A Practical Guide To Making The Switch When Uni Isn’t Working For You

You’ve got a funny feeling in your gut, don’t you?

You looked around your lecture this morning, saw a sea of studious people writing notes on the snooze-fest PowerPoint like it was the most exciting thing in the world, and thought, “Huh. I couldn’t muster up that effort if I tried. What’s wrong with me?”

Well, absolutely nothing. You’re just not pursuing something you feel connected to. A condition that way more people have experienced than you realise.

Quitting uni and finding a new path is daunting, but it’s far from the road less-travelled. Here’s our practical guide to doing it well.

#1 Tell Yourself That This Is Perfectly Normal

I know people will tell you this anyway, over and over, but it bears repeating: being unsure about what your ideal future looks like is part of the human experience.

That girl with the shiny hair from your primary school who always knew she wanted to be an environmentalist? She’s the exception, not the rule. Heck, even your granddad’s job at the nuclear power plant* (or, whatever) wasn’t what he wanted to do. He just went ahead and did it because back then, that’s what you did.

Now, we’re lucky enough to be able to make a choice. And while it’s a tough one, it’s still better than having none at all. Sure, it could see you and one third of your peers unenrol from your degree! Big whoop.

One third! See? Normal.

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#2 Unenrol As Soon As Possible

If your current uni course really isn’t working for you, then unenrol. Pronto. (Yes, people still say “pronto”.)

While taking some time to figure out what you want in a career is completely fine, shouldering a bunch of debt for something you feel lukewarm about isn’t. Get the deferral paperwork signed, scanned and sent off to the Dean of Admissions as soon as you can. The countdown to census date is on! Go!

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#3 Figure Out Why Your Current Course Is A Dud

It’s great that you’ve found the “what”, but often times, finding the “why” is just as helpful.

There must be something in you that bristled when you looked at the potential degree or career stretching out in front you. What was that thing?

Be completely honest with yourself. It could be that it sounds like too much admin. Or you didn’t realise the one thing that sounded cool about it was only two per cent of the actual work.

Identifying these things will help you work backwards to eliminate other options.

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#4 Define Your Values

When you’re figuring out how you’ll spend your future, people will commonly tell you to “do you what you love” – and that’s important! – but you’ll be home free if doing what you love also happens to be something you genuinely believe in. It’s basically the same, but it makes you think less about what’s enjoyable and more about what you want to contribute to society.

(Also, because if we all just did what we loved for a living, this author would be a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills.)

There are tonnes of really beneficial personality quizzes that will help you crystalise your values and interests. The Myers-Briggs test is one (the free online version of it is here). The O Net personality indicator is another.

It’s also a good idea to talk to people who really know you. You may have an idea of what your strengths and weaknesses are, only for your best friend to say, “HA! You’re so not a people person, dimwit”.

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#5 Start Connecting With People In The Industry

Once you’ve whittled your preferences down to “wouldn’t completely hate this”, you can start researching industries.

Pick five careers or pathways that you want to know more about and seek out people who are doing them. For example: event manager, PR maven, nurse, graphic designer, and big-time business manager.

Chances are that you know someone, even remotely, who is working in one of those fields. Seek them out, offer to buy them a coffee, then get them to tell you about an average day in their job in painstaking detail.

The Pineapple Project has a great podcast episode about how to make the most of coffee catch-ups like these.

Listening to someone talk about what it is they actually, physically do, day in, day out, is really eye-opening. Like, public relations may sound glitzy but after the long, fancy lunches are over, you’re gonna have to send a lot of emails, do heaps of cold-calling, and deal with demanding clients, so it’s good to hear what that’s like from the horse’s mouth.

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#6 Work Out Your Pathway

Once you’ve identified two or three things you’re keen to pursue, you can map the pathway to getting there.

This may involve going to TAFE NSW, starting with another course. If you’re not yet ready to commit to another degree, test the waters with a short course or diploma before delving into something bigger. Consider volunteering, interning – whatever. You could even just keep working at your casual job until you’re in the headspace to get stuck in to something again.

After all, there’s no time limit and there’s no finish line. Something will come. Just do you.

*Homer Simpson. We were thinking of Homer Simpson.

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With over 1200 courses, diplomas and degrees across a variety of industries, at TAFE NSW you can find your dream course and study your way with full-time, part-time and online options.

Be in a course you love. Be ambitious. Make the switch to TAFE NSW.