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Thread: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

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    Loves duck, Peking Duck! bsodmike's Avatar
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    Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Sure, this is a bit more heart to heart than my usual ramblings on watches, pens, and gundams. Those are merely some of my interests, fuelled by an interesting childhood comprising of a lot more 'adult' companions than those of my own age, although I guess I was a bit more mature for my age back then*. Did I say I was 'mature'? Well, compared to anyone of my age (at the time at least) I could say that I enjoyed the company of adults, i.e. anyone say over 40, more than those of my own age.

    This, however, did not mean that I wasn't immature in my own way - I still am, when I want to be I can meet any young kid and instantly form a bond thanks to my history as an avid gamer. I probably spent more time playing computer games during my O-levels more than I studied and my Mother was quite amazed how I did as well as I did, without really applying myself at all. This side of me only manifested itself at University. Yes, I hated school and really didn't care for mathematics...ha!

    I'm in a rather Freudian mood and wonder if these experiences really moulded me to be who I am today: pedantic, cynical, antisocial and quite eccentric, at least for my tender age of 26. Mix in a dose of regret and (I did say immature right?) now after my Masters ....I get to face the "real" world.

    It's not like the good old days where boy meets girl and they join up with fancy robots to save the planet; instead, boy meets financial jesus (looks like he finally came, who knew) causing havoc and even making that poor bull near that wall and street thing less "bullish". So where does this leave a 26-year old living in the middle of no-where with degrees up the wazoo (that cost my Mom well over £80-100k) rendered essentially worthless by the current economic gloom? Mmm...some call it limbo, I call it "the rut". I hate ruts as they are similar to black holes...they not only suck in light and the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum and cause a temporal time dilation but they also can suck in a persons self-esteem, moral and cause them to ramble, pouring their souls onto some forum for all to jeer at (*drum roll*...Clunk!).

    Enough with my "Dummies..." attempt at humour. The rut has me feeling quite a bit of anticlimax, especially with the end of University. Oh yes, in my earlier Freudian dissection of my personality and existence so-far I failed to mention one of the side-effects of my charming personality...it tends to repel most people, not unlike the way like charges behave. It could just be a case of "Mike, get off your well cushiony behind and dance like it's 1999", which goes against all my "antisocial" principles but at the same time all the folks I knew back home (where I happen to be) are no longer here, and are in fact spread out over the globe. Then again, I could count the people who probably gave a toss about me with a couple fingers.

    I seem to have completely lost the point of making this post now. Oh yes, the rut. I'm still stuck in said rut. Facing the unknown - this is how I'd describe the sky above "Rut-land", or considering where I am make that "Rut-island", and I'm not talking about the ruts in our terrible roads either.

    Any thoughts on how to get out of this rut? Should I consider taking refuge in "Phd-topia" (possibly the US) or get back to finishing off my Gundam? I hope Saracen would dispense some advice, I do love reading his eloquent posts.

    Night all, keep safe and all the best. I'm off to watch some Gossip Girl, at least their lives are far more exciting than my mundane drudging through "Rut-land".

    Cheers
    Mike.

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    WEEEEEEEEEEEEE! MadduckUK's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    skip to the end...?
    Quote Originally Posted by Ephesians
    Do not be drunk with wine, which will ruin you, but be filled with the Spirit
    Vodka

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    Flat cap, Whippets, Cave. Clunk's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Quote Originally Posted by bsodmike View Post
    for all to jeer at (*drum roll*...Clunk!).
    Quote Originally Posted by Blitzen View Post
    stupid betond belief.
    You owe it to yourself to click here really.

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    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Mike, you come from a completely different situation than most of us and indeed most of the people going to uni. To them uni is one more necessary step which they have to claw their way out of proud of their achievements and full of relief in what it now enables them to do. You never had that pressure and the resulting anti-climax is rather predictable. Will doing a PhD help? Not at all - it'll just be more of the same.

    So my advice - you need to find something that actually is of importance in your life, or if not of yours then someone else's and hope that you can find a sense of achievement by proxy.

    Go trek to some remote impoverished part of the world and make a difference. Found a school, teach, set up a business and self-sustaining legacy to fund the school. Whatever.

    Think that's too hard? Try it. A hell of a lot of people thought that about uni too.

