Drop out of school, or stick with it?

Question

A friend of mine has withdrew from a couple classes twice in the past two semesters, he will be repeating the classes for the third time this coming fall. The classes were College Trigonometry and Chemistry 101. He needs both of these for his major, electrical engineering. However, he feels like he'll never become an electrical engineer and that he should just drop out of college because he didn't do the way he wanted his first couple semesters of college. Should he drop out of college, or can he still become an electrical engineer? He's in a community college and hopes to transfer to a major university, his GPA is 3.85. Please help!

Answer 1

I want to be encouraging and realistic at the same time. He has a good GPA, and he really should stay in school.

However, intro level math and chemistry courses shouldn't be giving electrical engineering students problems. If these early classes are too difficult, the more advanced stuff will be overwhelming.

Has your friend considered looking at other options? Perhaps a change of major might be in order?

I'd get a degree in SOMETHING. So should he, even if he doesn't know exactly what he wants to do right now. EE is an incredibly challenging curriculum, and not everyone is cut out for it.

The other factor is how he failed. Did he get lazy and skip some classes? Did he neglect his work or simply not pay attention? Or was it a matter of trying his very best each time and coming up short? Slackers can often turn it around, but if you just can't grasp the material, it may be time to consider a change.

Tell him to take some survey courses in some other fields to see if anything resonates with him. He may find he has a passion for business, or accounting, or English, or history, or some other field.

Whatever he does, I'd recommend against dropping out. Stay in school and get a degree. Any degree.

Answer 2

Does he not think he can become an EE because he's dropped a couple of classes, or because that isn't what he wants to do?

If he is getting bored or disenchanted with his major, he should switch to something else. If he is having trouble with those particular classes, he could consider a tutor or ask the prof for extra help. 3.85 is a very decent GPA and nothing to be ashamed of.

Either way, he should stay in school - at some point, he will need that education to find a decent job and move ahead with a company. Sticking with something that isn't easy is good practice for the rest of life.

Answer 3

First of all, this is a decision your friend needs to follow his heart and make on his own.

Why does he want to be an electrical engineer? What are his goals and his expectations?

Maybe electrical engineering is the wrong degree and he should persue something he is more passionate about. Maybe school isn't for him and he'd be happier going down a different career path. Maybe he's just having a rough start and with the right tutor he can get back on track for his engineering degree.

It is not for complete strangers to make this decision for him. It is true that higher education creates more opportunities and greater earning potential - but if he isn't following his heart he is never going to succeed.

He should do what is best for him in his own circumstances. It's easy for strangers to make snap judgements, but we really don't know him well enough to make very good advice.

Community colleges often have career development offices with counselors trained to help students make this very difficult decisions. I would suggest to your friend that these services may be helpful.

Answer 4

What are his other alternatives if he drops out? Probably not very good. He may need to reconsider his career if he cannot pass the two classes, but that is no reason to drop out. He should, instead, stay in and expand his horizons. If he is only in community college, it is too early to decide what to do with the rest of his life. He should explore different sorts of classes and find something he is good at. In any case, even without those two classes, he can easily get into a university with a 3.85 GPA. It would be silly for him to drop out.

Answer 5

he should look at going to a technical college and maybe medical eq tech. he obviously doesn't have the focus or desire to pass these classes. He won't make as much money as an engineer, but the classes are easier and he still come out and make 35-45K starting out... not too bad

Trig and Chem 101 are fairly simple classes. he still needs classes like calculus and thermal dynamics.... he may be in over his head unless he really puts forth a better effort

Answer 6

He should stick it out as long as he is passing the classes. Once he's done with them, he won't ever have to do them again. He will have more options in the future if he does get is engineering degree. It might suck and seem like a waste of time now, but in the future it will probably be worth the effort.

Answer 7

Of course he should stay and get his degree but if he has no drive or ambition to do it then it won't happen. His GPA is good, he is obviously smart. Maybe he should try to go into something that holds his interest better. A lot of people choose a different career then their major but I'm sure just having that degree will help your friend in finding a good job.

Answer 8

Always stick with school, most people in college change their mind on what they want to do after the firs or second year. Plus only having a high school diploma cant get you a good job any more

Answer 9

Unless your friend is satisfied with few job opportunities and fewer advancement opportunities he should stay. Like the other answer says few people use their degree as they thought they would.

A college degree doesn't show you're are smart or that you are any more capable than a guy without a degree. It does show potential employers that you are not a quiter.

Answer 10

Stick with it. The average drop out gets nine-thousand something less dollars than a graduate. That's a lot of money for a lil time, ya know