I'm having doubts about the career I chose. I'm 24 years old, and I'm studying electrical engineering at the moment , but I'm starting to dislike it (I find some subjects EXTREMELY BORING). Next year, I'm thinking about dropping out of college and start studying to go to medical school, which is the course that I really wanted, ( I know it sounds really dumb, but I took certain paths in life that led me far away from my goal )....
the problem is that :
* I feel VERY old (if I stay on engineering , in about 3 years I will have a degree. If I try medical school, , I would finish college with 32-33)
* I live with my grandparents, and I depend on them financially. I'm very afraid that if I change my course, they die when I’m in the middle of medical school. In that case, I would have to drop out, and find a ordinary job so I don’t starve to death.
Honestly i don’t know if I give up having a degree earlier to follow my childhood dream, or i continue engineering until I find a subject / area that i will enjoy studying, and maybe even working in the future ...
Its too late to achieve financial independence only after my 30’s? Throw away my final 20’s having no money, and pass my weekends studying in my bedroom while everyone is having a life outside, OR have a lifetime working on something so boring that i want to kill myself every day ? It’s too late to make a decision like this?
This dilemma, has been killing me since the beginning of the year, when I tried to drop out of college and put my plan into practice, but I ended up giving up because i had FEAR. What should I do? I’m crying almost every week thinking that maybe I throwed away the best years of my life studying something that I think it was the best for me, for the wrong reasons (money, mainly).
PS: I do not live in the United States, so I don’t have to pay ONE CENT for my education , which makes my case less terrible I think because If I change my course i didn’t spent money at least, only life years …
ugh this is so tough and so hard for me to comment on because i feel like my advice would be **** but i am going to try...
so i am in my late 20s and i still don't know what i want to do. i have done an apprenticeship for 2 years and then went to university for another 3.5 and then worked a bit in customer service which anyone could have done. wanted to kill myself every day working that job. it let to a major depressive episode which i was barely able to manage only after thankfully getting the right meds to keep me going. i quit my job and lived in Canada for a year (best decision ever!!!) and only worked like super random jobs like sales person and room attendant. but honestly? i was happier than i had ever been in an office job with a steady income and regular work hours.
now that i am back home (even though only temporarily) i work in a restaurant and a café and just barely make ends meet. for me it is more about not hating to go to work, not hating to get up every day, not wanting to actively die every single day. it's tough. i haven't found what i really enjoy doing and that actually pays money to maintain a somewhat normal life style. it's tough if you live in a bigger city (i'm in Europe) and have to pay rent and living expenses because minimum wage is way too low.
if i have learned anything it is that you should always do what YOU want to do, not what other people want or expect you to do. find yourself (that sounds silly), try different jobs and things and see what you enjoy doing and then go with that. you are "only" 24.. there is so much time. maybe quit school for a bit and work random jobs and see whether you like it or can really see yourself going back to school and following your dreams. i worry about wasting my time ALL the time. i feel like a failure most days, like i am never going to have a "proper" job and having people constantly judge me. it's tiring. i hope you can figure it out though, don't stress about the age thing, try to figure out what you love and what feels good. it'll be fine ;)
ugh this is so tough and so hard for me to comment on because i feel like my advice would be **** but i am going to try...
so i am in my late 20s and i still don't know what i want to do. i have done an apprenticeship for 2 years and then went to university for another 3.5 and then worked a bit in customer service which anyone could have done. wanted to kill myself every day working that job. it let to a major depressive episode which i was barely able to manage only after thankfully getting the right meds to keep me going. i quit my job and lived in Canada for a year (best decision ever!!!) and only worked like super random jobs like sales person and room attendant. but honestly? i was happier than i had ever been in an office job with a steady income and regular work hours.
now that i am back home (even though only temporarily) i work in a restaurant and a café and just barely make ends meet. for me it is more about not hating to go to work, not hating to get up every day, not wanting to actively die every single day. it's tough. i haven't found what i really enjoy doing and that actually pays money to maintain a somewhat normal life style. it's tough if you live in a bigger city (i'm in Europe) and have to pay rent and living expenses because minimum wage is way too low.
if i have learned anything it is that you should always do what YOU want to do, not what other people want or expect you to do. find yourself (that sounds silly), try different jobs and things and see what you enjoy doing and then go with that. you are "only" 24.. there is so much time. maybe quit school for a bit and work random jobs and see whether you like it or can really see yourself going back to school and following your dreams. i worry about wasting my time ALL the time. i feel like a failure most days, like i am never going to have a "proper" job and having people constantly judge me. it's tiring. i hope you can figure it out though, don't stress about the age thing, try to figure out what you love and what feels good. it'll be fine ;)
I know man, at least i kinda figured out that i don't wanna be a engineer! I will try to work on my self esteem , because the way till i enter in medical school will be hard!
Hey, I am not going to lecture you about 24 not being old....but I do think that there are a few options for you. Family expectations are a serious pressure, and from my experience I've had to wait until I was....a lot older than you to follow my dreams. Have you ever met an electrical engineer? Have you ever worked in a doctor's office? Maybe you can see if you can get some meet and greet and shadowing opportunities to see if either lifestyle is right for you.
Entering the world of work may also help, and maybe there is an opportunity to work over summer in either setting to get a feel for the work.
Definitely try to talk to your grandparents. I did have the actual experience of someone who was supporting me dying, and having to put my dreams on pause. However, I didn't stop dreaming. Eventually I got to follow my dream. Things aren't better as a result- because I still live with mental health issues, but I do count my blessings and take each day at a time.
If you are doing something you love, there are no rules about what age you are or have to be to reach your dreams.
Last edited by bitomato : 21-12-2018 at 04:28 AM.
Reason: editing
~Happy tomatoes together we will be~
You say toe- may- toe, I say toe- mah- toe:
Let's call the whole thing- red
“It’s time to lead the third revolution, which is not to say we want to be at the top of the world, but to say we want to change the world. Because the way the world has been designed by men is not working. It’s not working for women, it’s not working for men,
it’s not working for polar bears.” Arianna Huffington 2014
If you think you’re going to end up hating working in engineering then there’s not a lot of point carrying on - don’t carry on down a path that you think will end in unhappiness.
You won’t be the only person who has switched degrees or retrained for a different career later in life. I’m already in my 30s and I’m retraining in law; it’s a lot of work, but I enjoy it and I don’t regret it at all.
Do what you think will make you happy
