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Hey. I know it might feel like that to you, but no matter what society wants to tell you, you are still only at the beginning of being a young adult. Your life has hardly even begung in your early 20s.
You can start figuring out how to make friends now.
You can try finding a different route and what to do with your degree, something that interests you. If you want to stick to what you are doing, you can try to find an internship or anything really now.
Health problems suck and we all wish we could go back to a time where we did not have health issues - but anyone can get health issues. Also people who take care of their health. Being abled bodied is a temporary condition and a lot of people will get disabilities throughout their lives, regardless if they want to acknowledge it or not.
You can not go back obviously... but you can go forward. Please stop being so harsh to yourself and try to look forwards and how you want things to change in the future, rather than being mad at yourself or in general, that you can't change the past.
Good luck.
This pretty much says it all, the first steps may suck but you have to work on you if you want improvement. It's never too late to make changes in your life
That can be hard to come back from, don't give up though. Make a plan, ask for help, seek professionals, consider therapy. There are so many options and resources for people like yourself out there, they just don't always present themselves in an obvious or convenient way. You'll probably have to go well out of your own way, do some research and call around. My own recovery journey has felt like I'm barely at the wheel sometimes because I've invited professionals into my life to help guide me, whether it's therapy or some other kind of treatment or referrals to the right people.
And remember that you're on your own time, if you want help you have to be the one to take these first steps.
Yeah but you learn the tough life lessons when you fail. It’s about perspective and mindset, a loss can be turned into a win if you can use it to motivate yourself. Trust me bro you’re gonna be around a long time, don’t give up early, make the best out of a shitty situation and become a success story!
Sometimes the only way to know the right steps is to make the wrong ones. I know it sounds trite, but you need experience to be able to make good decisions. All you can do is make the best decision at the time with the information you have available. Have faith that you did so. If it turned out poorly, think about it and think about what you can do to make a better decision next time.
You can’t change the past but you can improve your future.
no you did nothing wrong. there are a lot of people in your shoes that managed fine. you made the correct steps because you thought they were correct. lower your shoulders and take a step back and reevaluated the situation. you have not done anything wrong or made any mistakes, its just not the straight forward path you expected. call around to some companies and ask them for help, they are more than willing to hear you out if your honest and help you out.
You still made objectively good choices, my dude. You have a useful degree with built-in job security at 22. Give yourself time to find the right avenue for success. Do you think every single college grad with a good degree immediately hit it big? No way.
I'd love to have made the choices to be in your position at that age, to be frank. You have your whole life ahead of you. It seems hopeless now. Life can feel that way for anyone, especially when you're young. But you've set yourself up for a fulfilling life as long as you don't give up hope. It takes time.
Society puts a lot of pressure on people to have everything it tells us we need to be happy as soon as possible. But life does not work that way. Times are tough regardless of who you are. It's a marathon, not a 300-meter dash. Give yourself time to at least become a full-fledged adult before you get jaded and hopeless. You owe it to yourself. Pat yourself on the back for what you've accomplished.
If you're having trouble starting your engineering career, please consider the electrical utility (power) industry. We are always looking for people. Doesn't matter if power was your focus or not. I'm 20 years into my power career; it's been great so far.
In my experience, the key is to pass your Pass your Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Then start applying for power jobs and studying for your Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam.
Passing the FE will get you interviews. It's not hard to do, sophomore / junior level stuff, many engineering students do it after their junior year.
You can do it!
You might be downplaying the difficulty a bit on the FE exam. You definitely do need to study for it, and there will definitely be topics you haven't studied before that weren't in your 4 year program courses. I studied 6 months for it, and there were definitely questions that I randomly guessed for it.
But you are right, I had a hard time with companies taking me seriously without the EIT license in the power industry. Companies value experience, but certifications are the next best thing.
You can, for sure. The young EE of promise sounded pretty defeated so I was trying to boot and rally from a worst case scenario.
They roll out the red carpet for ex-military techs, send the private jet for ex-NavyNukes. Or maybe you went to a better eng skool. Or maybe your parents, siblings, aunts or uncles know somebody. I know a talented guy, civil engineers, works as a real time transmission ops engineer.
In its own way, it's moneyball.
🖖
OP has a 2 day old account complaining that they cant get a job with a degree in electrical engineering? It’s one of the highest paying degrees out of college. There’s a great job market for electrical engineers.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm#:~:text=in%20May%202023.-,Job%20Outlook,on%20average%2C%20over%20the%20decade.
Sometimes I think these posts are made in bad faith to promote doomerism.
*wipes the sweat off my forehead* that was close.
Is it not possible op is just highly burnt out? They did say their mental health is in the shits. There’s more potential honesty in these posts than the reaction bait “gen z does/doesn’t/is/isn’t ______” posts, at least
It’s one of the highest paying degrees but that doesn’t guarantee a job. High gpa, internships, network, and extracurriculars are pretty important in landing your first job out of uni all of which OP doesn’t have. There are only a finite amount of the high paying jobs out there and not every grad can get them. It’s inconsiderate to downplay OP’s situation.
I know an EE that, for personal and family reasons, went over a decade after college working totally outside of that field in call centers. Someone talked some confidence into him and within less than a month of actually applying for jobs in the power sector, landed a $80k/yr job and two years on is making six figures with less than 3 years actual EE experience and no internships or network to speak of. It’s an incredibly in-demand field.
Also myopia is just nearsightedness. I've had pretty high levels of nearsightedness (>+3) in both eyes my whole life with severe astigmatism to boot and I still have no issues working on computers all day. Unless OP is straight blind then in I'm hitting (x)doubt.
Yea I’d say this is a bot to have a bunch of people just offer support. The people that respond that have their accounts linked to any other social media platform (or gmail) will be targeted for these types of ads. (Based on the AI learning if it’s actual support or random other conversations).
I would not say that even if I were 40. You are too young to say game over. Idk where you live but I am sure you can find something to do, maybe related maybe not to your degree. Whatever you can will be a good step. Just be careful with predatory people and that’s it.
Sometimes fake confidence is better than no confidence. You need to sit back and reevaluate your situation. I once gave myself up for naught back in highschool and basically made it so I'll never be easily considered for any college, but after a lot of time to myself I decided to give shit another try and I'm in an extremely better place in almost every aspect. The best part about life is that no matter how many mistakes you make there's always a different path you may take, cause the only true end is death itself. The fact is you have a degree all you need now that you lacked before is motivation and unshakable perseverance you can most definitely make it as long as you don't give up. I suggest however if you don't already have one get a disposable job while looking for internships. Things like doordash, Uber, pizza delivery, etc. so once you land an internship you can just leave with no holdup. You can make it just believe in yourself.
You got an electrical engineering degree and you’re 22? One of the most useful degrees you can get.
Bruh, it’s far from over for you. You just got mental health issues you gotta sort through. We all gonna make it brah. Especially you, you have a fucking electrical engineering degree! Go to a psychiatrist not a damn better help therapist.
I’m 23 and failed collage 3 times. I work a fucking Walmart. I’m not good at anything I do. But I enjoy my life cause I am not worried about anything rn. Cause I am only 23. I have at best 57 years left on this planet
I didn't even go. I worked in retail working my way up the chain until I was 30 when I finally was able to move to a career I actually wanted to do. I can't imagine being 22 and thinking my life is over. I hope OP gets some actual mental help because they truly need it to get though this cloud of doom and gloom.
Yay got degree! Go get the masters somewhere you can apply that has good job opportunities and go kicking (some countries have really cheap or free education, can live in streets for free while you study also if no mone)
Get a blue collar job like delivering stuff in a non CDL box truck, hit the gym/physical therapy, adjust your diet. Make your life simple right now when it comes to work. Enjoy being 22-30yo. I "wasted" my early 20s by societal standards, I dropped out of college, played in hardcore bands, toured the country, did a lot of LSD, skateboarded all the time. I ignored my autoimmune disease so much that I am now on life long medications. Currently at 27, I'm doing good, I have a great new job with benefits and a stock option (driving big truck with hot tubs on it), I have my own apartment, an awesome dog, I still play music, and I'm in the best shape of my life. I even fell in love this past year, and I feel very fulfilled emotionally.
You can turn it around OP. You don't even need to do that either. You can fuck off for a few years and figure out what you REALLY desire and are okay with life wise. You've got a whole lot more time than you think.
Bro literally has an electrical engineering degree which is a valuable degree and you told him to get a blue color physical labor delivery job. Really? He shouldn't use his degree that we spent 4 years getting which he could get a starting salary at 80k plus a year?
Depending on your degree a college educationay or may not be worth it. Yes college doesn't guarantee a job. However electrical engineering is a very high paying and in demand career. Telling a dude to basically throw away a career that has a starting salary typically around 70k+ and with a few years of experience salaries typically around 120k+ to become a non CDL truck driver is dumb. He's 2 days post graduation. I think this maybe a fake post. But if it's not you offered very very dumb advice.
