Ok,

I have a problem...a question...a thought...well I just need to get this out to a group of my highly educated about everything worldy friends here at FTE


School...

Erm, well I've been doing the post secondary thing now for 2 years. The problem is that I never know what I want to do...I am "good" at everything. Meaning:

I can today get up and sit at this computer and pop out some basic computer programs, or I can take in an order for my small business and organize an office installation, get together a few people to do it with me...set up the server(s) and the clients and go do the install.

Also I can do accounting...I'd rather be shot in the back 50x then have a career in accounting though. That's the program I am in now...I have no problem passing the courses without doing anywork...and if I missed a few classes I can cram and get 60-80 on a test depending on types of questions. (had trouble memorizing all my financial statement formats before my last accounting test and lost some marks)

Now I also like working outside, and I wouldn't mind doing a job in aggriculture. Unlikely as even though I've worked in that area in the past I have smaller roots and less ties then I do with other areas, I figure when I retire I'll buy a ranch and have a hobby farm until they bury me.


So now here is the hard part, the "track" I am on now is supposed to lead me to a corporate lawyer. But even though I know I CAN do that, I know law school is going to be hard. So this isn't "the easy route", on to the next part.

I was planning on going into computer engineering for some time. At the begining of highschool I was a waste of space and didn't do anything. So in math I struggled a bit to pull any decent marks in my senior grades. Couple that with the fact that I have a problem doing homework because I am always working...and when I'm not working I'm "taking a break". If I dont work for a couple days in a row then I start doing homework and being productive but when I am working 5-6 days straight even only 5 hours a day lets say after school for 8 hours. I find myself not doing much homework wise.

That said, as alot of you probably know engineering is basically math. so when I went to finish my OAC's (what I needed at the time to go straight from highschool to University) I dropped the math ones because I was barely passing (calculus and algebra)

I went to college engineering instead (where you dont need those classes) and I ended up transferring out because I was getting lousy marks (partly due to the fact that the guy I was "hanging out with was missing alot of classes and we carpooled...my fault for not going but that didn't help)

Here we are 1 year after I left comp. eng. in college, 2 years after I struggled through those highschool math courses (mind you my computer programming courses etc; are a joke for me and I enjoy them...alot, the problem resides in the maths)

And i am second guessing my decisions. All my "friends" I don't mean buddies that I go to the bar with, I mean my friends that I relate to and have alot of common with and enjoy talking to (in other words the ones that I dont think are a waste of air and space) are all in the computer engineering / science areas and they are passing me when we used to be equal...so I'm starting to loose touch with the education level in that area I had (ironic they still buy computer stuff from me heh)

Now, I don't know what I am looking for. Sorry if this is long...

I just wanted to see everyone's thoughts. After that ramble it comes down to:


Cont. with college, leave college when grad. goto university for a couple years to get B.A. Economics Honours, then off to law school.

OR

Finish up with this sem. of college, see if I have enough transfer credits to get into university as a "post secondary student" (I think I do they just wont give me any/many credits for this accounting stuff) and go in for computer eng. and try the maths again (and maybe some chem. which I also had a problem with) and just try harder? I'm not stupid, it's not that I can't do the math...I think...it's just that I need to actually "do the homework" so to speak...and not miss one day or I'll be lost.


Anyone have any thoughts? I know its my life and I need to decide but I am just wondering if after reading what I have thought (I typed it as it came to me) maybe someone can see what I'm thinking more clearly then me who is thinking it


If that even made any sense.

Lol.

Thanks,
Chad

 

Chado, the one of the hardest decisions you can make in life is the track that will lead you through your adult life. I was fortunate enough to Know what I wanted to do very early on. Very few of my friends and acquitances had this knowledge. It all comes down to a pretty simple question though. Which avenue will continue to challenge and keep you interest ten years from now, even twenty years from now. If it's the law, then go that route. If it's engineering, then you need to proverbially get your head out of your butt and put your nose to the grindstone. It seems to me you enjoy the computer aspect much more. Why else would you have a small business if not? Remember, even if you do choose something and five years from don't like it, you can always change your career, it's never too late.

 

You sound to me like someone who would be well suited for a technical college. Check out some of the courses they offer. Tech school courses are much more interesting for gearheads (like me).

 

I've been having the same problem as you, I was going to go into mechanical engineering, but i decided there was way too much math for me. So i started into a business degree, but then I found mechanical engineering technology. It's basically the same thing, just no theory stuff, and a lot less math. There's also an electical engineering technology, or you can do two years of each. It's a lot of hands on stuff, and you can get either an associates or bachelors in either one. And here's the good part. It pays almost as much as a regular engineer. I think it starts around 40k for MET. check it out and i hope this helps.

 

well....just in my experience, the easy route isn't always the best route....that being said chances are you won't be doing something directly related to the degree you get 10 years from now anyway. ( I read some survey that said you will switch careers...not jobs at least 2-4 times in your life). Go with something you enjoy doing .....nothing worse than doing something just because you make money and are miserable. I'd much rather have a lesser paying job and enjoy the job I had rather than make a lot of money.

I was the same way...hated homework, and always waited til the last minute to do it. Fortuneately, still able to squeak by on the tests. good luck with your decision, but follow your heart.

 

Thanks to all who threw in there $0.02.


I have decided to go back to Computer Engineering Technology. After examing Computer Engineering in university I decided that probably wasn't the best solution for me. So I am going to get my diploma in Eng. Tech (computer) and then if I want to I can get the degree completion at a university up north in 2 years.

This way I can either follow on with my business (which will have been in business for over 8 years by then) or I can go work for another company doing something to do with technology which I enjoy working with.


Thanks again,
Chado.