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Early 20s "What am I going to do with my life?" thoughts

irishScott

irishScott

Lifer
So basically I'm 21 and a 2.5th year Computer Engineering major. I like engineering/science in general, always have, but I've been thinking about double-majoring for some time, and the latest efficient time to do so would be sometime this Spring.

However, thinking about it got me musing about life in general, and what exactly I'm doing. I enjoy my major, but at the same time I feel like I'm getting sucked into it if I stick with it; and I'm not sure if I enjoy it enough to make a life career out of it. I'm one of those guys who's interested in everything to a degree. Engineering stands above the rest, but I enjoy everything from music to literary analysis to economics to anthropology to theoretical physics to geology to history to Irish Gaelic.

Pretty much the same outside of academia. I'm not going out for anything hardcore, but I'll play any pick-up sport (although I can only guarantee skill at a couple), have a beer, play board games, poker, Magic the Gathering, Company of Heroes, jogging, cycling, hiking, piano, chorus, the list goes on.

So right now I'm considering everything from joining the ROTC to changing my major entirely (or double-majoring with something outside engineering).

Been musing for the better part of a month with no progress. When it comes down to it I don't have enough information to make a decision, and gathering enough information is practically impossible unless I want to be in college for another 5 years.

So in the off chance that I can get some useful advice, I now turn to ATOT. 😛
 
Do what you like...do what you love...don't do anything only for money or for someone's expectations...and stick to your dreams...chase them!
 
Regardless of what you end up doing, be sure you figure out what you're going to enjoy before you get your first real job and get into debt (car/house). After that, you really don't have much choice.
 
The only sage advice I can offer is that you can always change your mind and your life. Getting a particular degree in a particular major is not a life sentence.
 
Originally posted by: joshsquall
Regardless of what you end up doing, be sure you figure out what you're going to enjoy before you get your first real job and get into debt (car/house). After that, you really don't have much choice.
Click to expand...

Staying out of debt is important.
 
Originally posted by: irishScott
So in the off chance that I can get some useful advice, I now turn to ATOT. 😛
Click to expand...
You, sir, are an optimist.

The fast growing field of male erotic dancing awaits you.

Hush, don't be shy. You know you want to.

 
Originally posted by: xSauronx
Originally posted by: Vehemence
You're missing two things in your life, and one begins with H and the other begins with B.
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handjobs and bubblegum? 😕
Click to expand...

Is there anything more annoying that having to take public transportation and the only open seat is next to a guy beating off and popping bubble gum bubbles all over his face?
 
Originally posted by: Perknose
Originally posted by: xSauronx
Originally posted by: Vehemence
You're missing two things in your life, and one begins with H and the other begins with B.
Click to expand...

handjobs and bubblegum? 😕
Click to expand...

Is there anything more annoying that having to take public transportation and the only open seat is next to a guy beating off and popping bubble gum bubbles all over his face?
Click to expand...

the fruits of his hand labor all over your face?
 
Originally posted by: slsmnaz
Originally posted by: Perknose
Originally posted by: xSauronx
Originally posted by: Vehemence
You're missing two things in your life, and one begins with H and the other begins with B.
Click to expand...

handjobs and bubblegum? 😕
Click to expand...

Is there anything more annoying that having to take public transportation and the only open seat is next to a guy beating off and popping bubble gum bubbles all over his face?
Click to expand...

the fruits of his hand labor all over your face?
Click to expand...

:Q :camera:
 
I say stick with it. I have a computer engineering degree and I'm glad I stuck with it and finally got it. I enjoy a variety of things, and having one of the highest paying 4 year degrees lets me enjoy them more than people who can't afford to do anything. Those last 2 years are pretty hard, just focus on the one degree you can always get another later.
 
The upside to jobs in engineering is that they're in demand and pay well to new grads, however the downside is that there is little potential in the longrun. It's usually those in management that get the high paying jobs later on.

I recommend getting a law degree.
 
I'm also 2.5 years through college. I have no clue what I ultimately want to do with myself after undergrad, so I'm pretty set on staying another year and picking up another major while I'm at it.
 
You dont 'hate' engineering, and you arent having trouble with it. You also dont have anything that you really really want to do above engineering. I say stick with engineering. Sometimes, you might feel burnt out from studying, and just want a change of things, but dont do it just because you feel like it, unless you have a strong desire for something else. That can delay your graduation date.

I say stick with engineering. 1)You can probably get a decent job. 2)If you dont want a science job, and maybe want to do something else, you are also fully qualified(or pretty close to it). Get an MBA and you can step into the business world.

I'm all for the 'don't do it for money, do what you love' stuff, but c'mon man. realistically, you need to find a job that can make a decent income to accommodate whichever type of lifestyle you are currently living. So yea, you need to think about money. If what you love to do is basketweaving, but there is no demand in basketweaving employment, I say dont do it.

 
Yeah, similar place here.
My answer: Not a clue. I'll just finish college, get a job, and see what happens.
No real longterm plans, except for a number of places I know I don't want to live.
- No coastal regions, as I don't particularly enjoy periodic flooding and/or hurricanes.
- No Bible Belt states, as I value my braincells, and don't feel like having holy water splashed in my face repeatedly. For some reason it burns. 😛
- No Bible Belt states because God seems to enjoy visiting them with tornadoes.
- No Arizona or Nevada region - I don't like high heat or scorpions.
- No California. It's California, that's why.
- No far north. Water should exist as a liquid for at least some part of the year.

I think that leaves a 50 sq mi patch of land somewhere in Virginia. 😱

Other than that though, I have no big plans at all.
Get a job, hopefully something that pays reasonably well, something to make all this time and money spent on college worthwhile, and a decent home with some nice appliances, new windows, good insulation, a natural gas line, and an efficient furnace.


Originally posted by: venkman
Originally posted by: slsmnaz
Originally posted by: Perknose
Originally posted by: xSauronx
handjobs and bubblegum? 😕
Click to expand...

Is there anything more annoying that having to take public transportation and the only open seat is next to a guy beating off and popping bubble gum bubbles all over his face?
Click to expand...

the fruits of his hand labor all over your face?
Click to expand...

:Q :camera:
Click to expand...
I'd do a :faceplam; right now, but it might stick that way.

 
I'm 22, 3 months from 23, out of college 7 months, and still going through what you're going through.

My initial plan was to go Army, and it was my plan throughout college, but it's not as easy as it sounds when you seriously think about it; as in signing the forms (completed forms are on my bookcase right now), going to the recruitment centre, planning your last days of civy-life and facing the fact that your main job, when the shit hits the fan, is to be a soldier (i.e. kill people if necessary). If you go ROTC, think long and hard, you are at war right now afterall, and more than likely going to Afghanistan when you become deployable. Don't join up (even reserves) expecting it to solve all your problems.

After that fell through for me, I finally went soul searching and career searching. I found a bunch of stuff I would like to do, but I'm physically incapable (eyesight) until I get Lasik. A bunch of other ideas also popped up (e.g. back to school for different major, law school) Now, working a shit job not related to my major, I'm back to square one. I went to school as an engineer (civ), I will find a job as one. If I make it, I will be raking it in and still free to change to almost anything else before I hit 30.

So, my best advice is to chill the fuck out. Unless you really have some life long dream that you want to pursue, just finish your degree, get a job with it and keep thinking as you rake it in. You'll see things differently once you actually graduate.

 
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