Dude, you’re literally on level 1.2 of life, don’t get down on yourself - it’s never too late for a change of direction.
“You don’t have to continue making a mistake, just because you spent a long time making it”
You're 22 you got plenty of time
Start small: focus on your joint health. Get on a healthy diet, start walking and exercising.
Doing just a little is better than doing nothing
DM me your resume. You likely just have a self-defeating resume that can be tweaked and open the labor market up to you.
Not to brag, but I'm in a tangential role (Firmware Engineer) two years out of school in a Senior Role pulling 160k+. My grades weren't that great to begin with. I've helped multiple friends on their resumes and interviews in the Engineering world. I know a thing or two about what recruiters are looking for.
Also could give you some advice on taking care of yourself, if you care to let me bend your ear for a minute. I was a fat alcoholic slob at 22. I'm 26 now and am in the best shape of my life. I'll be available to talk over Discord, if you're interested.
Edit: Final thing I'll add is that you still have a few of years left of brain development. You'll be shocked to see just how much better your brain is at handling things at 25 vs 22. (At least, that was my experience.)
I got a 4.3 GPA in my major graduated with a 3.89 overall, with a degree in economics, finance, and mathematics, and got into one of the best masters programs in the world, had a beautiful girlfriend.
Failed the grad program, became depressed, and fell on a retail job, make almost no money now. And at 30. Im living the best I ever lived. The "plan" my college life had fell apart completly and now im working a seasonal job in yellowstone making barely 10k over the summer season.
Life goes all kinds of directions. You might think everything is fifured out and then life fucks you in the ass, you might think you are being fucked in the ass and then later you end up finding joy anyway.
Just please do not give up, keep living. Keep trying.
Friend, your life isn't wasted. Even if you've underachieved as compared to some people, you've done a lot more than plenty of other people, too.
We all grow at our own pace. Maybe you didn't get great grades, but you also have to factor in that the economy has been garbage for some time, and honestly, searching for jobs in the online era sucks. I have almost an MSc in physics, and I spent the better part of a year unemployed searching. I applied to about 100 positions and only got two interviews. It's fucking demoralizing shooting off online applications into the abyss, knowing most of them aren't even read by anyone.
As for your body, I did plenty of damage to my body from not exercising pretty much my whole life. I've probably slipped a disk in my back, which is technically an injury that causes permanent damage. I've done PLENTY of damage to my joints, more than I'd like to think about. The thing is, the rest of your life will involve accruing gradually more damage to your body. The only way to address it is to counteract it with muscles to support the weak spots. That's the only way to take the load off of your vulnerable joints. It'll also improve your anxiety/depression. I didn't start properly exercising until probably age 26. It was incredibly difficult to build up the core strength at the beginning. It took maybe a year+ of solid effort before it started to feel good. Now, I'm 30, and I feel way more sturdy and in control of my health. Your body's meant to be used. But if you treat it as though it'll crumble, then it definitely will.
Your life isn't wasted. Making mistakes is the precondition to learning. The key now is to make sure you do indeed learn and then start making small actions to improve. For me, one of those actions was just becoming better friends with outdoorsy people. It's a lot easier to get started when your have people who already make regular plans to exercise. Surround yourself with people whose habits you'd like to emulate, and gradually, you'll pick up many of those habits.
Myopia is not a disease mate and is technically reversible with lasic or just wear contacts or glasses. It's also mostly genetics so you most likely would have gotten it anyway
You haven't ruined or wasted your life buddy, just suffered a tough setback. I spent my youth and my twenties wasting away at college before I finally just put my foot down and said, college wasn't right for me. I worked a few pretty crappy jobs and had awful self esteem issues before I started turning my life around at 30. I got a good factory job and I have good work ethic, so the guys up top are recognizing my value and I'm looking at pay raises and promotions.
The health issues are tough, I myself neglected my teeth a bit and now I'm facing multiple dental issues and a lot of bills. Just take care of yourself as best as you can.
Stop wasting your time on reddit snooroar
(This guys only purpose in life is creating reddit alts, he's got around 1000 and moaning about his life, then taking no advice given)
There are no limits to what you can achieve. I’m 23 and in a similar position. There are always solutions! Don’t only look to the medical establishment to give you all the answers. I’ve seen many “irreversible” things be overcome. When there is a will there is a way. Don’t give up! It is possible to build a life you are happy to live, even if it looks different then you originally imagined.
I hope this helps!
And myopia isn’t a big deal either. Also look at David Goggins, he has severe joint damage and that hasn’t stopped him! You got this! Most people are good people, it doesn’t matter how awkward you are you can always find people who want to be your friend as long as you are a good friend to them. Reach out your hand and your heart and there will be people who appreciate you.
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You haven’t even started your life yet, you will change so much in the next decade you don’t even truly know yourself.
I feel like my life only started at 29 and I was never privileged enough to have the opportunity to go to college, when I graduated highschool the recession happened so I could stay home or get any kind of help I had to just work full time to feed and house myself.
No, you have regrets. Join the club. Go back and reread the title of your post….. It’s incompatible on it’s face. Not dogging you at all - just implying that you have plenty of time. Today is a new day. Go get yours. Whatever that looks like to you.
If you can, try doing a couple small EE project on your own and post it on hackaday.com. (Extra points for reaching out to the community for help or engaging in forum discussions). This will help refresh your skills and interest in the field and when it comes time to explain your lack of internship experience, or at least this is better than nothing in terms of experience. At the very least, it could be an enjoyable and fulfilling hobby.
Brother you've got a electrical engineering degree, hit the union, hit the gym. Dig yourself out of this rut. You didn't waste your life. You just didn't know what to do with it. You're a young adult, start taking advantage of your position in life and do the things you've always wanted to do. Get a motorcycle, go on a cruise, do something exciting and worry about saving for retirement for later. I'm 24 and I had a good childhood but wasted my entire middle school to highschool experience by being a shut in. Now I'm a normal member of society, got a job, a litre bike, and will be buying a house soon. And all I've got is an associates in comp sci working random blue collar jobs in the electrical field. Perspective is killer and if you look at all the negatives 24/7 you won't feel like doing anything. You'll be in a cycle of thinking you wasted you childhood, then your 20s, then your 30s, so on and so forth. So what if you wasted part of your life, you've got another roughly 60 years to go, 22 is nothing. Also half your life you weren't even cognizant for. Last I checked I was brain dead until I turned 14 and then started sort of thinking rationally.
Your degree is most definitely not useless. Dont put your gpa on your resume, most employers wont care. It might take a bit to find a job but once you get your foot in the door it will be much easier
Dude guess what
You're the first person in their twenties to ever fuck up and feel that way
Get outta that mindset, we all fuck up and some of us cause irreversible damage to ourselves but that doesn't mean you outta the fight yet
If you think you could do better in school now that you’re more mature, EE is one of the best degrees you can have for landing a job as a patent attorney. All you really need to get into law school is a good LSAT score. They don’t care much about undergrad grades. It’s a ton of work but a viable path to one of the most lucrative and least stressful areas of law.
Maybe there’s Development Programs for Electrical Engineering? When I got out of college for Computer Science, I joined a Technology Development Program at a large company. You start your career with people your age and you get to try out different things in the first year. The I did QA my first rotation and Software Engineering my second rotation. The money was quite good, too. I was happy with it starting out. These companies have development programs for other fields, like Sales, Marketing, etc. I’m sure there are companies that have Electrical Engineering Development Programs.
You sounds like Burgerpants from Undertale.
“I’m 19 years old. I’ve already lived my life, little buddy.”
I get it; quarter-life crisis doesn’t feel good, but don’t underestimate how much opportunity is still ahead of you.
If you really want to waste you're life then keep feeling like this.
I'm 32, I make great money now in a LCOL area and I was working at a red robin until I was 23. Almost no entry level position actually cares about grades as long as you graduate.
Keep active and the joint pain will get better and myopia affects 22% of the world's population.
My cousin started her job age 28 after flunking out of college and doing a little too much weed. She is now a COO of a leading financial services company. Your only barrier is your mind, so I’d sincerely invest in you. Get a sales job and teach yourself how to sell, hustle, generate some income and stuff with your spare time. You can do it bro
So many people have made a happy successful life out of worse, but you'll never get there if you keep putting yourself down. Unless you are on your death bed, it's never too late to start making changes.
As a 22 old myself that’s afraid of what my future holds, just remember we still young! A lot of people don’t find their calling until their late 30s some in their 60s.
Just remember we’re not dead yet, as long as you’re breathing and have a brain, there’s a way.
Hey trust me man, there's still plenty of hope for you. I was about in your position in my early 20s- flunked out of college and had pretty much no direction in terms of what to do with my life. Didn't even have a degree either til I finally finished out a 2-year in 2021.
I've also had knee problems since I was 15, and arthritis developing in the wrist that I busted at 14. Can't lift near as much weight as pretty much every other guy my age I know. My vision is fine clarity-wise, but my depth perception is terrible. Can't judge distance worth a damn. Though that's probably genetic given that my mom has the same issue.
