Im in my 2nd year of uni and can not see the point to anything anymore

My family have extremely high expectations of me to do really well and walk out of uni with a really well paying job but theres no gantuee of work with the degree im doing and im jelous of those who have a gantueed job after uni. And i cant get part time work anywhere cause of my age and uni time table, my family are refusing to help me financially as im going broke while at uni

What do i do

Hi Lauren57

My heart goes out to you whilst you're feeling the stress/pressure involved in meeting commitments at this time in your life.

Wondering if you've had a look at the Australian Government - Dept of Human Services website regarding 'Payments for students and trainees'. I imagine there will also be some financial assistance resources the university can steer you towards.

Of course, I can't help but wonder whether you wholeheartedly wanted to undertake this degree yourself. Not sure if it was something you were pressured into, by your family. Perhaps you were in a situation where it seemed like a good idea at the time (taking this direction), when the pressure was on to choose what you were going to do after secondary school. If the degree is something you wish to have under your belt for experience sake, completing it sounds like the way to go, even if you don't follow through in this particular field after Uni.

If you're only doing this to please others, I'm curious to know 'Who do you want to be?' I ask this for good reason: I once heard someone say 'Do not ask the question 'What do I want to do?' in order to find direction, instead ask 'Who do I want to be?' This will guide you in regard to remaining true to your nature.' A great piece of advice. Typically, once we begin to steer away from our true nature, life does tend to become more difficult.

You may be going through a time of asking a lot of questions Lauren57 for questioning does become an important part of the reassessment process. Many questions are often asked before the answers which serve us best come along. Keep in mind, the answers which serve us best may be those that upset others whose expectations are high. Again, the most important question remains 'Who do I want to be?' not 'Who do others want me to be?' The path which asks that we remain true to our self is a challenging path indeed.

Take care of yourself Lauren57

thank you for your response

the degree i am undertaking was not my plan in the first place it was a backup plan and im 12 months of finishing it

I looked at doing a transfer but i dont know if i should finish my current degree then do something else

Hi Lauren57

Hmmm... that is a tricky one! If the current study involves a variety of possible paths to be accessed somewhere down the track (even those a little outside the square not yet considered), could be worth hanging in there and researching the financial assistance aspect.

As I've mentioned to a few people lately, it's a shame we're not taught the art of disappointment: When we appoint our self a role to play in life, the process of dis-appointing our self from that role should not be any harder than it needs to be. Easier said than done, hey?! We've come to automatically associate the word 'disappointment' with a lot of negative stuff, as it's lost its original meaning. Typically, the negative feelings associated with disappointment are only felt when a disappointment is not accepted (by either our self or others).

No matter what you end up deciding to do Lauren57, try to never say or believe the words 'I am a disappointment', instead try saying 'I have disappointed myself from a role I am no longing wishing to play or fill'. Putting 'from' and such in there makes all the difference. If you transfer, the same deal applies.

Take care Lauren57 and remember to always remain conscious of the roles you choose to take on whilst exploring the possibilities life has to offer.

Dear Lauren

Thank you for telling us your story. It's certainly got a few twists in it.

Transferring from one degree to another can be the right choice or not. It depends on why you change and what you end up with. What is it you want out of life? Is it going to be achieved with your current degree? Is it possible to transfer and retain credits or will you need to start from the beginning with a new degree? Do you think you may as well complete this degree because it's a shame to waste what you have already achieved? These are all questions only you can answer.

My advice, for what it's worth, is to go with your heart. Do what makes your heart sing. therising has suggested you talk to the Dept of Human Services (CentreLink) website regarding 'Payments for students and trainees This is a great suggestion as you may get assistance to enable you to complete your degree or another degree, whichever you want to do.

One suggestion is to have a chat to your uni counsellors. They are usually up to date with what can be done and can help you make a decision you feel comfortable with.

I hope you will continue to chat here and discuss options etc.

Mary

thank you

I still haven't decided about which uni degree to go with yet

I have spoken to Centrelink and they said that my parent's wages are too high to receive those payments and im at the point of questioning if i should be here at uni

Hello Lauren

How are you going? May I ask what degree you are studying at the moment and which degree you would transfer to if possible. It seems that your discussion with yourself is a little abstract without focussing on either what you want or where you can go with the qualifications. It appears you are juggling several balls in the air and as each one comes down you are trying to catch it and then moving to catch the next ball. Hope that makes sense.

Why not go back to the beginning and ask yourself what you want to do with your life. Not what others are doing no matter how successful they seem to be. What is it that makes you happy, what prospect looks good to you because this is where you want to be. I feel that until you can get this straight in your mind you will always be unsure of how to reach your goal.

Completing your current degree seems like a good idea because you will have a tangible achievement. Changing to another course seems good because it will start you on your journey to where you want to be. But neither option is meeting your needs because you do not know what your needs are. It is quite common for students to start study in one area and change to another a year or so later. Great idea if you know what you want or where you want to go.

Another option is to take a break for a year and get a job to make you independent or at least top up your resources. Again this needs to be part of the bigger picture. I suggested you talk to your uni counsellors as this discussion is common. What you want needs to be your decision based on your ambitions rather than wondering how you can compete with other people out there in the market.

Is all this making sense to you? I hope so because I think you will continue to waiver and allow your future career to be decided by your parents or others until you have a clear picture of what you want.

Lauren, have a chat with a counsellor who has no preconceived about you or your future and let them help you unravel what feels good to you. I think your decisions will fall into place once you understand where you are going. Write in here as much as you wish. We are always here and happy to support you in whatever path you travel.

