Feel awful about where I am in life and feel like I'm getting old

Omg i feel you! we lived/ living the same life and everyone thinks I’m graduating next year oops

If u don’t succeed in ur 20’s then try in ur 30’s, if you don’t in your 30’s then 40’s, then 50’s
You have ur whole life ahead of you. Being a year or 2 older than the other students doesn’t matter. Have fun and keep going

Economics

is that similar to computer science?

As in the subject?

Yes

I am currently having take a year out before going into 2nd year of uni next year due to bad health, this means I'm going to graduate at 24, I feel awful about this and like I've let everyone down, I also feel like I'm getting old and everyones moved on with their lives but I'm stuck in the education stage. I want to get a corporate grad job but I don't think they like to hire people at the age I will be. Everyone in my age group will be 2-3 years into their grad schemes and I'll just be starting. I haven't really enjoyed life up until now and thought I would enjoy my work life but it feels so far away now

Lol so do you want to talk about it or not 😅, you’re anon so I can’t see yours

I am currently having take a year out before going into 2nd year of uni next year due to bad health, this means I'm going to graduate at 24, I feel awful about this and like I've let everyone down, I also feel like I'm getting old and everyones moved on with their lives but I'm stuck in the education stage. I want to get a corporate grad job but I don't think they like to hire people at the age I will be. Everyone in my age group will be 2-3 years into their grad schemes and I'll just be starting. I haven't really enjoyed life up until now and thought I would enjoy my work life but it feels so far away now

Honestly, you have NOTHING to worry about!
It isn’t a race, don’t get all tied in knots about your ‘peers’, because your peers are whoever you are with at that moment in time, the people you are studying with NOW, NOT a bunch of people you were at school with.

i’m 55 and about to FINALLY do the degree I dropped out of Uni just before my physiotherapy course started many moons ago!! (I had an existential crisis after one of my patients died on me in my hospital placement the Summer before😱 (No counselling back then, just ‘pull yourself together, she was dying anyway!’ 😱😱😱)
i took a ‘gap year’ but when it came to choising a new course or doing the one I original chose,
I remember feeling EXACTLY like you, and loathed the idea of being ‘a year older than my peers, and so I chickened out 😡
AND LIVED TO REALLY REGRET IT!!
Did ‘ok’ in a sales career, but it has never fed my soul.

3 years seemed SUCH a big deal at 20, but with the benefit of 35 years of hindsight, I now laugh at my twenty year old self’s perception of age and time!
i remember distinctly feeling that 3 years was FOREVER🤣
Trust me, it will FLY by!

It really doesn’t matter AT ALL when you enter the workplace, the jobs won’t suddenly vanish. (actually probably better right now to delay entering the workforce after the battering companies took these past 2 covid years! Better to wait til economy is once again thriving!! More jobs, better money!)

what matters is that you have got all the weapons you need in your CV to make it competitive.
And hopefully you get a degree that helps you land a job on the ladder of your dream career.
(and have fun in the process!)

To be completely honest I was really immature at 18-20, I was an irresponsible idiot! Prioritised partying, so probably would have flunked my course if I HAD gone straight after my A levels..

Don’t get to 40 and regret not going!
You’ll be overlooked for promotions/ losing job after job to people younger than you, with less experience and aptitude but with those letters after their mane!

Just put your big boy pants on and go for it!
you’ll be SO glad you did!!

(true friends should support you, by the way. Everyone else can fek off!)

Mate im 25 and starting a new field of studies that will last 3 years meaning ill be 28 when I finished my studies...

Did you know in life, knowledge is power, no matter how old you are, you should never be shunned in acquiring said knowledge.

University is open to a wide range of age bracket. I have met 30+ year olds that were cool asf when I was 19 during my early years of studies, nobody looked down on them, the complete opposite, most of the young teens/ young 20s adults looked up to them for guidance etc....

Matter of fact, you are better off doing studies at an older age and guarantee a good paying job because of it, then graduate uni at 21 and work at a *****y job you dont like because you were ashamed/scared of doing future studies...
Pretty stupid if you ask me.

No one gives a **** about your age, sure they might make remarks, but thats as far as it goes, no one is going to bully you for it.

I’m 24 now, I graduated on time and have done a masters too, but I’m starting from scratch anyway with work. What I mean is finishing as early as possible isn’t a guarantee that everything is sunshine… I beat myself up too but I think your 20s are for figuring things out. Life is never a simple linear path. If things went super smooth and perfectly at this age you can bet uncertainty will arise at a later time. It is really okay to be taking your time now. We have decades to be working and earning a living… you’ll miss your 20s one day

Thank you so much for your message it helps alot. My first gap year I can rationalise as I retook my A levels and got much better grades but the other 2 feel much more difficult to get over. I hope I can see it the way you do one day but right now I feel like I'm just getting on the race track and everyone else is close to the finish line. I realise I need to just get stuck in and hopefully after internships and work experience I will be in a better place.

I am currently having take a year out before going into 2nd year of uni next year due to bad health, this means I'm going to graduate at 24, I feel awful about this and like I've let everyone down, I also feel like I'm getting old and everyones moved on with their lives but I'm stuck in the education stage. I want to get a corporate grad job but I don't think they like to hire people at the age I will be. Everyone in my age group will be 2-3 years into their grad schemes and I'll just be starting. I haven't really enjoyed life up until now and thought I would enjoy my work life but it feels so far away now

LOOOL im in the exact same situation. Im also doing economics and graduating at 24 due to health problems over the past few years. I also feel like I am falling behind, i know exactly how you are feeling. Im so lost, at home now and others are busy doing things. I wish i could just graduate but this education thing is getting longgg now.