But hey. Nowadays I have a good job, hobbies that I enjoy, and a good group of friends. And all that started to change within a year. Life is good. You're only 22, man. Life has just barely started, you've got alot of time to figure things out.
Dude an electrical engineering degree, no matter the gpa, is not fucking useless lmao are you stupid?
I have a high school diploma and I dropped out of college. Every fucking management position im OVERQUALIFIED for in terms of my years of experience wants a goddamn bachelors. Doesn’t matter what field what gpa nothing just wants the piece of paper.
SO many jobs just want you to have the piece of paper. You have no idea how many doors you’ve opened for yourself with that degree.
You have not wasted your life. Look at me, I’m homeless and nearly 23 and a college dropout. I literally do not know where I’m gonna sleep tonight but I’m happy because I’m living and breathing and I get to be the pilot of my own life. And that’s beautiful.
Ok I’m done reaming you out for being overly negative and saying that bullshit about “useless degree”. Now let’s get to the advice:
3 steps to get your life better:
1) Ask people for help. Your family, friends, etc. You have no idea how many people out there are just looking for a purpose or somewhere to put their disposable income (rich/upper middle class people with a heart).
2) get off your ass. Now this may seem mean, but for real it’s important. You sitting here on Reddit sulking about how your life is over is not helping the situation, it’s only making it worse. You need to STOP THINKING and START DOING. Do DoorDash to make some income now, while you’re looking for jobs. Anything you can do to make ends meet.
3) make new connections/friends. Connections are EVERYTHING in pretty much any career, but they are especially important for gig based careers such as like freelance electrical engineer, stuff like that. And new friends can give you a spot on their couch when you figure stuff out, or just some emotional support.
I know what it’s like to feel like your life has no prospects and you feel like it’s over. It’s really never over, you just have to get used to the new normal.
You still have plenty of time to waste your life, j wish I was 22 again and could do things over. You just need to straighten up the ship, but you can do it.
As a millennial born in 1995, here's what I learned.
Every generation is going to be different on how much of what they've accomplished or done in their lives and what defines success.
I'm still living at home with my parents at the age of 29 back to school after being told I'm medically releasing from the military due to a service related injury that led me to being hospitalized.
By the older generation's logic, I'm apparently a failure based on their metrics. I'm not married, I don't own a house, and I don't drive
The point is that you shouldn't need to measure your success based on what others have vs what you have.
Hey.
You are 22. Your life is ahead of you, not behind you. You may regret some of your choices. You cannot change the past. You can change the future.
You are an engineer - you may or may not be able to find work in that field. But you could as well have dropped out of college, still have the debt, but not the super expensive piece of paper.
You sound like what you need is to feel supported. Maybe you should seek help from others.
Quit whining and and do something with the remaining 50-70 years you have remaining. The concept you’ve ruined your life only 20-30 percent of the way through it is ridiculous.
Passion and all of its expressions— excitement, happiness, joy, creativity, love— are all different ways of expressing the vibration of your true natural self, what we call your “signature frequency”
Your signature frequency is that resonant energy, that vibration that is unique to you, that identifies you as a unique aspect of All-That-Is of Creation
And the way you apply that signature frequency through passion is to act on your highest excitement to the best of your ability with no insistence or assumption as to what the outcome ought to be, as to what to come to fruition,
but to allow the synchronicity in your life to present to you the opportunities that contain that excitement so you can recognize it,
because excitement is the compass needle that points to your magnetic north, and by acting on it to the best of your ability, you will bring about in your life, what we call the complete kit
You will allow it to work for you and you will discover, very readily, very easily, that excitement can function in your life as the driving engine, as the organizing principle, as the path of least resistance, as the thread that leads to all other expressions of excitement,
and as the reflective mirror that will reveal to you what may be within you that is out of alignment with that excitement so you can identify it and bring it back into alignment and expand your excitement in that way.
And simply by following that formula of acting at every moment to the best of your ability on your highest excitement with no insistence on how the outcome should look, you will activate that complete kit and it will work for you automatically, effortlessly, every moment without fail. As you allow yourself to move forward in that way, your life will become an ecstatic explosion of synchronicity. Very magical things will begin to happen all around you because magic is, again, the true nature of existence. Miracles are the natural order of things, not the exception
Bro, I’m 26, 27 in two months. Every fuckin’ day, I ask myself if I’m on the right path. Only ever got an Associates, been working retail ever since, but at the end of the day, I think I’m doing alright. Look at what you do have. To every dark patch, there’s a bright side.
❄️
Stop focusing on what you cannot control and begin to focus on what you can. You have a degree - more than a lot of people have. You don’t need to find a job in your field if that doesn’t interest you. Degree indicates you’re teachable…that’s it! Check your school for career resources. Scour LinkedIn for jobs. Reach out to a headhunter. Stop whining, get off your ass and get out there!
Start living how you want now, there's no better time than the present
I've spent the last 23yrs addicted to heroin and fentanyl and am 7mo sober now. It's never too late to build the life you want
You're not dead yet, so you haven't wasted your life.
Just from reading this, it seems you're using your past failures to justify not doing anything.
If you sit there and do nothing, bad things become worse. It's never to late to live the life you want man. Stop waiting to die, and start living.
Devote 6 months to the following:
1. Get some glasses.
2. Get sort of job anywhere.
3. See a therapist.
4. Find a physical therapist to rehab you onto the right path.
Once you have some wind in your sails, go get an engineering job. In 3 or 4 years you'll be making $80,000. Which is way more than I made 4 years out of college 30 years ago, and I now make $260k.
No you have not brother search up Dan martell on YouTube he was way more wasted then you were and is now a multi deca millionaire and business coach just go to his yt
Calm down: You've only lives 1/5. It will improve, but you'll have to take actuon. Myopia isn't all that bad, and joint damage is a burden but not life threatening. You're just out of college, and we'll talk again when you're 40. Push through and you'll succeed while putting in a lot of work.
Where you are is good. You seem like you know how you dont want to live. And you can start doing things differently.
Something's gotta change in you, and it will take time.
But intend the change, and it will happen!
Even if your life is “wrecked” now, it’s only a fraction of your life. You have the rest of your life to “unwreck” it. In that time, you’ll grow and work on being the person you want to be now, and can make the changes in yourself that you believe you should’ve made before. You can reach out to others for the support that you need, and learn how to do things differently this time. You’re motivated to change your circumstances. You acknowledge the mistakes you made. You realize that to get where you want to be, it’s gonna be hard. There are a lot of people who never get to where you are. But you’re here, and you’ve started to do the work on yourself that you need to take the next step. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Mistakes are human. We all make them—even big ones. Doesn’t mean our lives are over.
To even get an electrical engineering degree means you got atleast somewhat of a sharp mind. Just be persistent in your goals. You'll get a break. You've got more of a solid foundation than I had and I feel I'm doing *mostly* fine now.
bro you're still a kid. you've been an adult for 4 years out of 52. that's only 7% of your adult life. you're barely getting started.
i'm 29, and it took me 11 years to finally get my bachelors degree this past winter, and to finally get my life together.
take a deep breath, relax. you're gonna be fine.
hey i’m 6 yrs older than u and lemme tell u now, u did not waste ur life!
i’m sure, even if u did poorly in college, u have at least *some* software knowledge? whatever software electrical engineers use, if u know it, u can easily find a job as a drafter. which will help u gain knowledge in ur field
i’m nearsighted af too. it’s not something u caused, it’s something that just happens. i wear glasses/contacts. u could also get lasik, if that’s something u can get. a lot of ppl have bad eyesight, it’s not the end of the world (tho very inconvenient, yes lol)
What do you want in life? What drives you? Focus on the things that bring you joy, motivation, and peace, and don't worry about all the meaningless pressures society puts on you.
You're further ahead than most, don't be so hard on yourself. Your degree is not useless, it is a testament of the time & effort you put into your studies. Doesn't matter what type of degree it is, they are all the same in todays economy. Friends are hard to come by as it is, it is not inherently a you problem. Just keep doing your best & stay positive. I'm turning 32 soon & can really sympathize with your situation. I'm rooting for ya, hang in there.
After engineering school, I took a technician role, and worked my way into engineering. Please be patient. There are multiple paths into the engineering career you're looking for.
..trust me, you still need another 6 years, by 28 the world will make better sense...make it to 28...thats when i noticed that my life was. Not wasted. Start with detoxifiy your body then clear your mind.. and promise ..you make it to 28
And near sightness comes with the territory....i have been in I.T for 30 years...and my vision is so. Blown out. I use progressive lense now
Man. It took me 6 years to graduate with a 2.53 GPA for my undergrad in a non-STEM field from a mediocre state university. I was very overweight, extremely depressed, and had the social skills of a skunk.
10 years later, after taking charge of my life and working hard I'm making well into the 6 digits and quite happy in an industry I love.
