Did anyone else regret going to university?

Hey!

I’m sorry to hear you’re having a hard time and feel that you’ve wasted your time. I’m a second year student at ARU and I totally understand that studying can be completely overwhelming.

ARU had a mental health and wellbeing team to support students. Does your university have a similar system in place that you could contact for some support?

Maybe once you graduate, take some time to yourself. Enjoy some freedom and spend some time doing some of the things you enjoy most.

Even if you decide that your career path you chose back in 2020 wasn’t for you, it still won’t be a waste of time. I’m sure you’ve gained lots of knowledge and experience during your studies.

I hope things get better for you!

Sophie

thts sad but i guess
life is harsh
JF ZAK

It does have a similar system however I cannot access it because I am going to leave soon.

Not helpful

I am about to graduate in two months and I cannot get over what an absolute complete and utter waste of time it has been. I feel more mentally ill than when I started the course in 2020.

There wasn’t really any other option for me.

I left school essentially burning all ties with people and it was an escape route to a new life, it definitely had it’s borderline suicidal moments but it turned out well for me nearly 10 years later.

What was your degree and what do you do now as a job?

Economics -> consulting

I'm glad I didn't bother with university. I feel it would have been a waste of time for me since I don't go partying or anything. Ik social life isint all uni is but it's a big part of it.

Media and film related. I will be working in a warehouse for min wage post graduation as I haven't got anything lined up after I graduate. I might even get a 3rd lol.

Sorry your feeling like that. Obviously each person's situation is different and a stranger can't tell you how you should feel. But just in terms of the specific issues that I can comment on:

On the jobs/career side, there are a lot of voices who will tell you a degree is a waste of time because you'll have a low-paid job after uni, but this is a very old trope and the bigger picture is that having a degree will stand you in good stead in your career in the future. This Kevin Carey piece nicely traces the history of this idea - which is something people have been worried about for at least 50 years, but in the long run having a degree tends to help your career even if you find yourself doing a low-paid job you don't like straight after uni (it's about the US context but things are pretty similar here: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/12/myth-unemployed-college-grad/676364/).

Aside from careers, the real benefits of doing a degree for me were probably things it's hard to see up close, and a bit intangible. You probably don't notice how much better at thinking, reading, interpreting, critically analysing, etc., you are now than when you started uni. But if you reflect on it, if you're anything like me, it's probably: a lot. It's not the sort of thing that gives you an instant pay-cheque but you will be glad in years to come that you're smarter than you would have been.

None of this is to take away from whatever else you're feeling about it, just a few thoughts.

Wishing you all the best,

A retort to your first point is that I could have been working for the last 8 years (I went to university at 23 after a severe mental health crisis and several years out of employment) rather than spending time unemployed or at university. 8 years experience and savings matters an awful lot more than a degree which I will never use in my career, in my opinion.

Seems like what you regret is the mental illness that stopped you working and not the degree that you did instead

A retort to your first point is that I could have been working for the last 8 years (I went to university at 23 after a severe mental health crisis and several years out of employment) rather than spending time unemployed or at university. 8 years experience and savings matters an awful lot more than a degree which I will never use in my career, in my opinion.

Seems like what you regret is the mental illness that stopped you working and not the degree that you did instead

Quite possibly. But what I can't help wondering is what you're looking for now, here. To prove everyone who is trying to be helpful wrong? To show that there's no hope for you? Maybe just to be told it's okay to feel regret about past choices you've made and wish you'd made different ones - to feel duped or misled, even? Of course it is okay to feel those things. And if you can learn and grow from reflecting on them that's a good thing. But the question now is where you go from here, and dwelling unproductively on past regrets can get in the way of moving forward.

You can't go back and redo the past, but you can do things differently from now on. So if it seems like you made the wrong choice going to uni, if it feels like you were duped into it, even - why did you make the wrong choice then, how did you allow yourself to be misled? And how can you do things differently now? The kinds of questions I'd be asking myself are: might it have had something to do with, say, being preoccupied with past regrets, or focusing too much on what 'everyone else' is doing, rather than on what I really wanted to do going forward? And how do I make sure I don't get drawn into those same traps now and in the future? You say you feel 'more mentally ill now than when you started' - but uni isn't a mental health intervention, it's not designed to make you feel better; it's stressful and - in some cases, like yours - can be disappointing. But if you're feeling like that, the most courageous thing you can do is ask for help. Your post here seems like you want help, but all your replies to people's responses and advice try to push them away and 'prove them wrong'. You seem ambivalent about it, which is perfectly understandable, but reaching out irl is the best way to go, even if it feels complicated.

I hope things go better for you, I'm sure you'll find your way.

Remember, also, that a degree is often just the thing that opens some doors for you job wise. Doesn't mean you have to work in the same field as your degree either. Myfirst Uni adventure was Spots Science, before career changing to engineering as an apprentice later in life following a big spell as a home carer. I've since worked on stuff as varied as nuclear submarines, weapons and ships electrical systems before ending up in an aersopace job. Never imagines this outcome when first I left Uni 13 years back.
We have a few project managers at work who did their degrees in history, classics and such. When you graduate, take a little time to settle yourself and collect your thoughts, rather than diving straight into the next challenge or adventure. Things might end up seeming brighter than you fear.
Heck, here in the Civil Service we have all sorts of career paths for all sorts of people, and out there in the various industries won't be much different either. You may feel your 3 years a waste of time but it really isn't, it's a record of the challenges and adversities you have faced, overcome and moved beyond. You should be proud of your getting through to the end.

Media and film related. I will be working in a warehouse for min wage post graduation as I haven't got anything lined up after I graduate. I might even get a 3rd lol.

Did you get a 3rd OP?