I think Im going to drop out of university? -

Hey everyone...I m a first year student doing Sound Engineering amp; Production, everything looked promising when I first started the course but now things aren t looking too promising...I don t enjoy the modules at all and I think 4 years including my sandwich year is a bit too long to do something I don t enjoy. I was already doing music production and sound engineering as I work as a trainee in a recording studio so oppurtunities for paid music production pop up now and again and I also have a well paid part time job which has tonnes of overtime if you ever need it. I think I can continue with music production without this degree as without it I can concentrate a lot more on the one thing whereas currently I have no time for producing music because uni work takes up most of my time. I think if I concentrate on one thing I can be alot better at it than I will be at the end of the 4 years?...Just not too sure about uni because I still want to do music production at the end of the day and this way I can actually earn money earlier and build up my skills to a much higher level than they would be at the end of the 4 years... Thanks in advance :)|::::|I agree with not wanting to do something you wont enjoy, but can the music gig serves you in the long hall? that is something I want you to weigh before you drop out|::::|Why not change your course? It s pretty easy to do. One thing I will say is that if you re in your first year, it can be the hardest in a lot of ways. And not many people mention that. It may be more work towards the end but it gets more interesting and it s good to see your talents and knowledge progress. It s a means to an end, but enjoy it as well.|::::|what i have learnt is that you need to be spending your time doing what you actually enjoy doing or you wont be good at it. if what you are working on is more of a hobby for you it wont be as stressful and you will do much better. you can always pick up where you left off if you really wanted to. |::::|you could complete the first and year and then decide that way you have more option s, you can either take a gap year and work seeing how you feel about it or transfer into the 2nd year of another course. please don t make any rash decisions that you may regret.good luck with whatever you do x|::::|Stick with it|::::|dnt drop it! |::::|Everyone hates their modules in first year - they are never totally related to what you will be doing, it s all the background stuff that s useful to know but you wont ever really need. I d try and stick out 2nd yr, see if you feel the same and then leave if you still don t like it. 4 years flies by, you don t realise how quick it goes!! JUst think you have just got to get through 12 weeks for each semester - thats nothing really! It might seem never ending at the time, but it s not. Good luck!!|::::|Change your course. Don t chuck it all in, as even going to uni carries weight in the outside working world also I note you are well educated by the way you wrote this question so my friend there are many out there who are so thick they ought to be working in barns not uni ...don t give up!. I might add that in my own experience guys who do... are often managed by the guy with the degree whether or not he could tackle the job in hand.|::::|First year is always annoying/boring because its a generic selection of modules. A bit like going back to basics. When you get to second year and you choose your modules it will be much better as you will be able to start specialising in the modules and the aspects that you want to do. I don t think its a good idea to drop out but then on the contrary, if you are comfortable with what you are doing, can find a job which will allow you to develop more and more and that has loads of opportunities then i guess you should do what you feel like. Just think about it properly as you don t want to be stuck in a dead end job where you cant move up and you can t learn anything new. you need to remember that uni s have good links as well after you finish uni it will be easier to get on the ladder and work your way up.! Good luck with whatever you do though =)|::::|I m going to disagree with most of the people on here and say that if you have a secure job that you enjoy, with good prospects for progression, dropping the course may be a good idea. I would very rarely recommend this but in your situation it does seem a viable option. Before you do so, though, do a lot of research and ask around the contacts you have in the industry - is not having a degree going to stop you from progressing? Are there things you could do or positions you could get with a degree which you wouldn t be able to do/get without one? Are you absolutely sure that this is the area you want to work in and that you won t one day wish you had a university education to help you get a different job? I ll admit I don t know a thing about your area of study but it does seem to me that it is likely to be an area where real experience counts for a lot more than a degree. University degrees are most useful where a) you want any degree so that you can apply for generic graduate level jobs or graduate schemes, or b) you want a specific job which requires a vocational degree eg in law, medicine, teaching etc. For a career path which doesn t require a degree, experience is generally more beneficial rather than getting a degree for the sake of it. If you carry on with the degree you will end up in exactly the same boat as your fellow students after the four years; all of you will be looking for entry level jobs - probably the same kind of level as you were working at before, because I doubt in this area that you could get a well-paid, high level job with just a degree. Whereas if you can start working in the industry now you will probably have progressed a lot further after those four years, as well as having been earning money while everyone else was accumulating debt. Just make sure through talking with colleagues and researching that you will not be putting yourself at a disadvantage. Don t make this decision hastily - so far as I know this year s fees are not refundable so you will lose nothing by giving the course another couple of months to see if your feelings change. Good luck!|::::|I agree with the two answers above and probably won t contribute anything better. I m at uni, but I like being there and I m a postgrad. now so I have got proper work to do. But it s not for everyone, despite what most people seem to think. If you have good employment prospects already then that s half the battle won! Uni is not the be all and end all. If you change your mind in the future, you can always go back when you are a bit older and wiser and have some more cash in your pocket. You don t have to start when you re 17 or whatever. Nowadays it costs so much to get a degree and you don t want to waste the chance it will give you by not doing it as well as you can. Why not even take a year or two out to focus on your career development? This would even enhance your future study as you would be able to contribute so much more to your academic work. Of course, not everyone is as lucky as you to have a strong idea of what you want to do and the opportunities to do it. Many drop out of uni because they can t afford it and end up cleaning dishes or something. Thank your lucky stars and do what makes you happy at this moment. University is not going to disappear down some drain. It ll always be there for when you feel ready to commit to it and make it a huge success. Good luck.