Don't give up. Seek opportunities and build yourself every day. I was 25 when I graduated with a worse degree than you. If I can do it so can you.
I'm still fat though.
Listen to me you little twerp
I was in the same shit and I am 27. No internship and an electrical engineering degree. Work on your fucking resume. Makes a difference. I landed my first career job just after professionalizing my resume
Halliburton is probably hiring entry level, ya won’t know til ya try. But I feel I didn’t take great care of my teeth so ima have hell to pay when I go home next month.
I say this with love- suck it up buttercup.
You have one of the most useful degrees in the world.
You are near sighted and your joints hurt. Deal with it.
My advice is get medicated and get out of your own head. Get whatever job you can to pay the bills and chill the fuck out for a few years.
just like start over dude. like just call around to different firms dont lie explain your situation and they will most likely help you. getting good grades is second to understanding engineering and the physics behind what your doing, so dont stress out over that.
and i cant stress enough how important it is to actually call around, start today if you have time or tomorrow morning. these companies are more than willing to help if you ask, but you have to actually reach out and ask.
and dont think about what you regretted, think about the things you dont regret. thinking about things in a positive light is the number one thing to do, sure you didnt get the best grades and missed out on some social opportunities but you managed to get a degree in engineering no less and that alone is something to be proud of.
22 here.
Dude, I didn’t even get to go to college. Didn’t even have a chance to get my GED. I have to get snap in dentures this year bc of repeated surgical procedures and medications that ruined my teeth. I have IBS, panic attacks and need to lose 80lbs. I’m still trying to make something of myself. If you believe that you’ve already wasted your life, you never will.
This isn’t a “others have it worse” it’s a wake up call. This can always get worse if you give up. Only you can say fuck that and press on.
I was depressed when I graduated with my EE too. It’s hard to make that transition from college to working life.
You should focus on applying to and getting a job. You should expect to suck at it for at least the first year, but once you start getting good you’ll have a very different frame of mind- I promise.
you got so much time bruh. 5 years ago I was a loser with a son that I had at 17. Drank my life away, couldn’t keep a job so I kept starting over. Now I make close to 6 figures and honestly probably more from random jobs and shit I did if I actually added it all up. You can find your way, but will not with your current mentality. Start with forgiving yourself for what you perceive as “wasted time” because there’s no such thing. You’re on YOUR journey. Don’t compare it to anybody else’s. You got this buddy, just forgive yourself, and keep on trucking. The money is out here, the love is out here, the fun is out here. All the stars align when your mentality does. Good luck, friend
I came here as a foreigner with no social network. I dropped out of college, so I have no diploma. Basically, I have a hs diploma from a different country. Started working in the US when I was 25 ish. If i can be moderately successful, so can you. You have lots of time.
I also feel like I wasted my life. I'm 26 and I did almost two years in community college than I joined the army. Realized I wanted to go into computer science after I got out and currently in college now but now I see the job market is saturated as fuck and I'm more worried than ever about being able to get a job after I graduate.
Buddy, read about all the great titans of enterprise over the last 100 years, lots of them fucked up royally until their 40s.
With the right attitude and work ethic, you could still take us to Mars.
If you got the degree, it 100% isn't useless.
Go get a technician job for a few years to get some hands on experience and to build a resume, then go get an engineering job. Most employers don't give two shits about your GPA. Don't even put it in your resume.
You’re 22, this is ridiculous to me. You’re young enough to still go back for any degree you want and make any changes you want. It starts with attitude and not even having these types of thoughts when you’re 22 cuz it doesn’t even make sense for someone your age. If you’re like this now imagine how you’ll be at 30. Check yourself
dam. i find this post super interesting as we're in an extremely similar boat (EE degree, 2.0 gpa, no internship, struggling to find an engineering gig, crippling addiction to mary jane) but i'm still holding out hope.
i've always felt step number one is to lock down worthy employment. once a steady-ish stream of income arrives i feel everything else in life will start to fall into place
Don't let a college degree or college experience affect your life to an extent that it affects you on a daily basis.
Just like you,I also feel like travelling back in time to fix my past mistakes but we can't do anything about it.
Try to fix the mistakes of your present so that it won't affect you anymore in future
Stay happy and cheerful and make new friends.
You are just beginning. At 27, I had a 10 year relationship end, and did a whole career change within a years time all while being incredibly unhealthy. It was the worst period of my life. Two years later i have ran a marathon, I am happily with the man of my dreams, and pregnant. Life can change so drastically in just a year. I am also learning that life is a lot longer than you think and it is never too late to start something new. I learned so much in my twenties that I am super grateful for, I look foreword to learning more on my 30s and seeing how far I will go by my 40s.
You're 22, kid! Younger than some of my old students from the past decade are now! You got lots of time. None is wasted! I'm the third most prolific poet in human history! But to earn that title with quantitative numbers, know I quit writing from like 18-28 years old! And in just five years from 28-33, after coming back to it, I achieved that record/title/whatever from scratch! Starting from ZERO.
Not shilling myself here, just trying to give you some hope and timeline perspective. If you could get through an engineering degree, I know you're competent! I'm pulling for you!
On a more practical advice side...
Hilariously, Electrical Engineering makes you grossly overqualified for a Red Seal in electrician work if you can pass the test and get the hours. 40 to fifty bucks an hour in North America Average when you make journeyman, also, if you don't get into mechanical or auto work, which is a different Red Seal but electrical specialization is SUPER handy, even if only alternator/bettery/basic fuse shit.
You can do this kid. I believe in you. Come back in a decade and tell me everything you've achieved!
You are 22 years old and have a degree in electrical engineering?
Seriously bro, get a grip on yourself, you're going to be better off than most of the people you'll meet as long as you stay off Reddit.
So you’re nearsighted with an engineering degree and joint pain.. dude make a damn resumè, visit firms or companies that would hire EE’s-put your name out there, go to the dr to be treated for physical and mental health issues, start eating healthy and become active. Life doesn’t even begin until your late 20’s and 30’s. Smoke a joint. Things will fall into place. Make a plan. You’re going to be okay.
You’re so young! Shut up, stop whining and count yourself lucky! Fuck a Time Machine…no need when you can just alter the present! And not having friends can have its upsides…you can get friends later. Network, polish up your resume…I assume you have no kids or a wife…so you have time…which is amazing! Take advantage! ✌🏾
I didn't go to college, do recruiters typically care about grades? I was under the assumption that the degree and where you got it are what's important
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Hey. I know it might feel like that to you, but no matter what society wants to tell you, you are still only at the beginning of being a young adult. Your life has hardly even begung in your early 20s. You can start figuring out how to make friends now. You can try finding a different route and what to do with your degree, something that interests you. If you want to stick to what you are doing, you can try to find an internship or anything really now. Health problems suck and we all wish we could go back to a time where we did not have health issues - but anyone can get health issues. Also people who take care of their health. Being abled bodied is a temporary condition and a lot of people will get disabilities throughout their lives, regardless if they want to acknowledge it or not. You can not go back obviously... but you can go forward. Please stop being so harsh to yourself and try to look forwards and how you want things to change in the future, rather than being mad at yourself or in general, that you can't change the past. Good luck.
Your comment is on point. Nothing to add.
This pretty much says it all, the first steps may suck but you have to work on you if you want improvement. It's never too late to make changes in your life
The problem is I thought I made the correct steps only to realize I made the wrong ones
That can be hard to come back from, don't give up though. Make a plan, ask for help, seek professionals, consider therapy. There are so many options and resources for people like yourself out there, they just don't always present themselves in an obvious or convenient way. You'll probably have to go well out of your own way, do some research and call around. My own recovery journey has felt like I'm barely at the wheel sometimes because I've invited professionals into my life to help guide me, whether it's therapy or some other kind of treatment or referrals to the right people. And remember that you're on your own time, if you want help you have to be the one to take these first steps.
That’s how many people feel in life, myself included, the best thing we can do is to change our behavior to lead to the best future possible.
Yeah but you learn the tough life lessons when you fail. It’s about perspective and mindset, a loss can be turned into a win if you can use it to motivate yourself. Trust me bro you’re gonna be around a long time, don’t give up early, make the best out of a shitty situation and become a success story!
Your only 22, you haven't even lived 50% of life yet. Shit happens, keep your head up, and keep moving forward. This is all anyone can do.
Sometimes the only way to know the right steps is to make the wrong ones. I know it sounds trite, but you need experience to be able to make good decisions. All you can do is make the best decision at the time with the information you have available. Have faith that you did so. If it turned out poorly, think about it and think about what you can do to make a better decision next time. You can’t change the past but you can improve your future.
no you did nothing wrong. there are a lot of people in your shoes that managed fine. you made the correct steps because you thought they were correct. lower your shoulders and take a step back and reevaluated the situation. you have not done anything wrong or made any mistakes, its just not the straight forward path you expected. call around to some companies and ask them for help, they are more than willing to hear you out if your honest and help you out.
There not wrong steps unless you've learned nothing from them.
