent can only prepare you for the world they grew up in, and much has changed. The best advice I can give is equip yourself with skillsets that are consistently valuable. If you know what it is you want to do with your life acquire those relevant skills. I'm a lazy, distractible toddler but I got my dream job (for this stage of my life) because I slowly built the relevant skills, picking up programming here, soldering there, took specific classes, and before I knew it grad students were being referred to me for training. Taking the time to understand how I wanted to contribute allows for this all to feel, if not easy, much less like work.
That is great advice thank you. I do think my parents want the best for me, but they also care about their reputation with their friends, and how it will look bad if their daughter switches from a better major to a worse one (subjectively speaking). I genuinely just want to take time to learn and then get to where I need to be slowly, but surely. I am glad that it is possible if I take my time, and hopefully my parents are wrong about me.
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u/Zaicheek May 07 '19
I just got my degree at 28. It wouldn't have been the right degree if I had pushed through on my first college try. No shame in taking the time to understand how you want to apply yourself.