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    Loves duck, Peking Duck! bsodmike's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    Mike, you come from a completely different situation than most of us and indeed most of the people going to uni. To them uni is one more necessary step which they have to claw their way out of proud of their achievements and full of relief in what it now enables them to do. You never had that pressure and the resulting anti-climax is rather predictable. Will doing a PhD help? Not at all - it'll just be more of the same.
    I think that's a rather harsh comment to make, but then again by making the OP I was asking for it. But that's exactly my point - I do not intend to forever lean on whatever my 'situation' might be. That does nothing for my career. I want to make something of myself, and academically I've done that. It's just that getting a decent job right now isn't as easy as it used to be when I went to Uni in the first place.

    Some may have gotten the wrong impression. I do not have a trust fund, nor a limo or my own private island. However, my family isn't badly off either. That said, I've never factored any of this into my aspirations as an engineer. Even if I happened to have, say a trust fund or crazy inheritance what have you, I would not be content without having a job, as my career comes first.

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    Go trek to some remote impoverished part of the world and make a difference. Found a school, teach, set up a business and self-sustaining legacy to fund the school. Whatever.

    Think that's too hard? Try it. A hell of a lot of people thought that about uni too.
    I'm not sure where I gave you the impression that I did not care for my achievements, and by no means is it a simple feat to get a distinction for a MSc by being lazy. I don't think any one really comes to grasp the concept of hard until they embark on such a course; but that's beside the point of my original post. The rut is not to do with my passion for engineering or robotics - they *are* my passion. The anticlimax was more a result of my knowing I'd do well, and now the fun's over.

    Considering I've been in academia for quite some time, I'm not entire sure if the transition to becoming a drone in industry would be a smooth one, of it would suit me at all. Oh, I am already teaching at the moment whilst consulting for a UK researching firm. I guess I just need to survive the current economic downturn till I can take my career to the next step. It's just right now, and especially where I am, my degrees aren't considered to be much as Sri Lanka isn't as developed and the degrees sought after here are in Software Engineering and Computer Science. Most employers here can't seem to comprehend what a "Mechatronics" degree is in the first place and some have even asked me "what is that?".

    As for founding a school, that is a great idea. My great-grandmother did that; one of the oldest and most respected girls (local) school in Sri Lanka. My plan is to "make a difference" through engineering, but that's still a plan for now.

    Moral of the story, choose your degrees carefully. As such, I may take up a PhD in a related Math/Physics field rather than sticking with Robotics, as it does seem to have a limited scope, at least in some parts of Asia. Robotics is huge in the US though; I will have to give moving there much more thought it seems.
    Last edited by bsodmike; 21-08-2009 at 07:35 PM.

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    Ghost of Hexus Present sammyc's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Take some time out in order to learn stuff about yourself, I would in your shoes. Not necessarily the gap-year cliche of backpacking the globe, but even just doing things that differ from what you know and seeing where it leads you. Point 1, you can afford to, presumably, which a lot of people would be glad to swap with you - point 2, you'll get a different perspective on a lot of things than being in the educational system indefinitely.

    That's my opinion however, not having ever been to university, and counting every day I spent in education a day wasted. You know your own ambitions etc best career-wise; but it sounds as though you have some personal life/situation areas of dissatisfaction as well, so give yourself a chance to work those out.
    Last edited by sammyc; 21-08-2009 at 07:36 PM.

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    Herr Doktor Oetker, ja!!! pollaxe's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    It's only recently I've discovered you're a young un, Mike. For some reason I imagined you as a 50-something, bearded (possibly pipe-smoking) kind of chap who had a collection of antique rifles and a drinks cabinet filled with every exotic liquor on the planet. That's not meant to be insulting, btw - it means you're clearly an interesting chap with a lot of potential in your life.

    Anyway - this post uni blues is a pretty common thing. The bad news is that it sucks but the good news is that it does go away and probably more quickly than you'd expect. I missed my friends from my uni days but I'm still in touch with most of them and what with email, forums, Faceache and the like it's much easier to keep contact.

    Now, as to what to do next I would say if you're going to act on an impulse to do something then be careful. You may need a little time to really work through in your mind what you want to do. I'm nearly 40 and still haven't worked that one out but what the hell. I did a Ph.D. - fortunately it was in a subject that I loved, otherwise I would've binned it years ago. I did it part time and all the stupidity on my college's part made it into a decade-long monster that threatened to destroy me. I came as close as I ever have to a complete breakdown a couple of times but I was too stubborn to give up. My interest in the subject kept me going through 153,000 words and all the other bs that plagued it.