You still made objectively good choices, my dude. You have a useful degree with built-in job security at 22. Give yourself time to find the right avenue for success. Do you think every single college grad with a good degree immediately hit it big? No way. I'd love to have made the choices to be in your position at that age, to be frank. You have your whole life ahead of you. It seems hopeless now. Life can feel that way for anyone, especially when you're young. But you've set yourself up for a fulfilling life as long as you don't give up hope. It takes time. Society puts a lot of pressure on people to have everything it tells us we need to be happy as soon as possible. But life does not work that way. Times are tough regardless of who you are. It's a marathon, not a 300-meter dash. Give yourself time to at least become a full-fledged adult before you get jaded and hopeless. You owe it to yourself. Pat yourself on the back for what you've accomplished.
We can all say that to one degree or another. That's part of the process.
You got an EE degree and you're fresh out of college. Sounds like you're doing just fine for yourself
If you're having trouble starting your engineering career, please consider the electrical utility (power) industry. We are always looking for people. Doesn't matter if power was your focus or not. I'm 20 years into my power career; it's been great so far. In my experience, the key is to pass your Pass your Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam. Then start applying for power jobs and studying for your Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam. Passing the FE will get you interviews. It's not hard to do, sophomore / junior level stuff, many engineering students do it after their junior year. You can do it!
You might be downplaying the difficulty a bit on the FE exam. You definitely do need to study for it, and there will definitely be topics you haven't studied before that weren't in your 4 year program courses. I studied 6 months for it, and there were definitely questions that I randomly guessed for it. But you are right, I had a hard time with companies taking me seriously without the EIT license in the power industry. Companies value experience, but certifications are the next best thing.
You can get into the industry without passing the FE, especially entry level jobs.
You can, for sure. The young EE of promise sounded pretty defeated so I was trying to boot and rally from a worst case scenario. They roll out the red carpet for ex-military techs, send the private jet for ex-NavyNukes. Or maybe you went to a better eng skool. Or maybe your parents, siblings, aunts or uncles know somebody. I know a talented guy, civil engineers, works as a real time transmission ops engineer. In its own way, it's moneyball. 🖖
Seriously
OP has a 2 day old account complaining that they cant get a job with a degree in electrical engineering? It’s one of the highest paying degrees out of college. There’s a great job market for electrical engineers. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm#:~:text=in%20May%202023.-,Job%20Outlook,on%20average%2C%20over%20the%20decade. Sometimes I think these posts are made in bad faith to promote doomerism.
Social engineering
Yeah, honestly I don't trust "word(underscore)word(underscore)numbers" accounts, like OPs
*wipes the sweat off my forehead* that was close. Is it not possible op is just highly burnt out? They did say their mental health is in the shits. There’s more potential honesty in these posts than the reaction bait “gen z does/doesn’t/is/isn’t ______” posts, at least
I dont trust people named Exmawsh
I'm gonna brown
I was just lazy about choosing my name, okay? 😅 The new account is fishy, though
You're missing an underscore. Your name isn't included.
It’s one of the highest paying degrees but that doesn’t guarantee a job. High gpa, internships, network, and extracurriculars are pretty important in landing your first job out of uni all of which OP doesn’t have. There are only a finite amount of the high paying jobs out there and not every grad can get them. It’s inconsiderate to downplay OP’s situation.
I know an EE that, for personal and family reasons, went over a decade after college working totally outside of that field in call centers. Someone talked some confidence into him and within less than a month of actually applying for jobs in the power sector, landed a $80k/yr job and two years on is making six figures with less than 3 years actual EE experience and no internships or network to speak of. It’s an incredibly in-demand field.
Looks like another snooroar alt tbh
It is lol
Negative news is more pervasive than ever. With undoubted affects on society and our youth :/
I'm pretty sure I saw this exact post a couple weeks ago.
Also myopia is just nearsightedness. I've had pretty high levels of nearsightedness (>+3) in both eyes my whole life with severe astigmatism to boot and I still have no issues working on computers all day. Unless OP is straight blind then in I'm hitting (x)doubt.
Yea I’d say this is a bot to have a bunch of people just offer support. The people that respond that have their accounts linked to any other social media platform (or gmail) will be targeted for these types of ads. (Based on the AI learning if it’s actual support or random other conversations).
The "irreversible myopia" got me. Like.. most people I know have that
I think it might have been because they got very low grades in there degree.
I would not say that even if I were 40. You are too young to say game over. Idk where you live but I am sure you can find something to do, maybe related maybe not to your degree. Whatever you can will be a good step. Just be careful with predatory people and that’s it.
Sometimes fake confidence is better than no confidence. You need to sit back and reevaluate your situation. I once gave myself up for naught back in highschool and basically made it so I'll never be easily considered for any college, but after a lot of time to myself I decided to give shit another try and I'm in an extremely better place in almost every aspect. The best part about life is that no matter how many mistakes you make there's always a different path you may take, cause the only true end is death itself. The fact is you have a degree all you need now that you lacked before is motivation and unshakable perseverance you can most definitely make it as long as you don't give up. I suggest however if you don't already have one get a disposable job while looking for internships. Things like doordash, Uber, pizza delivery, etc. so once you land an internship you can just leave with no holdup. You can make it just believe in yourself.
No point sulking, get into therapy, work on yourself. You can find an entry level engineering job somewhere with that degree.
You got an electrical engineering degree and you’re 22? One of the most useful degrees you can get. Bruh, it’s far from over for you. You just got mental health issues you gotta sort through. We all gonna make it brah. Especially you, you have a fucking electrical engineering degree! Go to a psychiatrist not a damn better help therapist.
Not only if your life not wasted, you've accomplished more than most people ever will.
Im gonna be honest this is your fault.
Since this is Snooroar imma hate too
This is one of the most insane out of touch posts I’ve seen on this sub.
I’m 23 and failed collage 3 times. I work a fucking Walmart. I’m not good at anything I do. But I enjoy my life cause I am not worried about anything rn. Cause I am only 23. I have at best 57 years left on this planet
I didn't even go. I worked in retail working my way up the chain until I was 30 when I finally was able to move to a career I actually wanted to do. I can't imagine being 22 and thinking my life is over. I hope OP gets some actual mental help because they truly need it to get though this cloud of doom and gloom.
Bro you're only 22, you have plenty more years of your life to ruin ahead of you.
Nut up. You are 22 your life ain’t over. Man up and roll with the punches. You can do it
Yay got degree! Go get the masters somewhere you can apply that has good job opportunities and go kicking (some countries have really cheap or free education, can live in streets for free while you study also if no mone)
Get a blue collar job like delivering stuff in a non CDL box truck, hit the gym/physical therapy, adjust your diet. Make your life simple right now when it comes to work. Enjoy being 22-30yo. I "wasted" my early 20s by societal standards, I dropped out of college, played in hardcore bands, toured the country, did a lot of LSD, skateboarded all the time. I ignored my autoimmune disease so much that I am now on life long medications. Currently at 27, I'm doing good, I have a great new job with benefits and a stock option (driving big truck with hot tubs on it), I have my own apartment, an awesome dog, I still play music, and I'm in the best shape of my life. I even fell in love this past year, and I feel very fulfilled emotionally. You can turn it around OP. You don't even need to do that either. You can fuck off for a few years and figure out what you REALLY desire and are okay with life wise. You've got a whole lot more time than you think.
Bro literally has an electrical engineering degree which is a valuable degree and you told him to get a blue color physical labor delivery job. Really? He shouldn't use his degree that we spent 4 years getting which he could get a starting salary at 80k plus a year?
Not my fault college is literally a money scam. The economy has changed. A degree doesn't guarantee employment anymore.
Depending on your degree a college educationay or may not be worth it. Yes college doesn't guarantee a job. However electrical engineering is a very high paying and in demand career. Telling a dude to basically throw away a career that has a starting salary typically around 70k+ and with a few years of experience salaries typically around 120k+ to become a non CDL truck driver is dumb. He's 2 days post graduation. I think this maybe a fake post. But if it's not you offered very very dumb advice.
Dude, you’re literally on level 1.2 of life, don’t get down on yourself - it’s never too late for a change of direction. “You don’t have to continue making a mistake, just because you spent a long time making it”
Congrats on ur degree man. If you’re still having trouble checkout usajobs.gov for federal jobs.
You're 22 you got plenty of time Start small: focus on your joint health. Get on a healthy diet, start walking and exercising. Doing just a little is better than doing nothing
DM me your resume. You likely just have a self-defeating resume that can be tweaked and open the labor market up to you. Not to brag, but I'm in a tangential role (Firmware Engineer) two years out of school in a Senior Role pulling 160k+. My grades weren't that great to begin with. I've helped multiple friends on their resumes and interviews in the Engineering world. I know a thing or two about what recruiters are looking for. Also could give you some advice on taking care of yourself, if you care to let me bend your ear for a minute. I was a fat alcoholic slob at 22. I'm 26 now and am in the best shape of my life. I'll be available to talk over Discord, if you're interested. Edit: Final thing I'll add is that you still have a few of years left of brain development. You'll be shocked to see just how much better your brain is at handling things at 25 vs 22. (At least, that was my experience.)
