Hello everyone, my name is Brett. I am 20 years old and I currently attend the Univ. of South FL in Tampa. I grew up on Pensacola Beach which puts me walking distance to the gulf and Santa Rosa sound. I've always loved everything that had to do with the water (mainly fishing and boating) and I actually have a summer job working at a resort doing beach service/deck handing/jet ski and hobie cat rentals. I just recently got OW scuba certified here in Tampa and this is my new obsession! With that said, I am in a bit of a rut. Right now my major is Electrical Engineering. I picked this major before college because one of my biggest hobbies was working with computers and other electronics. The only problem I had was that math has always been the toughest subject for me, going back to elementary school. I've never been interested in math what so ever! Now that I am in college, I have been struggling in math which has delayed my education. I am now in Engineering Calculus I and it is like a different language to me. I have no motivation what so ever to even think about calculus. So basically, I have been really unhappy with my post-high school education so far. I havent really enjoyed any classes and I feel like I should just give up and stop wasting my parents money. So it is obvious that engineering isnt for me. My advisor told me this multiple times and Ive heard it from countless engineering majors who are very successful. But I have accepted this! Ive known for a while that I no longer want to be an engineer. Ive just been afraid to tell my parents because they really want me to be an engineer. Anyway, to make a long story short I have narrowed my options down to two paths. One being the backup plan for weeded out engineering students like myself, and go with a business degree. The other being a completely off the wall idea and go for a marine biology degree. This second option was never really thought of until I got scuba certified. After getting certified I realized how many doors could have been opened if I were a marine biology major. And so I was intrigued. Ive started to do some research on anything and everything that has to do with marine biology (courses, internships, research, jobs, careers, etc). I understand that I will not make as much money as say if I was an engineer, but I dont care. I want to enjoy my career and money isnt much of a concern at this point. All I want to do is find something that I LOVE to study and that makes me motivated to open up a book so one day I can start a career that I will never get tired of. And this may be it. But at the same time, I am scared to get into something that just isnt right for me, like I did with engineering.
With all of this being said, I pretty much know what I am going to do. I am going to go talk to an advisor about marine biology and do as much research as I can. And then figure out what I want to do. I guess what Im asking for here is any advice on my situation, and/or if anyone has gone through a similar experience and how they resolved it. Thanks everyone for reading this long and probably boring post!
Brett
With all of this being said, I pretty much know what I am going to do. I am going to go talk to an advisor about marine biology and do as much research as I can. And then figure out what I want to do. I guess what Im asking for here is any advice on my situation, and/or if anyone has gone through a similar experience and how they resolved it. Thanks everyone for reading this long and probably boring post!
Brett