Losing motivation for school

[Dmpsix]

I hate to say it, but I think I am. I'm 25, I still want to be a Software Engineer who specializes in Cyber Security, I got to shadow one at my job for two, 8-hour shifts and it was awesome!!

But man, the math (calculus) is kinda intense and I have a busy work schedule as it is!

Not making excuses, but as I type this I have 3 chapters of math I have to finish tonight and I'm just exhausted mentally... sometimes I want to switch majors and do something easier school wise like Business or something...

I wont be happy doing Business, but it would be the easy way out...

Anyways... besides looking at other folks bad ass Camaros on here for motivation, what motivates/motivated you guys to suck it up, stop complaining and be successful?

[hrpiii]

Like you said, if I wanted something, I worked for it. I came from a lower middle class family. Great parents taught me the value of hard work and reward. I paid my own way through school from hard work before and after classes. If I didn't do it, then I wasn't going to make it. I thank my parents for doing that for me.... at the time though, as any other 'young adult', man did I complain, but I knew it was for the better also.

So wanting a better car, a home, a bigscreen tv, being able to go out on very nice dates, pampering my girlfriend, etc. It doesn't come cheap, and the only way to get to that point, is to work for it.

[ZED SLED]

There's about 3 jobs available for every SW engineer. Pich where you want to live and what you want to do. On the other hand, lots of people with business degrees say, "Want fries with that?"

[Casalino]

I'm 23 and was not a school kind of person. I'm smart with a good work ethic but didn't have it in me to go through school, classes and studying. I finished high school with c+ average. All i wanted to do was get a basic 2 year degree at my local community college. I wanted to work as early as possible. I am lucky to be very privileged with a successful family business. But people look at that and think things are handed to me.

I figured why waste all these years of my life studying (not doing a very good job at it) just to start making money in my mid to late 20's. My brother has been on and off school and he is 28 just finishing up his biology degree. I finished college and started working full time for my dad at 21-22. I have big shoes to fill in his company and this won't be easy. But i would rather start working early and learn this way. Now, a few years in and i'm getting better. Making some good money and was able to buy my 1LE. I can take various classes/courses specific to things i need to learn. But i figured let me start the business at 21 and by the time i'm 30 i can be at the head of the business. Much better than being 30 with 2-5 years of work experience paying off debt. I plan to buy my house in 5 years. I'll be 28

[Mydivorcegift]

Originally Posted by Dmpsix

Anyways... besides looking at other folks bad ass Camaros on here for motivation, what motivates/motivated you guys to suck it up, stop complaining and be successful?

Watching the Rocky marathon.

[pyroguy]

I know it sounds harsh but suck it up...for a little while longer, because the end result is going to be worth it! I failed Calc 3 and differential equations my first times taking them. It sucks pouring money into classes only to retake them, but seriously the end result IS worth it! If it wasn't for making it through those classes I wouldn't have my engineering degree and I wouldn't be where I am today. What motivates me? I wanted to have a job I loved so I didn't feel like I went to work as much as I went to go play everyday. I wanted to have a nice car (like my Camaro) and not be strapped to the point where I couldn't do anything in life because of the car payments. I wanted my now wife and child to not have to worry about their husband/dad working all kinds of crazy weird hours and shifts and overtime just to make it with the bare essentials. That's the motivation I had to get my degree. Yes it was hard, yes I struggled, and yes I got kicked backwards sometimes, but it was totally worth it in the end. Make sure you keep the grades up (near or above a 3.0) because the initial employers will look at your GPA, but you will also absorb so much more by simply applying yourself. Good luck and remember the integral of ln(x) = xln(x) - x + c (I think...lol).

[Iron Lung Jimmy]

Originally Posted by Dmpsix

I hate to say it, but I think I am. I'm 25, I still want to be a Software Engineer who specializes in Cyber Security, I got to shadow one at my job for two, 8-hour shifts and it was awesome!!

But man, the math (calculus) is kinda intense and I have a busy work schedule as it is!

Not making excuses, but as I type this I have 3 chapters of math I have to finish tonight and I'm just exhausted mentally... sometimes I want to switch majors and do something easier school wise like Business or something...

I wont be happy doing Business, but it would be the easy way out...

Anyways... besides looking at other folks bad ass Camaros on here for motivation, what motivates/motivated you guys to suck it up, stop complaining and be successful?

Have you ever noticed how the further away you get from "stuff anybody can do", the higher the compensation?

Of course math is hard. That's why people who can do it get degrees that are in demand and get jobs that pay $$$.

Pain is temporary... quitting is forever. Your choice.

[strykerg8gt]

If you want something in life you've got to be willing to work for it. I have my bachelor's degree in Business and while the classes may be easier, it's very difficult to be successful in the business world. Don't take the easy road, the hard work will pay off in the end and if you really do want to work in Cyber Security, then you'll have a career that you enjoy everyday.