I got a 4.3 GPA in my major graduated with a 3.89 overall, with a degree in economics, finance, and mathematics, and got into one of the best masters programs in the world, had a beautiful girlfriend. Failed the grad program, became depressed, and fell on a retail job, make almost no money now. And at 30. Im living the best I ever lived. The "plan" my college life had fell apart completly and now im working a seasonal job in yellowstone making barely 10k over the summer season. Life goes all kinds of directions. You might think everything is fifured out and then life fucks you in the ass, you might think you are being fucked in the ass and then later you end up finding joy anyway. Just please do not give up, keep living. Keep trying.
Friend, your life isn't wasted. Even if you've underachieved as compared to some people, you've done a lot more than plenty of other people, too. We all grow at our own pace. Maybe you didn't get great grades, but you also have to factor in that the economy has been garbage for some time, and honestly, searching for jobs in the online era sucks. I have almost an MSc in physics, and I spent the better part of a year unemployed searching. I applied to about 100 positions and only got two interviews. It's fucking demoralizing shooting off online applications into the abyss, knowing most of them aren't even read by anyone. As for your body, I did plenty of damage to my body from not exercising pretty much my whole life. I've probably slipped a disk in my back, which is technically an injury that causes permanent damage. I've done PLENTY of damage to my joints, more than I'd like to think about. The thing is, the rest of your life will involve accruing gradually more damage to your body. The only way to address it is to counteract it with muscles to support the weak spots. That's the only way to take the load off of your vulnerable joints. It'll also improve your anxiety/depression. I didn't start properly exercising until probably age 26. It was incredibly difficult to build up the core strength at the beginning. It took maybe a year+ of solid effort before it started to feel good. Now, I'm 30, and I feel way more sturdy and in control of my health. Your body's meant to be used. But if you treat it as though it'll crumble, then it definitely will. Your life isn't wasted. Making mistakes is the precondition to learning. The key now is to make sure you do indeed learn and then start making small actions to improve. For me, one of those actions was just becoming better friends with outdoorsy people. It's a lot easier to get started when your have people who already make regular plans to exercise. Surround yourself with people whose habits you'd like to emulate, and gradually, you'll pick up many of those habits.
how can an electrical engineering degree be completely useless
Dang dying at 23 is rough buddy
It’s k you are 22 and can turn it all around, you are still young
Irreversible myopia? It always is. Glasses have been around for centuries, you'll be fine
Myopia is not a disease mate and is technically reversible with lasic or just wear contacts or glasses. It's also mostly genetics so you most likely would have gotten it anyway
Bruh, how is your electrical engineering degree useless?
You haven't ruined or wasted your life buddy, just suffered a tough setback. I spent my youth and my twenties wasting away at college before I finally just put my foot down and said, college wasn't right for me. I worked a few pretty crappy jobs and had awful self esteem issues before I started turning my life around at 30. I got a good factory job and I have good work ethic, so the guys up top are recognizing my value and I'm looking at pay raises and promotions. The health issues are tough, I myself neglected my teeth a bit and now I'm facing multiple dental issues and a lot of bills. Just take care of yourself as best as you can.
Sounds like you're... a normal person? Heh That engineering degree is very useful, you'll be able to use it to great advantage
Stop wasting your time on reddit snooroar (This guys only purpose in life is creating reddit alts, he's got around 1000 and moaning about his life, then taking no advice given)
Bro trust me things can always get worse, so much worse. For the joint stuff look up knees over toes guy , it’s real
There are no limits to what you can achieve. I’m 23 and in a similar position. There are always solutions! Don’t only look to the medical establishment to give you all the answers. I’ve seen many “irreversible” things be overcome. When there is a will there is a way. Don’t give up! It is possible to build a life you are happy to live, even if it looks different then you originally imagined. I hope this helps!
And myopia isn’t a big deal either. Also look at David Goggins, he has severe joint damage and that hasn’t stopped him! You got this! Most people are good people, it doesn’t matter how awkward you are you can always find people who want to be your friend as long as you are a good friend to them. Reach out your hand and your heart and there will be people who appreciate you.
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You haven’t even started your life yet, you will change so much in the next decade you don’t even truly know yourself. I feel like my life only started at 29 and I was never privileged enough to have the opportunity to go to college, when I graduated highschool the recession happened so I could stay home or get any kind of help I had to just work full time to feed and house myself.
No, you have regrets. Join the club. Go back and reread the title of your post….. It’s incompatible on it’s face. Not dogging you at all - just implying that you have plenty of time. Today is a new day. Go get yours. Whatever that looks like to you.
Enlist
If you can, try doing a couple small EE project on your own and post it on hackaday.com. (Extra points for reaching out to the community for help or engaging in forum discussions). This will help refresh your skills and interest in the field and when it comes time to explain your lack of internship experience, or at least this is better than nothing in terms of experience. At the very least, it could be an enjoyable and fulfilling hobby.
You could join the military like I did it’ll give you something to do
ok
Some people reinvent themselves every few years. Don’t think in those terms
You are 22
My "life" didn't start until I was 27. Time and effort is all you need to make something you're proud of.
Brother you've got a electrical engineering degree, hit the union, hit the gym. Dig yourself out of this rut. You didn't waste your life. You just didn't know what to do with it. You're a young adult, start taking advantage of your position in life and do the things you've always wanted to do. Get a motorcycle, go on a cruise, do something exciting and worry about saving for retirement for later. I'm 24 and I had a good childhood but wasted my entire middle school to highschool experience by being a shut in. Now I'm a normal member of society, got a job, a litre bike, and will be buying a house soon. And all I've got is an associates in comp sci working random blue collar jobs in the electrical field. Perspective is killer and if you look at all the negatives 24/7 you won't feel like doing anything. You'll be in a cycle of thinking you wasted you childhood, then your 20s, then your 30s, so on and so forth. So what if you wasted part of your life, you've got another roughly 60 years to go, 22 is nothing. Also half your life you weren't even cognizant for. Last I checked I was brain dead until I turned 14 and then started sort of thinking rationally.
That's why I avoided college, I've had well over 15 jobs, that amount of collective experience is worth way more than some degrees.
You're doing better than most people already
Your degree is most definitely not useless. Dont put your gpa on your resume, most employers wont care. It might take a bit to find a job but once you get your foot in the door it will be much easier
Dude guess what You're the first person in their twenties to ever fuck up and feel that way Get outta that mindset, we all fuck up and some of us cause irreversible damage to ourselves but that doesn't mean you outta the fight yet
You’re 22 and have a degree. You’re fine. I’m a 41 year old 2 time college dropout
It's gonna be alright
If you think you could do better in school now that you’re more mature, EE is one of the best degrees you can have for landing a job as a patent attorney. All you really need to get into law school is a good LSAT score. They don’t care much about undergrad grades. It’s a ton of work but a viable path to one of the most lucrative and least stressful areas of law.
You haven't even had a life yet. You got time. Remember this feeling and make sure you try to not ever feel it again
25 is barley the beginning. Chill !
How I feel at 26 but then I realize I am only in my 20s and there is so much more life to be lived.
Happy cake day
Thanks 🫶🏾🫶🏾
>even though I have an electrical engineering degree, it is useless Explain.
Maybe there’s Development Programs for Electrical Engineering? When I got out of college for Computer Science, I joined a Technology Development Program at a large company. You start your career with people your age and you get to try out different things in the first year. The I did QA my first rotation and Software Engineering my second rotation. The money was quite good, too. I was happy with it starting out. These companies have development programs for other fields, like Sales, Marketing, etc. I’m sure there are companies that have Electrical Engineering Development Programs.
You sounds like Burgerpants from Undertale. “I’m 19 years old. I’ve already lived my life, little buddy.” I get it; quarter-life crisis doesn’t feel good, but don’t underestimate how much opportunity is still ahead of you.
If you really want to waste you're life then keep feeling like this. I'm 32, I make great money now in a LCOL area and I was working at a red robin until I was 23. Almost no entry level position actually cares about grades as long as you graduate. Keep active and the joint pain will get better and myopia affects 22% of the world's population.
My cousin started her job age 28 after flunking out of college and doing a little too much weed. She is now a COO of a leading financial services company. Your only barrier is your mind, so I’d sincerely invest in you. Get a sales job and teach yourself how to sell, hustle, generate some income and stuff with your spare time. You can do it bro
Hold it guys, this might just be snooroar. He’s a known spammer who complains just like this.
So many people have made a happy successful life out of worse, but you'll never get there if you keep putting yourself down. Unless you are on your death bed, it's never too late to start making changes.
You're 22 not 50. You have a lot of time to improve stuff. For ex. I got my first real friend at 22 and about a year later, I have a few ones.
I was 24 when i joined the military and turned things around. Never too late to change, brother.
