College

Just as an aside... ideally, it'd be great for you to try a part-time job to see how you cope with working & your symptoms. Although I see you mentioned you had a job when you were 17...

I didn't choose my degree for the money. I chose it for greatness of soul and possibly to help other's souls if I can. It didn't work so I work in construction. The pay isn't great. It's survival money admittedly. I could always get a job doing excel spreadsheets or in management somewhere but I'm satisfied for now to just write something that will really make a difference. If it fails I can still live with myself, knowing I created something, knowing I did my best.

yea i was a fitting room attendant. just a big title for working in retail really at a clothing store. i gave people number cards when they went into the fitting room to try on clothes. you know. i stood all day on my feet in one spot. in a booth. they wouldnt let me sit for 6 hours a day. i quit on the spot after two weeks. i mean i had a 30 minute break a day but thats it. it was boring. i wasnt going anywhere anyway with it.

I agree with what people on here have been saying; if you're not enjoying college that can be normal and that's okay. College isn't for everyone. There are plenty of jobs you can get that don't require degrees or even certificates (my job required neither and I make $17 an hour). If you decide to get a certificate they're very short term and are often more focused on skills rather than school work such as English exams. Trade school also isn't a bad idea and workers get paid pretty well too depending on the occupation.

I have my associate's in biology and I work part time in hematology (the branch of pathology involving blood). I'm getting my bachelor's, but I have periods when I struggle with my illness which make classes seem impossible. Right now I'm struggling with my eating disorder (it's always something) so I'm not fairing too well, but I'm hoping to bounce back.

There's a lot about science to learn. The history of it, the philosophy of it. The realist anti realist view on science is a hot topic. Is there only one method to science, or is being a pluralist a better option? This debate goes back stretching all the way to the pre-socratics.

Well that's a new perspective but unfortunately not one I'd be paid to study.....still thanks

Oh come on! This is a play ground for me! I love ideas.

I love ideas too but different kind of things than you. I study a type of E coli and someone once asked me why I thought there was diarrhea was it beneficial for the host (ie human) or was it beneficial for the bacteria. It's a hard question to answer because you tend to dilute and rinse away the pathogen which is good for the host but the bacteria get disseminated and possibly enter new hosts which is good for the bacteria. So why do we get diarrhea---should we try to stop it or not? Probably not the kind of question that you want especially with the mention of diarrhea everywhere but that's what I study.

That sounds awesome! I'm actually looking to do research in microbiology and I'd like to study pathogenic species of bacteria. Sorry if that was random, but I got excited reading your post.

Yay! micro!

I work with microbial specimens at my lab, but mostly I deal with blood. I really enjoy microbiology and I'd love to plate specimens all day if I could and use a microscope to distinguish features of the organism. Only a few more years in uni until I can be a scientist though.

That is a really cool job! Are you studying to be a microbiologist?

When I took first year biology I really enjoyed the microbiology labs.

im not into biology.

Sorry we hijacked your thread.....

I have no problem with it. I was just putting in my thoughts about biology. Anyone is welcome to comment about college.

I'm studying to be a clinical laboratory scientist (and to be a generalist so I can work in all the specialties). They work in labs with specialties of clinical microbiology, clinical chemistry, blood bank, hematology, and immunology.

@newtus- Have you been taking philosophy classes or have you just been doing prereqs such as math, English, etc.?

all im taking is prereqs. im not allowed to get into more advanced classes until i pass all my prereqs. i mean if i was at a university itd probably be a little different. i could take advanced classes with prereqs maybe but im not in university. im in community college. i dont have enough credits to goto a university anyway.

ive only got 13 credits.

Just taking prereqs can be pretty tedious because they're not the classes you usually find interest in and sometimes don't feel like they apply to your major. It took me four years to get my assocaite's due to my illness and prereqs being stressful due to being bored or classes not favourable for various reasons. Try to hang in there if possible; once you get the prereqs out of the way you finally get to take the better classes that you will most likely find interesting.

thank you
that does give me hope.

i gotta think about future jobs as goals because all i can think about is school. i dont even have a job goal. thats an issue too for me.

Baby steps, newtus. It's important to have a goal but think about how to get there day by day as it comes instead of just looking at the finishing point.