    So, some advice FWIW from an old-timer who remembers this kind of thing is don't be too hard on yourself. Don't put yourself under undue pressure to do something unless you think it's something that needs to be done. Something will work-out, it may surprise you what comes along - I've done nothing with my Ph.D. yet, I work with computers, despite specialising in medieval warfare. You remind me of a friend of mine with your description of yourself. He was a brilliant theoretical archaeologist (some of whose work was even plagiarised by another famous academic but we won't talk about that!) and extremely antisocial and highly eccentric. For example, he once rigged up a brilliant pulley system and secretly installed it overnight so that when a mutual friend opened the door to his room then a large and extremely smelly dead fish was dragged across the quad. Ultimately pointless (a bit like this anecdote, perhaps) but quite brilliant (definitely not like this anecdote then.) Anyway, he now works in a library, has a very nice girlfriend and seem quite happy with his lot. I think there's hope for you yet.

    Change is unsettling but it can also provoke interesting new directions. You may not know what to do next or where to go but give it a little bit of time and things will fall into place..

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    Loves duck, Peking Duck! bsodmike's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Quote Originally Posted by sammyc View Post
    Take some time out in order to learn stuff about yourself, I would in your shoes. Not necessarily the gap-year cliche of backpacking the globe, but even just doing things that differ from what you know and seeing where it leads you. Point 1, you can afford to, presumably, which a lot of people would be glad to swap with you - point 2, you'll get a different perspective on a lot of things than being in the educational system indefinitely.

    That's my opinion however, not having ever been to university, and counting every day I spent in education a day wasted. You know your own ambitions etc best career-wise; but it sounds as though you have some personal life/situation areas of dissatisfaction as well, so give yourself a chance to work those out.
    Cheers Sammy! You're quite right about the dissatisfaction I've felt and I think it was more to do with my being obsessed with my studies (once I got to Uni at least!). Most of the arts students in the Halls were inebriated most of the time and they definitely had a great time. Medics and engineers neither have the same luxury nor can they afford such a carefree attitude.

    Much R&R and exploring other aspects of life is just what the Doctor ordered, too, me thinks.
    Last edited by bsodmike; 21-08-2009 at 08:48 PM.

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    Banhammer in peace PeterB kalniel's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Quote Originally Posted by bsodmike View Post
    I think that's a rather harsh comment to make
    You sounded like you needed a kick up the bum

    I'm not sure where I gave you the impression that I did not care for my achievements
    Your whole post gave that impression, as does:

    The anticlimax was more a result of my knowing I'd do well, and now the fun's over.
    Exactly my point.

    Considering I've been in academia for quite some time, I'm not entire sure if the transition to becoming a drone in industry would be a smooth one, of it would suit me at all. Oh, I am already teaching at the moment whilst consulting for a UK researching firm. I guess I just need to survive the current economic downturn till I can take my career to the next step. It's just right now, and especially where I am, my degrees aren't considered to be much as Sri Lanka isn't as developed and the degrees sought after here are in Software Engineering and Computer Science. Most employers here can't seem to comprehend what a "Mechatronics" degree is in the first place and some have even asked me "what is that?".

    As for founding a school, that is a great idea. My great-grandmother did that; one of the oldest and most respected girls (local) school in Sri Lanka. My plan is to "make a difference" through engineering, but that's still a plan for now.
    So build a bridge

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    Loves duck, Peking Duck! bsodmike's Avatar
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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Quote Originally Posted by kalniel View Post
    So build a bridge
    Heh. My paternal grandfather was one of the first Civil engineers in Sri Lanka, and I only recently found out that he went to King's as well. Mmm, he built bridges too.

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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Ok, so you've completed your studies but aren't sure what job you actually want to do? Well to be honest, I'd suggest try and get a "normal" job, get used to the routine and drudgery because if you can hack working in an office 9-5, anything more interesting will be a bonus and it'll save you any disappointment if you discover that your chosen career path isn't exactly what you wanted to do.

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    Re: Anyone got that anticlimaxy feeling after Uni?

    Quote Originally Posted by bsodmike View Post
    As such, I may take up a PhD in a related Math/Physics field rather than sticking with Robotics, as it does seem to have a limited scope, at least in some parts of Asia. Robotics is huge in the US though; I will have to give moving there much more thought it seems.
    So, you are considering continuing to hide away in acedemia for longer now it's almost over?
    If you ever want to develop as a person, you have to move out of your comfort zone.
    "In a perfect world... spammers would get caught, go to jail, and share a cell with many men who have enlarged their penises, taken Viagra and are looking for a new relationship."

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