[SSmoothie]

No worries McDonalds and Burger King are always hiring, and most cities now have bike lanes and bus lanes.

[Gunmetal Speedster]

Originally Posted by pyroguy

Good luck and remember the integral of ln(x) = xln(x) - x + c (I think...lol).

I'm starting school back up at the end of August and I'm facing two maths this semester and it is by far my worst and most hated subject. Reading that made my stomach churn

[samgray20]

Originally Posted by Gunmetal Speedster

I'm starting school back up at the end of August and I'm facing two maths this semester and it is by far my worst and most hated subject. Reading that made my stomach churn

This whole thread really hit home for me. I'm getting ready to start me second year of mechanical engineering. I'm convinced calculus will be the death of me. It seems to me that I can do anything else just fine (except chemistry, but that's behind me now) but when it comes to calculus, I fall on my face. I screwed up first semester and had to drop calc 1 and retook it second semester. I made the terrible mistake of trying to take calc 2 this summer online so that I could work more. Long story short, I have now dropped it, having wasted more time and money.

I came within a breath of changing majors to something like business, as mentioned above, and possibly going to law school, but have decided to continue forward with my efforts to obtain this engineering degree.

I stumbled across this thread by complete accident in the last place I would have looked for such advice. That being said, I want to thank the members who have contributed to this thread and provided myself and others the encouragement to push on.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[MoeIv]

I'm a senior in Mech Eng, while yes the calculus can be a pain, however once you get through them, Engineering becomes a lot more fun and exciting. Grind through it, it's worth it.

[pyroguy]

Originally Posted by Gunmetal Speedster

I'm starting school back up at the end of August and I'm facing two maths this semester and it is by far my worst and most hated subject. Reading that made my stomach churn

Good luck! Have some pepto bismol on hand and you'll do fine!

Originally Posted by samgray20

This whole thread really hit home for me. I'm getting ready to start me second year of mechanical engineering. I'm convinced calculus will be the death of me. It seems to me that I can do anything else just fine (except chemistry, but that's behind me now) but when it comes to calculus, I fall on my face. I screwed up first semester and had to drop calc 1 and retook it second semester. I made the terrible mistake of trying to take calc 2 this summer online so that I could work more. Long story short, I have now dropped it, having wasted more time and money.

I came within a breath of changing majors to something like business, as mentioned above, and possibly going to law school, but have decided to continue forward with my efforts to obtain this engineering degree.

I stumbled across this thread by complete accident in the last place I would have looked for such advice. That being said, I want to thank the members who have contributed to this thread and provided myself and others the encouragement to push on.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

I went through tough struggles with Calculus, but more so Differential Equations (also known as Diff E-Screw) to get my engineering degree. It is all about getting the right teacher to match your learning style, attending EVERY class, and not being afraid to ask questions. My second Calc 3 teacher was awesome. He was a retired Colonel from the airforce, an astronaut, a Ph.D. in math and an engineer to boot. He worked on the Hubble telescope right after it was launched (and appeared on Tool Time because of it) and was about as brilliant as they come. When he taught class he taught it in what he referred to as "Grandma terms", meaning that he would try to explain it in a way that if you had to tell your grandma about it she could understand. This was not an insult to grandmas, simply think of the 90 year old grandma who is sitting out on her front porch, who hasn't given math other than addition or subtraction a second thought in 40+ years and you're trying to teach her complex calculus. That was his learning style. Find someone like that who takes the time to teach and not just profess and you will do better. Hit up as many study sessions as you can, as many office hours as needed, find groups of friends or acquaintances in the class that can help you succeed. These are the words of regret for not having done these things to pass the first time. Make your teacher give you a call if you miss their office hours to see if you're sick! The end result IS worth it!!

[CamaroFred]

I did two years at collage for engineering and when we went to differential equations our class dropped from 30+ to 7.

I read the books and knew more than the teacher. We would gather in the dorm, but it's hard to explain unless the others have the right mindset. Asshole gave me a dropped/failing even though I had 100% on all the tests.
That's what made me drop out and join the ironworkers. I found my niche there like my grandfather, my dad, my uncle. Yeah, I could write a computer program with a handful of punch cards while every one else in the class had so many cards they needed a backpack. I heard from the assistants, "That will never work." and a minute later they were like Holy Moly!
Now this was in the days when computers were so big they had to knock down walls to install them and the tape drives would remind me of Mickey Mouse. We had a closet off the hallway to create the punch cards that would cycle through the machine and they all had to be in the correct order, so when you were done creating the cards you would take a pencil to the stack and draw a diagonal line on the side so you could tell at a glance if a card was out of order.

I bought a VIC-20 the day they hit the shelves. I twisted that little bugger so bad I skipped the C-64 and went right into the 128.
When the Amiga came out someone at IBM had to ask, "Why don't we have colors?"

I guess it all filtered down as my oldest son is now doing this:
About Blue Waters | National Center for Supercomputing Applications ...