Just looking for some info, replies greatly appreciated.

Little intro:
For various personal and intellectual reasons I'm currently very frustrated with uni (first year). The lack of challenging material has lead to my being lazy and as a result not doing amazingly on exams etc, (Granted my writing skills don't help) only one 'phase test' with a 36% and the rest 70%+, But it's certainly a sign. -this 36% is due to a lack of formatting my existing knowledge to the structures required, not a lack of info (Achieved Highest accreditation with the same content last year in electronics).

If I wasn't paying stupendous amounts of debt on wasting my time, I would just kick back, do the little work needed and wait until the end of second/third year, additionally the environment I'm currently in feels like a massive step backwards.

The above combined with my other experiences has lead to some very serious depression etc.

My solution:
As I still wish to earn a degree from progressing with mainly third year content; I am trying to find jobs or an apprenticeship type thing that would enable me to :

1) Program in a challenging,professional environment
2) Develop the skills needed to then resume uni at level 6+ (Third year ),if needed.
--
3)Provide me needed income to survive in the mean time.
4)Preferably in the Sheffield (U.K) area or commutable range, again personal reasons

Requested info:
Any websites/links that would provide this solution, or your personal experience with such things.
Kind regards
Jamie

The above combined with my other experiences has lead to some very serious depression etc.

Have you gotten any help with this? Depression may be the real problem, not just a symptom.

I'm going to seek help soon, thanks, My brother has suffered from clinical depression and it is certain different from my experience, although you may be correct; I can't say for sure.

Thirding the depression side. I've got classic bipolar disorder so I've seen first hand how the depression side can harm a life. Unless depression is managed properly it will overwhelm everything else. Mental health concerns touch every other aspect of your life. Get that taken care of first and foremost. Even if the depression is caused by the situation you are in rather than chemical/biological issues, still get it addressed the a combination of counselling and medication as your doctors direct.

As for education, it depends on your location on the globe. If you live in a location where education is expected then not having it will be detrimental. If you live in an area with many colleges and universities and the vast majority of job applicants have a degree, your not having a degree will get your application filtered out. Even if you have a stellar portfolio you will still lose out to people who have a stellar portfolio AND a degree with formal education. And if you happen to live in a place today that doesn't require much education, consider that eventually you will move and the new location may require it. In addition to making it easier to pass HR filters, it will help with salary negotiations (more money for you) and other aspects of employment.

In practical terms, you still do the learning primarily on your own. The key difference is that the school will force you to study topics you normally would not study on your own. Left on their own most people will learn enough to do the tasks at hand, and they will learn about topics that interest them, but they will not deeply study topics they do not enjoy nor keep learning additional pieces beyond what they need at the task at hand. An individual might take the time to study two or three sorting algorithms, a good algorithms class will cover twenty or more. An individual might avoid topics they don't enjoy, perhaps the person has no interest in compiler theory, but the school will require a course on the subject where the person must build their own and study them. Or perhaps they don't enjoy computer theory, but still be required to study and analyze algorithmic performance and what is computable and different types of theoretical computing machines.

Generally the self-educated come with huge gaps in general knowledge and a few small pockets of deep knowledge. Generally after formal education the person has a broad but shallow general knowledge with few holes, plus a few small pockets of deeper knowledge for topics they are interested in.



Finally, if you do intend to get the degree but are just bored in class because you really do understand the material, talk to your professors and advisors. Tell them you already have prior experience and ask to test out of courses. It may not be what you like, but it is important to be able to apply your knowledge in whatever way the professors or examiners ask. Your employer will do that all the time, do such-and-such task in such-and-such manner. If you can demonstrate that you really do know the material they won't require you to sit through lectures and work through the labs. And if you take the exam to skip the test and discover you don't know all the material, then the self-discovery of the fact is good too.

I left university before the end of my course due to various reasons.

None of these reasons were insurmountable.

If you can, stick at it or you might live to regret it. If depression is a problem get proper help for it as Tom said, don't ignore it or just consider it a symptom.

Good luck

Thanks!
As I said, trying to find help:L. And I won't just drop uni without having the option of resuming, never shut a door unless you have too kind of thing.
I do know however that without a challenge, going through the torture of simply waiting really isn't helping .

If you're willing: do you regret dropping out, and did you retain the option of resuming? (being on good terms with the uni). - I'm hoping I can just gain experience in employment then resume for the end stage.

Thanks for the reply frob.

Yeah I realise It needs sorting either way, and I'll be looking at solutions soon :).

Thanks for your opinion on the pro's/cons of the degree.
I'm aware of the issues of over specialising in some areas compared to a general knowledge and have attempted to ask my lecturers on other material, to which I was denied for fear of the same problem occurring next year.

The issues with applying for jobs elsewhere is why I'm wanting to resume uni at a higher level later on if needed given it's a limiting factor.

To that end do you or any else have any recommendations on where to look for such an option.