DILEMMA OF AN ENGINEERING STUDENT: STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN?

Good evening sir,

I’m James by name, and presently a 400L engineering student in a federal University here in Nigeria. The problem is I don’t think I have a passion for the course I’m studying. Maybe I used to, but for now it’s just not there. I’m 19 going to 20, and I don’t think I’ll be able to actually graduate with my mates because I’ve failed a lot of courses. An unbelievable number of courses and I don’t think I can carry on any longer. My CGPA right now lies at 1.74 and I’m not sure what kind of magic I could perform to get it to an appreciable level. Not forgetting the fact that I’ve already accumulated for myself an extra year or more.

Truth be told, studying engineering wasn’t exactly my first dream. It only became a dream after my parents compelled me to go for it instead of a degree in finance. My dad is a chartered accountant, and I thought “Oh well, he’s done this job for years. He probably knows why” and with that, my miserable academic journey into the faculty of engineering began. I’ll also like to admit that another reason I went into engineering was because most friends were going for it. I was blinded by peer pressure.

I’ve always wanted to work in the financial sector as a banker, but like I said earlier, my parents weren’t in support. My academic failure began from 100L and I should have taken note of that, but I continued hoping things would change. No one besides my friends and course mates know about my academic position right now. I’m like the dullard of the class, and the shame is something I can’t handle.

Right now, I’m at a crossroad in my life. I want to start all over with a degree in banking and finance. I never really knew what I wanted to do besides being a banker, and also I was discouraged by news that bankers were treated like slaves and paid in peanuts. That’s another reason why I continued with this. Now, I think I know what I want to do. I want to be an investment banker.

Now, I’m a bit bothered about my age with the age limit stuff going on with companies now, especially financial institutions. I don’t know what to do. I’m just clueless, and I hate my life right now. Even if I start all over, the thought of depending on my parents for another 4 years is just too depressing, not to talk of the thought of watching my mates graduate.

Please help me sir. What do you think I should do?

James

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Dear James,

I feel you pain, your dilemma.

There are two issues here: your parents forced you to study a course you didn’t like and for that reason, you also did not take your engineering study seriously.

But let us not dwell much on the past.

My initial thought was advising you to forge ahead, as you can still make second class lower, which is not a bad grade and can get you banking job, given that 1.74, your current CGPA, is not far from 2.40, the beginning point of second class lower bracket. 2.2 looks doable, even as you’re in your penultimate year now.

I however dropped that view for two reasons: one, you’re already so frustrated with the course that I don’t think any motivation will make much difference again; two, you have too many carry-overs that, even if you score A when you re-write them, the effect will be something like C or D in first instance. That route appears a very tough one, if not a dead-end.

The good thing in my opinion – and the main reason I’m dropping my first thought above – is that, at 19 or 20, you’re not too old to start again.

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Watching your mates graduate is a non-issue; the race is never for the swiftest. In any case, either way, you’re not graduating with them as your references (carry-overs) have foreclosed that. So perish that.

I’m inclined to saying you should start again in a course of your desire, and I will recommend a private school where the four years is guaranteed, provided your parents can afford it. I will also suggest you go for economics, rather than banking and finance. Very few investment bankers studied banking and finance for first degree. Economics has broader prospects.

If you write UME in this 2015, you can still gain admission to a private university by September this year. At 20 now, you will be finishing at 24, which is still within the age grade limits of many companies. In any case, I also completed my first degree at 24.

If you could sit your parents down and talk to them passionately that you want to start all over again, I think it will be helpful. Forget about all your friends graduating before you and all that.

I wish you all the best.

Jarus