Not learning anything in college

[AngelWings17]

I feel like, as of late, I'm not learning anything in college. At first I though it was just the professor that is all over the place and virtually not teaching us anything.

But I feel like something is getting in the way of my education lately. I have no interest in my major and I want to drop out and just work so I can get my license and move out, but I've never been a quitter.

Has anyone else ever felt/currently feel like this?

Share your stories and advice below.

 

[tree]

I feel like, as of late, I'm not learning anything in college. At first I though it was just the professor that is all over the place and virtually not teaching us anything.

But I feel like something is getting in the way of my education lately. I have no interest in my major and I want to drop out and just work so I can get my license and move out, but I've never been a quitter.

Has anyone else ever felt/currently feel like this?

Share your stories and advice below.

Is your major related to the license you want to get?
How much did you previously care about your major?

What do you mean by "feel like....I'm not learning anything..."?
That there is no material which is new to you? that the material is useless?
that there is material, but you are not able to retain it? that there is material,
but you feel despair over lack of meaning in life?

What's going on?

 

[Judge]

I'd have to ask what I consider to be a very pertinent question to such sentiments.

What year of college are you in? If you're a freshman or sophomore buried in general education requirements, I suspect such sentiments are to be expected. Once you move onto your third year, you'll likely find yourself intellectually closer to your major.

Indeed, in my first and second year there were always subjects that I had to take that I had little or no interest in. I persevered onto my third and fourth years. But in all honesty, after I graduated I felt completely burned out at the prospect of any more "school" for some time.

 

[tree]

Yeah. The year of study makes a difference.
By/In grad school, almost every class is fun.

If you're in the right major for yourself....

 

[Judge]

Never rule out vocational training in something you might like and may reflect inelastic demand in today's workforce. Sometimes a far quicker path to prosperity. After all there are no guarantees a college degree will get you a job. College isn't for just everyone. Even if sufficiently motivated.

 

[AngelWings17]

I am in my third year and my major, Business Communications, holds zero interest to me. I'm unable to retain most of the information and some of it feels useless.

 

[tree]

I am in my third year and my major, Business Communications, holds zero interest to me. I'm unable to retain most of the information and some of it feels useless.

What do you really like doing?

 

[AngelWings17]

What do you really like doing?

Anything to do with art and animals.

 

[tree]

Anything to do with art and animals.

How does it happen that you're majoring in Business Communications?

It does seem possible that art, animals, and communication could meld into
some sort of career....

 

[AngelWings17]

How does it happen that you're majoring in Business Communications?

It does seem possible that art, animals, and communication could meld into
some sort of career....

Well I'm going to run an art webstore and hopefully work with service animals in training, so the communications degree will help with the webstore

 

[Judge]

I am in my third year and my major, Business Communications, holds zero interest to me. I'm unable to retain most of the information and some of it feels useless.

In all honesty the idea of most anyone on the spectrum seeking anything to do with communications strikes me as an "uphill battle". Not that you can't achieve such a goal, but what it might cost you to get there. Maybe you should reconsider your major. In the beginning of your third year it's not too late in losing a semester or two. Maybe seek some academic counseling on what your practical options may be.

I worked for many years in a job that became increasingly marketing-oriented. A whole lot of stress at the time, and when I had no idea what made it so stressful. I would have left much earlier had I known I was on the spectrum of autism. That having to adapt to even more interpersonal communication skills requirements just wasn't for me.

I managed to tolerate the occasional course that bored me to hell. But I can't imagine having stuck it out had I been so indifferent to my major and minor subject. My GPA would have likely begun to plummet. One thing though. It's never a bad thing to change your mind about something so critical. I made quite a career change at 40. Went back to school for vocational training. It's never too later either.

 

[wyverary]

I am of two minds about this, to be honest. On the one hand, you are clearly unsatisfied with your major, and maybe switching majors OR dropping out entirely and pursuing something else might be what you need...

OR, you follow through, with the knowledge that you will at least have a degree. Which might give you a heads up when it comes to job opportunities (no matter what the field)...or might not.

It's a crap shoot. Sounds like you could maybe even pursue an MFA? (I confess I don't know a lot about that, if you have to already have a degree in art...)...but if you want to work with service animals, I don't think you need a college degree for that...I know folks who have gone into that, and not a one of them do I know have regretted it.

Something I've been trying to convince a lot of people lately...Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you have to do it. (Trust me, I've had personal experience with this, and had to explain to a lot of people, even occasionally cuss them out, for failing to understand this basic concept.)

 

[AngelWings17]

In all honesty the idea of most anyone on the spectrum seeking anything to do with communications strikes me as an "uphill battle". Not that you can't achieve such a goal, but what it might cost you to get there. Maybe you should reconsider your major. In the beginning of your third year it's not too late in losing a semester or two. Maybe seek some academic counseling on what your practical options may be.

I worked for many years in a job that became increasingly marketing-oriented. A whole lot of stress at the time, and when I had no idea what made it so stressful. I would have left much earlier had I known I was on the spectrum of autism. That having to adapt to even more interpersonal communication skills requirements just wasn't for me.

I managed to tolerate the occasional course that bored me to hell. But I can't imagine having stuck it out had I been so indifferent to my major and minor subject. My GPA would have likely begun to plummet. One thing though. It's never a bad thing to change your mind about something so critical. I made quite a career change at 40. Went back to school for vocational training. It's never too later either.