Mary

Thanks, Mary

I am Currently studying a Bachelor of Health Science Majoring Public Health and Public Promotion and am considering changing to Highschool Teaching

the reason I am considering this change as I cannot see myself gaining work in my health science degree once I have finished. due to not being able to gain part-time as I don't have experience and there is more demand for work with high school students

Hello Lauren

Wow, I am impressed with your degree. It sounds like you could have a great career in this field. Every employer wants someone who is experienced in the job but it's a little unrealistic to expect to hire only experienced staff. How did all the experienced staff get their job?

If you change to teaching will the completed part of this degree count towards your teacher's degree? The most important question however is, do you want to teach? Your degree in health science should take you to many places. I don't know that there are fewer chances in this field than teaching. Is this something you have been told by your family?

The two areas of competency in the two degrees are very different. What sort of job do you want? Do you think you will like teaching high school students? It can be an anxiety making role. With the other degree I would expect you to be with new people quite often but not trying to teach. The interactions would be adult to adult while in school it will be adult to child. I am concerned you are being pushed into teaching. Is this the case?

Studying for a degree is something you need to do for yourself. No matter what everyone else wants from you. I am not convinced you have chosen teaching, I know this is only my opinion and others may differ again. They may suggest something that is completely different. Write it down on your little list of achievers.

I think you should start by looking at what is available but in study and job related areas. I thought you had settled with the unknown degree. It is entirely up to you to squeeze as much as you can in any job.

I will leave you to decide which of these two decisions will be the best for you. Please let us know how you are going.

Mary

its been a while since the last post I managed to get through second year for those wondering

I'm currently completing third year but I've had two failed subjects over the summer which has really knocked my confidence and I'm doubting my abilities. therefore I'm questioning everything about the degree and if its gonna have a purpose when I finish. As I feel useless and why do I even bother trying as its the same with trying to find part-time work as I've been looking for parttime work for the last 3 years. I can't seem to get out of this cycle and its starting to really wear me down

I'm so embarrassed to tell my family about it because of their expectations of me

Lauren - off you go to Centrelink and get your finances sorted.

Hi

Grt 123

Im on centerlink but it all goes on university fees

Are you obliged to pay your uni fees immediately? I thought they were left until you completed your degree and had a job?

Mary

Hi mary course fees i can do it that way but its accommodation fees that chew through it as im 3 hours from home

Regardless of what degree you do - the important thing is to finish. A degree is evidence of your ability to do research, consider and apply knowledge and to set and achieve goals. These are skills/attributes that most employers are seeking. I have given several jobs to applicants with Health Science degrees.

Thanks for that

I have a question that im open for any advice

How do you stay motivated when all the odds and everyone is against you

You just keep going Lauren!

Hi Lauren57r,

You've already been given some great advice. I just wanted to add that your story is very similar to my own experiences. After high school I went straight into a uni degree and it actually wasn't until several years later that I realised I had made the choice, not because it was something I was particularly passionate about, but because I had felt pressure to make a decision about the future and went with a degree that i felt most aligned with my passions. If I could go back and do it over, I would not have gone to uni straight away. I always had the belief that you HAD to go to uni to be 'successful' or get a well paying job and that simply isn't the case. In the end all i gained from that experience was student debt and a ton of stress for something that wasn't worth it. I'm not saying you shouldn't finish your course or swap into a new one - my point is that if you are not 100% sure about a course then why not focus on work for a while and built up savings for things like a house/travel/etc. You can always go back to uni later on when you are sure what it is you want to do. For me, I worked for awhile and then one day woke up and felt like a light switch had turned on and I knew what it was I wanted to do.

In the end, maybe you will find this helpful or maybe you won't. I just wish someone would have told me that I didn't have to go to uni, that not going wouldn't make me a failure or somehow less intelligent/successful than my friends who went. Maybe if they had, I wouldn't have as large a student debt as I do now and perhaps I would've followed my heart and travelled first.

Uni is always going to be stressful, especially when you are living away from home and don't have that support system around you. My advice is if you're going to study, find a course you actually love - believe me it makes a hell of a difference when you are up late working on those assignments or stressed out over the workload. If you do decide that teaching is something you are passionate about, I would finish the degree you are on now as with a completed degree, you would be able to do a masters of teaching (which from memory i think only takes 1 year) as opposed to a 3-4 year bachelor of education.

P.S. Please don't be embarrassed over failed units, it happens to everyone and at the end of the day if it takes you 3 years or 10 years to finish your degree, it will still be worth the same and employers won't see that it took you longer.

Just sit, calm down, give up on that UNI if you dislike it and ask yourself - what you want to do in your life? What job will grant you enjoyable and interesting process and start practicing/internship in it.

If you found an ability to evaluate adequately your skills and future, you will get many benefits later, but think wisely!

I have 6 months to go till I'm finished uni
However I have no certainty of next year or where I will live and it's causing a lot of stress and anxiety as I don't want to feel like I've wasted 3 years
I've spoken to numerous people about this and no one can give me a straight answer
If anyone has any advice would be greatly appreciated

How do you keep going when you have nothing left to give and you can't see a way out of it

Hi Lauren57r,

We're so grateful that you have reached out to our community tonight and are sorry to hear that you're in a tough space right now. But please know that you're not alone in this, and our community is here to talk through these thoughts and feelings. We've also checked in with you via email to provide you with some additional supports.

Keep checking in to let us know how you're going, whenever you feel up to it.