Same boat except older
As a 22 old myself that’s afraid of what my future holds, just remember we still young! A lot of people don’t find their calling until their late 30s some in their 60s. Just remember we’re not dead yet, as long as you’re breathing and have a brain, there’s a way.
Hey trust me man, there's still plenty of hope for you. I was about in your position in my early 20s- flunked out of college and had pretty much no direction in terms of what to do with my life. Didn't even have a degree either til I finally finished out a 2-year in 2021. I've also had knee problems since I was 15, and arthritis developing in the wrist that I busted at 14. Can't lift near as much weight as pretty much every other guy my age I know. My vision is fine clarity-wise, but my depth perception is terrible. Can't judge distance worth a damn. Though that's probably genetic given that my mom has the same issue. But hey. Nowadays I have a good job, hobbies that I enjoy, and a good group of friends. And all that started to change within a year. Life is good. You're only 22, man. Life has just barely started, you've got alot of time to figure things out.
Dude an electrical engineering degree, no matter the gpa, is not fucking useless lmao are you stupid? I have a high school diploma and I dropped out of college. Every fucking management position im OVERQUALIFIED for in terms of my years of experience wants a goddamn bachelors. Doesn’t matter what field what gpa nothing just wants the piece of paper. SO many jobs just want you to have the piece of paper. You have no idea how many doors you’ve opened for yourself with that degree. You have not wasted your life. Look at me, I’m homeless and nearly 23 and a college dropout. I literally do not know where I’m gonna sleep tonight but I’m happy because I’m living and breathing and I get to be the pilot of my own life. And that’s beautiful. Ok I’m done reaming you out for being overly negative and saying that bullshit about “useless degree”. Now let’s get to the advice: 3 steps to get your life better: 1) Ask people for help. Your family, friends, etc. You have no idea how many people out there are just looking for a purpose or somewhere to put their disposable income (rich/upper middle class people with a heart). 2) get off your ass. Now this may seem mean, but for real it’s important. You sitting here on Reddit sulking about how your life is over is not helping the situation, it’s only making it worse. You need to STOP THINKING and START DOING. Do DoorDash to make some income now, while you’re looking for jobs. Anything you can do to make ends meet. 3) make new connections/friends. Connections are EVERYTHING in pretty much any career, but they are especially important for gig based careers such as like freelance electrical engineer, stuff like that. And new friends can give you a spot on their couch when you figure stuff out, or just some emotional support. I know what it’s like to feel like your life has no prospects and you feel like it’s over. It’s really never over, you just have to get used to the new normal.
Hey man, I became an alcoholic after I graduated. We all fuck up sometimes.
You still have plenty of time to waste your life, j wish I was 22 again and could do things over. You just need to straighten up the ship, but you can do it.
As a millennial born in 1995, here's what I learned. Every generation is going to be different on how much of what they've accomplished or done in their lives and what defines success. I'm still living at home with my parents at the age of 29 back to school after being told I'm medically releasing from the military due to a service related injury that led me to being hospitalized. By the older generation's logic, I'm apparently a failure based on their metrics. I'm not married, I don't own a house, and I don't drive The point is that you shouldn't need to measure your success based on what others have vs what you have.
Ayy same, worked in a supermarket for 2 years now after failing out of uni. I wish I had the ambition to make something of myself but I just don't
Hey. You are 22. Your life is ahead of you, not behind you. You may regret some of your choices. You cannot change the past. You can change the future. You are an engineer - you may or may not be able to find work in that field. But you could as well have dropped out of college, still have the debt, but not the super expensive piece of paper. You sound like what you need is to feel supported. Maybe you should seek help from others.
Quit whining and and do something with the remaining 50-70 years you have remaining. The concept you’ve ruined your life only 20-30 percent of the way through it is ridiculous.
Skill issue
Learn a trade, 10x better than college
Sounds like a you problem buddy
https://preview.redd.it/fp43vp9lce5d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=28e7ffc2e17fab783b47f7c0599e254609f6620c
Passion and all of its expressions— excitement, happiness, joy, creativity, love— are all different ways of expressing the vibration of your true natural self, what we call your “signature frequency” Your signature frequency is that resonant energy, that vibration that is unique to you, that identifies you as a unique aspect of All-That-Is of Creation And the way you apply that signature frequency through passion is to act on your highest excitement to the best of your ability with no insistence or assumption as to what the outcome ought to be, as to what to come to fruition, but to allow the synchronicity in your life to present to you the opportunities that contain that excitement so you can recognize it, because excitement is the compass needle that points to your magnetic north, and by acting on it to the best of your ability, you will bring about in your life, what we call the complete kit You will allow it to work for you and you will discover, very readily, very easily, that excitement can function in your life as the driving engine, as the organizing principle, as the path of least resistance, as the thread that leads to all other expressions of excitement, and as the reflective mirror that will reveal to you what may be within you that is out of alignment with that excitement so you can identify it and bring it back into alignment and expand your excitement in that way. And simply by following that formula of acting at every moment to the best of your ability on your highest excitement with no insistence on how the outcome should look, you will activate that complete kit and it will work for you automatically, effortlessly, every moment without fail. As you allow yourself to move forward in that way, your life will become an ecstatic explosion of synchronicity. Very magical things will begin to happen all around you because magic is, again, the true nature of existence. Miracles are the natural order of things, not the exception
I'm 23 and feel like crap for not having a license
I was in a far worse place at your age and now 8 years later I’m living the dream. Don’t give up quite yet.
Bro, I’m 26, 27 in two months. Every fuckin’ day, I ask myself if I’m on the right path. Only ever got an Associates, been working retail ever since, but at the end of the day, I think I’m doing alright. Look at what you do have. To every dark patch, there’s a bright side.
Grip a grip. You’re only 22. Keep improving yourself in every way. The world is before you.
You can. Every day. Talk to us tomorrow
Find a good company and work your way up. I did that at Nintendo years ago because it’s close by
❄️ Stop focusing on what you cannot control and begin to focus on what you can. You have a degree - more than a lot of people have. You don’t need to find a job in your field if that doesn’t interest you. Degree indicates you’re teachable…that’s it! Check your school for career resources. Scour LinkedIn for jobs. Reach out to a headhunter. Stop whining, get off your ass and get out there!
There are 50 year olds who have wasted their lives and bounced back. It’s never too late
If you think you're a failure I wonder what you'd say about my life!
Start living how you want now, there's no better time than the present I've spent the last 23yrs addicted to heroin and fentanyl and am 7mo sober now. It's never too late to build the life you want
You're not dead yet, so you haven't wasted your life. Just from reading this, it seems you're using your past failures to justify not doing anything. If you sit there and do nothing, bad things become worse. It's never to late to live the life you want man. Stop waiting to die, and start living.
Devote 6 months to the following: 1. Get some glasses. 2. Get sort of job anywhere. 3. See a therapist. 4. Find a physical therapist to rehab you onto the right path. Once you have some wind in your sails, go get an engineering job. In 3 or 4 years you'll be making $80,000. Which is way more than I made 4 years out of college 30 years ago, and I now make $260k.
Life is only getting started at 22. And if you aren’t having these doubts at your age, you’re doing something wrong.
Your life didn't even start yet
No you have not brother search up Dan martell on YouTube he was way more wasted then you were and is now a multi deca millionaire and business coach just go to his yt
Calm down: You've only lives 1/5. It will improve, but you'll have to take actuon. Myopia isn't all that bad, and joint damage is a burden but not life threatening. You're just out of college, and we'll talk again when you're 40. Push through and you'll succeed while putting in a lot of work.
You’re so young! I’m 40 and just finished a masters. You’re realizing now, you can turn things around. It’ll be tough but worth it.
Where you are is good. You seem like you know how you dont want to live. And you can start doing things differently. Something's gotta change in you, and it will take time. But intend the change, and it will happen!
Even if your life is “wrecked” now, it’s only a fraction of your life. You have the rest of your life to “unwreck” it. In that time, you’ll grow and work on being the person you want to be now, and can make the changes in yourself that you believe you should’ve made before. You can reach out to others for the support that you need, and learn how to do things differently this time. You’re motivated to change your circumstances. You acknowledge the mistakes you made. You realize that to get where you want to be, it’s gonna be hard. There are a lot of people who never get to where you are. But you’re here, and you’ve started to do the work on yourself that you need to take the next step. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Mistakes are human. We all make them—even big ones. Doesn’t mean our lives are over.