Well the thing is that I have less than ten classes left to complete my degree. It will all be a waste if I change majors all of a sudden.

 

[zurb]

In all honesty the idea of most anyone on the spectrum seeking anything to do with communications strikes me as an "uphill battle".

Depends on the area of 'communications'.
I think Aspies can make very good technical communicators due to their sense of logic, preciseness, thoroughness, and preference for concise rather than wordy/flowery sentences.
On the otherhand, marketing, motivational speaking and sermons I have decided are definitely not my thing. There is a disconnect between how I think and how the majority of my audience thinks.

 

[AngelWings17]

AngelWings17
OK. So you have a goal in my mind.
And what you are saying is that right now, the course work
seems to be leaving you flat?
-------------
The most dull or scary courses I had in undergrad I approached
as games. Dull I don't think I need to explain. Scary meant I
either thought they were above my ability to understand or the
instructor was off putting.

A dull class I just made a point of being what I thought of as
scornfully good (at the material). The scary classes I decided
that if I didn't know much, I was no worse off than when I was
a little child & learned things without being intimidated by it. I
didn't have the idea that I 'should' be able to get the idea.

When the teacher seemed alien to me....like a Marine with a buzz
cut or a science teacher/curmudgeon, I concentrated on watched
their mouths and taking notes. And outlining my notes. And high
lighting my notes. And printing out my notes & high lighting that.

Some people call that 'studying' I think. lol IDK. It's what I had to
do. (None of this may be any use to you. ) In order to pay good
attention and take good notes I found a type of pen that I enjoyed
using & could print legibly with. I also made a game of how much
time I put into my homework/reading. Used graph paper and colored
in a block for every half hour I was working/reading.
---------------
At the least, and this may not be a good analogy, but it's what I am
thinking.....you might imagine that this time when class work sucks,
is similar to the idea of....what a woman I knew did...she raised rats
to keep dogs. Bred & sold them to make money to support her dogs.

She wasn't wild about the rats, but she could do it and it brought in
money.

Sorry this is such a goofy analogy/example. Your classes...rats.
Your goal...dogs. So to speak.

That is an interesting way of putting it.

Although I'm a highly visual and tactile learner. Nothing sticks with me unless I'm seeing it happen and trying it for myself. And most lecture classes fail to meet that. Especially this one professor who just rambles on and on for 90% of the class. I'm practically teaching myself the material.

 

[Judge]

Depends on the area of 'communications'.
I think Aspies can make very good technical communicators due to their sense of logic, preciseness, thoroughness, and preference for concise rather than wordy/flowery sentences.
On the otherhand, marketing, motivational speaking and sermons I have decided are definitely not my thing. There is a disconnect between how I think and how the majority of my audience thinks.

Yeah. It all depends on how your employer uses you, or how well you can truly adapt to the job, whatever it may be.

Marketing became a nightmare for me in a career that shifted that direction over time. Consumerism and law catching up with insurance...nothing I could do about it except eventually quit. I was a career underwriter. Not a marketing representative trying to sell people on underwriting policy or decisions.

It just seems unnerving at times to think of so many jobs which can be so dynamic. Where you can't count on mastering something because it changes too rapidly.

 

[Judge]

Well the thing is that I have less than ten classes left to complete my degree. It will all be a waste if I change majors all of a sudden.

I see. Indeed, that makes it tough to consider backing out of it.

If you do rationalize to "soldier on", hopefully you'll commit to it. The labor market out there is awfully tough. You never know when grades may or may not matter.

 

[Myway]

I feel like, as of late, I'm not learning anything in college. At first I though it was just the professor that is all over the place and virtually not teaching us anything.

But I feel like something is getting in the way of my education lately. I have no interest in my major and I want to drop out and just work so I can get my license and move out, but I've never been a quitter.

Has anyone else ever felt/currently feel like this?

Share your stories and advice below.

I have been feeling like that lately myself as well. But you know, if you keep pushing forward, then when you are done you will have a feeling spoof accomplishment. That is why I am staying in school. I want to finish and get that feeling. It is nice to know that you have accomplished something. It makes you feel like you did something with yourself. Keep going forward. Don't look back.

 

[Naturalist]

I had this feeling very often while in college. It took me 14 years to finish, two courses at a time. I switched majors very often.

One thing that made it hard was that I would choose a major seemingly related to a special interest, but most of the coursework for that major really had nothing to do with that special interest. For instance, I liked researching eighteenth-century history, but if you major in history you have to cover all time periods, and even if it covers the preferred period you can't choose to write a paper on natural history during the enlightenment if your professor is only interested in having submissions on political topics. (Although now that I've grown up a bit I could stretch the previous topic to make it political )

So, I had very specific interests, and if I wasn't interested in something I simply couldn't retain the information, no matter how long or hard I studied.

Ten classes is two semesters if you are able to manage the usual course load. But longer if you are like me. Can you fill some of those credits with art courses? One university here offers all art courses within its communications department, which is brilliant because art is a form of communication.

 

[tree]

AngelWings17

"I'm practically teaching myself the material."

That is main goal:
To learn how to learn.

As they say in education classes,
that is a Key Concept.