What to Do if You Don’t Like What Course You’re Studying

Take a deep breath because it’s all going to be ok 🫶

We know what the feeling is like. You’ve finished Year 12, you’ve chosen your uni, TAFE or VET course for the new year.

But once you start…it’s not what you imagined and you just don’t feel like this is the right course for you.

Firstly, we want to assure you that as a high school leaver you do not have to know what you want to be when you’re ‘grown up’. In fact, there are adults who still don’t know what they want to do.

Gen Z’s are expected to change their career three times over their lifetime. So, changing your mind about your course is nothing.

But in terms of the next steps, here’s what to do if you don’t like what you’re studying.

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Be 100% confident in your decision.

Now we’re not saying you’re not sure of your decision…but we’re also saying it doesn’t hurt to be extra sure. Take the time to think about your decision.

If you need, do some research into what types of jobs you could get after completing what you’re studying. If this is something you might want to pursue, then maybe it’s a good idea to stick it out for a while.

It’s also worth asking yourself if there are other extenuating circumstances which might be making you feel a certain type of way about your chosen course.

Speak to someone you trust about it.

While you might want to speak to your parents or older sibling before you make any huge decisions, there are also other people you can speak to.

Reach out to university/TAFE or VET counsellors about what steps you could take next. Or even talk to the student guild where you’re studying about how you are feeling.

If you want to find out more about what a future in this career could look like, speak to someone doing that career to find out what it’s like firsthand! Or even reach out to your lecturers/tutors if you feel comfortable doing so – they’ve been where you are too.

Pull out before the submission date.

This is more of a logistical tip, but if you are sure you want to pull out of the course, you need to withdraw from all your units before the ‘census date’ of your tertiary institution.

A census date is the date an educational provider or institution will set for a unit of study and it is the last date before a person can withdraw from a unit of study before incurring a HELP debt in respect to that unit.

So, you could still pull out of that unit after the census date, but you will have to pay for the unit as part of your HECS-HELP loan.

The date is usually set a few weeks into the beginning of the semester but if you’re looking for your institution’s census date, it’s best to check their academic calendar.

Defer your course instead.

Instead of pulling out of your study completely, why not defer what you’re studying instead?

If you’ve gone straight from high school to tertiary education, it’s not out of the ordinary for you to feel a little burnt out.

So, if you’re not feeling great about your course, why don’t you take the semester off? Get a job, do some travelling, try some volunteer work, and regroup at the start of the next semester to see if what you’ve chosen to study is still something of interest to you.

Take your time exploring what you want to do next.

There’s no pressure for you to decide what you want to do next.

It can feel a little isolating when all your friends have gone into full-time study and you’re still unsure about your chosen path. But it’s important to remember, everyone finds their passion and path in life differently and at different times.

You’ve got this 🫶

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