I graduated in the winter in 2023, didn’t attend the ceremony or anything. I have really bad social anxiety so the ceremony seemed like more stress than a celebration for me, I just ordered food and relaxed. But I do remember, after walking out of my last final, thinking “damn do that’s it huh”, I know it’s just a bachelors degree but I didn’t believe in myself enough to even think I’d ever actually graduate. Things turned out okay though, even had a job lined up before graduation which was lucky given the current job market for software engineering. Believe in yourself, your hard work got you that degree, proud of you man!
Comment on Anon is an engineer
Taalen@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I just didn’t go to my graduation ceremony, despite there being free dinner. Was (and had been for ages) struggling with pretty bad depression and didn’t feel I deserved any of it.
emergencybird@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Taalen@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Thanks. I’ve done pretty well for myself, I’d like to say. I landed a nice job around six months later and have been able to show my talent pretty well. Due to fighting with depression I entered the workforce around ten years after most of my peers. As an engineer, I’ve caught up the median pay for my peers with 15 years more experience. Can’t complain.
VinnyDaCat@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Didn’t go to any of mine outside of high school because I was a kid and my parents could force me on that one. By the time I finished grad school I really felt like I was just another person in an increasingly growing rat race. It’s not even that I haven’t accomplished anything so much as I haven’t accomplished anything particularly unique that sets me apart and grants me intellectual value.
grrgyle@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
I also skipped my graduation. But just because I don’t like that kind of stuff.
Why do you feel like you didn’t deserve to graduate? I’m sure you did deserve it.
Taalen@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Felt I didn’t deserve to celebrate. Depression messes up with your brain big time.
grrgyle@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
I get you. It’s hard to think otherwise when all the world is a grey mist.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I skipped as much as my parents would let me get away with, because in my mind, walking for graduation is give the graduate’s family and friends a chance to formally congratulate them. I hated every minute of it, but I can deal with that for one day.
When I finished school, I was already working full-time in my career (internship turned into a FT opportunity), so walking didn’t feel valuable at all.
Varyag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I finished university at the end of 2019. My graduation ceremony was supposed to have happened in 2020 but uh, other things happened. It took me until the latter half of 2022 to even get my hands on my diploma.
tetris11@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I’ve got 3 degrees and have a Gold Duke of Edinburgh award (if you do bronze, silver, and gold, you get to shake hands with a failed king)
I am right now, sitting at home in my jammies eating burritos. I regret nothing.
SynopsisTantilize@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
How do I become smart? All I do are online courses for tech and such. I have an established career. Good money, house family and shit…but I want the prestige of at least having a degree. But I’m functionally retarded with math.
Skullgrid@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Congrats, you are smart.
The challenge you have now is to acknowledge and feel it.
So here’s the problem. you want the prestige, not the intelligence. You can get a degree in various ways if you want, and have the time. You can attend a university course part time, or through their online facilities. Choose a topic you’ve done a lot of online courses for and try for a degree.
There’s resources online to help with this, maybe the new methods will help you understand math concepts better. Common core, khan academy, and the sponsor of this lemmy post, skillshare
JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
For some tracks there are even speedrun/lower-cost guides for online degrees through places like WGU. They except transfers from online courses as well. You can do it cheap, especially if you get tuition reimbursement.
I just found out my state (Massachusetts) offers associates programs at any CC for anyone who doesn’t already have a degree. For adults over 25 the program is called MassReconnect.
SynopsisTantilize@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I do want to earn the degree. Not fast track my way through or anything. Im 33. I skipped higher education for CS, MS, Networking certs. The general ed courses are my only stopping block. And widdling that down more it really is math.
I won’t commit until I put my money where my mouth is most of the time. I’ve learned that from burning myself out with certs.
tetris11@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
You don’t need to be smart. Back in my uni, there were student initiatives to record the questions and answers of previous exams. The Math department itself gave out previous years exams to study from.
The key to remember: exams aren’t written my professors, they’re written by the postdocs who have better things to do, and so they just rehash the same stuff from the year before.
If you want to get a useless piece of paper that tells you that you are an expert in topic X, then don’t learn X, learn to pass the papers for the X exam, and learn X later in your free time if you’re still interested in it.
SynopsisTantilize@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Hmm…sounds like something I need to look into. I do want the useless piece of paper. But I want to earn it. For myself lol
rockSlayer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Something, something judging a fish by it’s ability to climb a tree
I think you’re a smart person that’s terrible at math. It’s ok to be bad at math, I am too and I have a degree in computer science with a union job. Now that I’ve thrown away a bunch of money, I’ve learned that CS is awesome and I love it but I don’t feel like I can qualify myself as being smart with it. With age I learned that I’m really smart with labor militancy and history, and if I could go back I’d get a degree in labor studies. I think you just need to find your topic.
SynopsisTantilize@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I also think I can be a smart person that is terrible at math. I have so many niches of hobbies that I’ve gotten into, and my boss has already reiterated that a degree isn’t going to help my tech ical skills at this point. But it’s something I’d like to earn for myself. So the sky (and my wallet) are the limit on the degree I’d get.