[Crowz]

So, I am in a bit of a situation.

I am attending the University of Utah right now as a transfer student, in computer science. I'm not doing well at all and I don't like computer science... but I'm a junior and I am NOT going to waste my time changing majors. I dislike computer science and math, but I hate school more.
The outlook is 3+ more years if I want to finish this degree. There are about 7 more computer science courses and it involves 3 more math classes. Since I missed calculus II because I am probably completely incapable of anything mathematical, I have to wait a year for software practice I and II to come around and then stick around for another year. The advisors said "we can keep you 'busy'". To me, that kind of sounds like "we're going to waste your time". It's a thorough degree that is taught well.

I have another option - I can transfer back to my old school and finish a degree in computer science which will be far less math intensive (only discrete structures and statistics) and will only take 2 years. I would live with my parents and all that. I have a 3.0 GPA there and I can just rush through the degree, probably even finishing in less than a year if I stack about 20 credits a semester.
The degree would be in Computer Science Information Technology. It's a smaller state uni (6000 people, approximately). The classes aren't nearly as intensive as the school I'm at now.

My goals after college are nothing more than to have a job that will pay 40k a year. I'm really not passionate about anything computer related, so it doesn't matter to me where I work or what I do. I also hope to have a job that's not mathematical in any way whatsoever. I'd rather work at McDonalds than do math. Horrible nightmare visions...

I'm sure people are bound to ask why I am doing a degree I dislike. Unfortunately, the only thing I really liked in college was art, film, anything non math intensive. In today's economy, it's probably just better to deal with doing a STEM degree for a 50/50 chance at getting a job and enough money to live on.

What should I do; stay here and deal with 3+ years of something I dislike to have a thorough and reputable degree, or transfer back home and get a degree from a more comfortable state uni?

This post has been edited by Crowz: 10 July 2012 - 08:59 PM

[Apokio]

Sounds like you will not be happy no matter what you do. Honestly, where the degree comes from is not going to matter if you do not really want to use what you learn(if you really learn anything because you don't want to do it). If I was in your in shoes, I would do what I like to do and do everything in my power to make a career of it.

[modi123_1]

Quote

but I'm a junior and I am NOT going to waste my time changing majors.
[...]
The outlook is 3+ more years if I want to finish this degree.

You have to have some general requirements done.. right? I mean three or so years already you should have enough credits built up that all you would need would be the core degree classes.. so.. make the change.

Quote

I dislike computer science and math, but I hate school more.

Then stop going. It's not for everyone.

Quote

My goals after college are nothing more than to have a job that will pay 40k a year. I'm really not passionate about anything computer related, so it doesn't matter to me where I work or what I do. I also hope to have a job that's not mathematical in any way whatsoever. I'd rather work at McDonalds than do math. Horrible nightmare visions...

I hear the Army pays well *AND* they take all the needless concern about 'motivation' and 'direction' out of your hands. Haha.

No, seriously.. you have no hobbies? No passions? What do you enjoy doing when you are just kicking it? Trying to pursue a job (not a career in your case but a job) in a field you seem to hate seems.. silly. I mean shit - you'll need to learn MORE new things in the field, right? You'll need to keep up on things.. on something you loath. Why not switch to at least more interesting for you now before you are up the creek five years out? Damn man - that's a lot of time to correct this mistake you are running into.

Quote

I'm sure people are bound to ask why I am doing a degree I dislike. Unfortunately, the only thing I really liked in college was art, film, anything non math intensive. In today's economy, it's probably just better to deal with doing a STEM degree for a 50/50 chance at getting a job and enough money to live on.

Ah.. should have read this off the bat... but regardless - screw that. The only major problem is film jobs are pretty competitive and a lackluster soul like yourself might be overwhelmed.

Quote

What should I do; stay here and deal with 3+ years of something I dislike to have a thorough and reputable degree, or transfer back home and get a degree from a more comfortable state uni?

Neither... switch to a degree you might use.

At the end of the day if you even *do* get some half assed comp sci degree you'll do what? Bounce from interview to interview reaking of "I don't give a shit about this job because I spent seven or eight years actively hating it because it was math orientated.. all I want to do is collect a paycheck and not be here as much as possible". Sure you might get a job or you might not. You're reviews will be barely making it, and you'll be a miserable lump until that big long dirt name. Wow.. what a shit existence, agreed? Why not - shockingly - take (what amounts to a little over double the amount of time you have already invested) and swap to something that may bring a modicum of joy in the world? Oh.. you like art - guess what? Graphic designers use computers *AND* art! Film? Yeah there are no points where film and computers might overlap. It is not like you are throwing out the old knowledge - just retooling it to better suit a life you might enjoy - versus being a hollowed out husk of a person just going through the motions.

[jon.kiparsky]

Crowz, on 10 July 2012 - 10:56 PM, said:

My goals after college are nothing more than to have a job that will pay 40k a year.

Really? $20/hour is all you want in this world?
That's pretty pathetic. Not the money - but if all you want from life is money, you should at least pick a number that's going to buy you a house to live in while you're wasting the one and only life you get working at a job you hate.

[macosxnerd101]

If you don't like CS and Math, try switching to a Business Information Systems degree. You get the IT without the math.

Quote

only discrete structures and statistics

If you dislike math and CS, I guarantee Discrete Math will become the pinnacle of what you hate. People usually love it or hate it, and it's taught any number of ways. I've taken two separate versions of this course. One was a survey course with topics like logic, number theory, discrete probability, combinatorics, graph theory, and set theory. The other was a proofs class, with topics on Big-O, modular arithmetic, functions, relations, logic, and set theory. The latter class gave me a run for my money. The former I absolutely loved.

You missed Calc 2, so you're holding out for something else. Did you have a hard time in Calc 1? Calculus is one of those courses that changes the way you think. It took me a lot of time to adjust to the test-taking. In the end, it took some effort, but I did well. Calc 3 for me was fairly straight-forward. If Stokes Theorem, Green's Theorem, and Divergence Theorem are not included in Calc 3 at your school, they've watered it down and it should be a simple course. Those theorems are what give people a hard time at the end of Calc 3.

Diff Eqs is a cookbook class. It should be fairly straight-forward.

Statistics can be taught at a number of levels. Do you have to take an engineering statistics class that uses Calculus, or a business statistics class, which is more conceptual and writing based?

[JoePatriot]

Do what you will enjoy, and you will have great opportunities, that is, if you can get your foot in the door. try getting a degree in something that you know will be necessary for the next 20 years that presents somewhat of a challenge. If you do something too easy then you will be bored out of your mind and hate your choice and end up going back to get a degree anyway. You also cannot give up on getting a degree because for an career path with an annual income of 40K or more. Even if you go to a small town college it doesn't matter. A degree is a degree.

[time4f5]

My prediction: you won't finish in 3 years if you stay doing what you're doing. You won't pass the courses. They take a lot of time and effort. You will waste time and money and have nothing to show for it. It sounds like you are pretty unhappy. you could be burnt out. take a break. take classes that are general classes and then reevaluate. That's my advice. either you'll see that you enjoy computers like you did when you first began, or you'll realize that even if you have to go to school for 6 more months to get a degree you enjoy and are passionate about, it will be worth it. If the average working career is 40 years, doing what you love is worth the extra 6 months or so.

(for what its worth)

This post has been edited by time4f5: 16 July 2012 - 03:26 AM