Should I stay in my college?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Ok, here’s the situation. I am currently a 5th year student at a prestegious engineering university. I was a computer science undergraduate student for two years, and then changed to Management Information Systems when I was realizing that computer science wasn’t for me. After spending 2 and a half years in my new major, and still just barely getting enough credit to stay in school, I am starting to strongly reconsider if I’m making the best decision. First of all, tuition here is roughly $30,000 a year, and I have been digging into loans to pay for it the last year, and I’ll have to take another loan for next semester. Secondly, I am starting to really NOT enjoy this field of study. The Systems Analysis class that I just finished up (which I’m not sure was even successful…grades have not been delivered yet) was pure hell. This is a sub question - but what is the REAL deal with job placement in MIS in the United States right now? Is it a desired talent? What is the general salary for new workers…is it enough to justify putting close to $150,000 into a degree for it? I think I have three general choices here:

  1. Return to my college, probably hating every minute of every class and counting down the years until I have enough credit to graduate. I’m starting to think that with my tract record there (I need at LEAST another full year before I’ll have the graduation credits)

  2. Transfer to a more local or community college and get an undergraduate degree from there.

  3. Just drop out for now, find a job around here that pays enough that I can start paying off the loans I already took out, and hope I get lucky and find a career I’m happy in.

The one thing I have learned since starting this field of study is that I am very talented with working with databases (Access, Oracle, My SQL). That’s about the extent of it. I also have a supreme knowledge of computers in general (when I am off from college I do private training and upgrades/repairs for people around my town and charge $20 an hour…which in the end they usually tell me is a deal…last night I made $40 upgrading Netscape and installing a printer cartridge…of course this is only a part time job at best, with no benefits that a real job would provide).

Anyway, this is a really tough decision for me, and any advice, life-stories, etc would be appreciated. I’m looking for realistic, real-life answers here…not the motherly “stay in school…cuz I said so” advice

2

This is not necessarily advice, just something to keep in mind:

If you are starting to resent or not enjoy your field NOW, imagine how much you’ll hate and resent it in five years. And then you’ll be even more “stuck” - having invested even more time and money than you already have into something you can’t stand.

However.
Having a degree is a really nice cushion to fall back upon. (EX: I just went back to a “real” job in my degreed field after pursuing my “dream career” for a while and it was sooooo nice that I already had that degree and could acquire gainful employmnet.) Having a degree, even in something that you’re not 100% sure of, keeps doors open. And it is possible that you’ll grow to love it someday.

IANAComputerScientist, so I have no specific advice for you. Best of luck.

3

Depending on how much credit you can transfer you may want to go to another institution, to save money if for no other reason.

In terms of your major, if you already have most of the requirements done for it I’d say stick with it. Just because you get a degree in a specific field doesn’t mean you have to get a job in that field. Just having a degree, any degree, makes you more attractive to potential employers. Yes, your choices outside of your major will be somewhat limited, but you’ll still have a wider variety of options than without a degree.

4

One thing to consider:

You are already in a prestigous college for your field. A degree from there, even if you aren’t going to go into the specific field you majored in, WILL impress people. Sure you may not end up in the field you majored in… Hell you may never see it again after you graduate. But quite honestly, when applying for jobs people will see the degree, especially an engineering one, and associate all of the skills engineers have with you.