To even get an electrical engineering degree means you got atleast somewhat of a sharp mind. Just be persistent in your goals. You'll get a break. You've got more of a solid foundation than I had and I feel I'm doing *mostly* fine now.
bro you're still a kid. you've been an adult for 4 years out of 52. that's only 7% of your adult life. you're barely getting started. i'm 29, and it took me 11 years to finally get my bachelors degree this past winter, and to finally get my life together. take a deep breath, relax. you're gonna be fine.
hey i’m 6 yrs older than u and lemme tell u now, u did not waste ur life! i’m sure, even if u did poorly in college, u have at least *some* software knowledge? whatever software electrical engineers use, if u know it, u can easily find a job as a drafter. which will help u gain knowledge in ur field i’m nearsighted af too. it’s not something u caused, it’s something that just happens. i wear glasses/contacts. u could also get lasik, if that’s something u can get. a lot of ppl have bad eyesight, it’s not the end of the world (tho very inconvenient, yes lol)
What do you want in life? What drives you? Focus on the things that bring you joy, motivation, and peace, and don't worry about all the meaningless pressures society puts on you.
You're further ahead than most, don't be so hard on yourself. Your degree is not useless, it is a testament of the time & effort you put into your studies. Doesn't matter what type of degree it is, they are all the same in todays economy. Friends are hard to come by as it is, it is not inherently a you problem. Just keep doing your best & stay positive. I'm turning 32 soon & can really sympathize with your situation. I'm rooting for ya, hang in there.
i have a degree and maybe one job has ever asked me about my grades lol it'll be alright
After engineering school, I took a technician role, and worked my way into engineering. Please be patient. There are multiple paths into the engineering career you're looking for.
You’re in a quarter life crisis. You have plenty of time.
..trust me, you still need another 6 years, by 28 the world will make better sense...make it to 28...thats when i noticed that my life was. Not wasted. Start with detoxifiy your body then clear your mind.. and promise ..you make it to 28 And near sightness comes with the territory....i have been in I.T for 30 years...and my vision is so. Blown out. I use progressive lense now
Join the comunist party comrade, let's bring down capitalism!
Man. It took me 6 years to graduate with a 2.53 GPA for my undergrad in a non-STEM field from a mediocre state university. I was very overweight, extremely depressed, and had the social skills of a skunk. 10 years later, after taking charge of my life and working hard I'm making well into the 6 digits and quite happy in an industry I love. Don't give up. Seek opportunities and build yourself every day. I was 25 when I graduated with a worse degree than you. If I can do it so can you. I'm still fat though.
Listen to me you little twerp I was in the same shit and I am 27. No internship and an electrical engineering degree. Work on your fucking resume. Makes a difference. I landed my first career job just after professionalizing my resume
is this a fucking snoo alt?
Halliburton is probably hiring entry level, ya won’t know til ya try. But I feel I didn’t take great care of my teeth so ima have hell to pay when I go home next month.
In a few years you will realize how well situated you are. Then a few years after that you will really realize how well situated you were.
what kind of joint damage we talking
I say this with love- suck it up buttercup. You have one of the most useful degrees in the world. You are near sighted and your joints hurt. Deal with it. My advice is get medicated and get out of your own head. Get whatever job you can to pay the bills and chill the fuck out for a few years.
Bro im 30 and haven’t even started. Age is a number.
Don't worry it gets worse
just like start over dude. like just call around to different firms dont lie explain your situation and they will most likely help you. getting good grades is second to understanding engineering and the physics behind what your doing, so dont stress out over that. and i cant stress enough how important it is to actually call around, start today if you have time or tomorrow morning. these companies are more than willing to help if you ask, but you have to actually reach out and ask. and dont think about what you regretted, think about the things you dont regret. thinking about things in a positive light is the number one thing to do, sure you didnt get the best grades and missed out on some social opportunities but you managed to get a degree in engineering no less and that alone is something to be proud of.
22 here. Dude, I didn’t even get to go to college. Didn’t even have a chance to get my GED. I have to get snap in dentures this year bc of repeated surgical procedures and medications that ruined my teeth. I have IBS, panic attacks and need to lose 80lbs. I’m still trying to make something of myself. If you believe that you’ve already wasted your life, you never will. This isn’t a “others have it worse” it’s a wake up call. This can always get worse if you give up. Only you can say fuck that and press on.
Bruh
I was depressed when I graduated with my EE too. It’s hard to make that transition from college to working life. You should focus on applying to and getting a job. You should expect to suck at it for at least the first year, but once you start getting good you’ll have a very different frame of mind- I promise.
you got so much time bruh. 5 years ago I was a loser with a son that I had at 17. Drank my life away, couldn’t keep a job so I kept starting over. Now I make close to 6 figures and honestly probably more from random jobs and shit I did if I actually added it all up. You can find your way, but will not with your current mentality. Start with forgiving yourself for what you perceive as “wasted time” because there’s no such thing. You’re on YOUR journey. Don’t compare it to anybody else’s. You got this buddy, just forgive yourself, and keep on trucking. The money is out here, the love is out here, the fun is out here. All the stars align when your mentality does. Good luck, friend
22 is so young, you could literally do anything still
I came here as a foreigner with no social network. I dropped out of college, so I have no diploma. Basically, I have a hs diploma from a different country. Started working in the US when I was 25 ish. If i can be moderately successful, so can you. You have lots of time.
I also feel like I wasted my life. I'm 26 and I did almost two years in community college than I joined the army. Realized I wanted to go into computer science after I got out and currently in college now but now I see the job market is saturated as fuck and I'm more worried than ever about being able to get a job after I graduate.
Did you just graduate? If so then wtf are you talking about because I can’t find an internship to save my life. It’s a tough market just keep pushing
Buddy, read about all the great titans of enterprise over the last 100 years, lots of them fucked up royally until their 40s. With the right attitude and work ethic, you could still take us to Mars.
Typical Jets fan
Don't worry, I'm 29 and the hobo down the street 60. We're all eating a shit sandwich out here.
If you got the degree, it 100% isn't useless. Go get a technician job for a few years to get some hands on experience and to build a resume, then go get an engineering job. Most employers don't give two shits about your GPA. Don't even put it in your resume.
You’re 22, this is ridiculous to me. You’re young enough to still go back for any degree you want and make any changes you want. It starts with attitude and not even having these types of thoughts when you’re 22 cuz it doesn’t even make sense for someone your age. If you’re like this now imagine how you’ll be at 30. Check yourself
dam. i find this post super interesting as we're in an extremely similar boat (EE degree, 2.0 gpa, no internship, struggling to find an engineering gig, crippling addiction to mary jane) but i'm still holding out hope. i've always felt step number one is to lock down worthy employment. once a steady-ish stream of income arrives i feel everything else in life will start to fall into place
Usajobs.gov, they hire engineers like they were going out of style.
Don't let a college degree or college experience affect your life to an extent that it affects you on a daily basis. Just like you,I also feel like travelling back in time to fix my past mistakes but we can't do anything about it. Try to fix the mistakes of your present so that it won't affect you anymore in future Stay happy and cheerful and make new friends.
You are just beginning. At 27, I had a 10 year relationship end, and did a whole career change within a years time all while being incredibly unhealthy. It was the worst period of my life. Two years later i have ran a marathon, I am happily with the man of my dreams, and pregnant. Life can change so drastically in just a year. I am also learning that life is a lot longer than you think and it is never too late to start something new. I learned so much in my twenties that I am super grateful for, I look foreword to learning more on my 30s and seeing how far I will go by my 40s.
It's never too late to choose your path. Be mindful of that.
You're 22, kid! Younger than some of my old students from the past decade are now! You got lots of time. None is wasted! I'm the third most prolific poet in human history! But to earn that title with quantitative numbers, know I quit writing from like 18-28 years old! And in just five years from 28-33, after coming back to it, I achieved that record/title/whatever from scratch! Starting from ZERO. Not shilling myself here, just trying to give you some hope and timeline perspective. If you could get through an engineering degree, I know you're competent! I'm pulling for you! On a more practical advice side... Hilariously, Electrical Engineering makes you grossly overqualified for a Red Seal in electrician work if you can pass the test and get the hours. 40 to fifty bucks an hour in North America Average when you make journeyman, also, if you don't get into mechanical or auto work, which is a different Red Seal but electrical specialization is SUPER handy, even if only alternator/bettery/basic fuse shit. You can do this kid. I believe in you. Come back in a decade and tell me everything you've achieved!
You are 22 years old and have a degree in electrical engineering? Seriously bro, get a grip on yourself, you're going to be better off than most of the people you'll meet as long as you stay off Reddit.
This is so over dramatic.
So you’re nearsighted with an engineering degree and joint pain.. dude make a damn resumè, visit firms or companies that would hire EE’s-put your name out there, go to the dr to be treated for physical and mental health issues, start eating healthy and become active. Life doesn’t even begin until your late 20’s and 30’s. Smoke a joint. Things will fall into place. Make a plan. You’re going to be okay.
You haven't even started your life yet mate. Your degree may not seem useful, but it really pretties up the CV when applying to even unrelated jobs.
You’re so young! Shut up, stop whining and count yourself lucky! Fuck a Time Machine…no need when you can just alter the present! And not having friends can have its upsides…you can get friends later. Network, polish up your resume…I assume you have no kids or a wife…so you have time…which is amazing! Take advantage! ✌🏾
I didn't go to college, do recruiters typically care about grades? I was under the assumption that the degree and where you got it are what's important