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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How do you decide if a course is not for you?

31 replies

DrowningEveryDay · 01/03/2018 02:07

Uni

OP posts:
Original poster
DrowningEveryDay · 01/03/2018 02:08

I've started a course which I thought I wanted but turned out I am not. I also suspect I wanted to prove to myself that I can do what someone else can do that's why I went ahead and applied.

Now I am here and it seems I am terribly unprepared for it and I actually don't find it interesting.

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FreeNiki · 01/03/2018 02:12

What is the course? Does it lead to a career path?

I hated my law degree but loved the work when I started working as a lawyer. The course was so boring though.

Original poster
DrowningEveryDay · 01/03/2018 03:10

The course is Master of Data Science

www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2018/01/29/data-scientist-is-the-best-job-in-america-according-glassdoors-2018-rankings/#1188dfa95535

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mixture · 01/03/2018 03:54

Interesting. I think you should stick to it if you have the means to do it, as knowledge about data science... even if it's not exactly "the future" it surely will put you in good stead on the future job market. Then you work-wise can combine it with something else. If it's studying technique you're lacking, there are quick ways to read up on tips and tricks in that regard too. Check out "Khan Academy" (the website) for interesting videos about the topics that your current lecturer perhaps doesn't explain too well.

In what way do you feel you are unprepared for it, more exactly? If you outline it here, maybe you could get some good ideas how to cope from us readers...

mixture · 01/03/2018 03:57

Also, sometimes one can develop an interest in a topic just by delving into it, it's not always a topic (such as data science) seems interesting just right at the outset, when one really knows nothing about it.

mixture · 01/03/2018 03:58

You might want to check out (for study technique) the "Pomodoro technique", and for note taking "Cornell note taking". The former has an egg timer as its primary tool...

Original poster
DrowningEveryDay · 01/03/2018 04:13

In what way do you feel you are unprepared for it, more exactly? If you outline it here, maybe you could get some good ideas how to cope from us readers...

I literally do not have the prerequisites for the subjects I am taking. These prerequisites were waived by the university for me, maybe they thought I could easily catch up since I applied with a first class honours.

The course is designed for students who come from a strong maths and comp sci background - both of which I am not.

I feel like a fraud.

OP posts:
slightlyglittermaned · 01/03/2018 04:44

Many ultimately successful students feel like frauds though, especially in fields where they are underrepresented/from a different background to the majority. More important to figure out what you want to/can get out of it.

How good is the pastoral support? Can you get feedback on your progress/advice on how to catch up on pre-reqs?

Also - financially, how much have you committed? If you were to withdraw, how much of the fees would you be liable for? I mean, obviously it's a sunk cost - don't drive yourself into utter misery for the sake of money you have already spent if it's really not what you want, but it's worth taking the time to figure out if this is normal new course nerves, if you see what I mean?

Original poster
DrowningEveryDay · 01/03/2018 05:20

Financially I have not committed anything yet since the semester has just started.

The other option I am considering is doing it part-time for now. But of course that will delay my graduation.

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donajimena · 01/03/2018 10:11

If you haven't committed financially I'd bail. You could always put the money to a more suitable course. I feel excited by my studies and enjoy my assignments. I do struggle with them but I know I can do them when I knuckle down.

mixture · 01/03/2018 14:33

What prerequisites exactly are you missing? If you list them, it's easier for us to see if you can work around them, or if it's time to leave.

Original poster
DrowningEveryDay · 01/03/2018 20:05

Methods of Maths - prereqs Stats and Calculus

Web Search - prereqs Knowledge Tech and Machine Learning; Intro to algorithms

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Pecanpickles · 01/03/2018 20:35
  1. Look up imposter syndrome. It’s common to the point of almost universal among high achieving postgrads.
  2. Have a really frank conversation with your supervisor / personal tutor.
Be completely honest. Do not make any tash decisions without talking in through.
  1. If you already have a first degree with 1st class hons it’s not a huge biggie if you drop this masters. Masters are very tough at the best of times, even more so if you don’t enjoy it. And most people can only affird to do one, so don’t waste the chance to do one on something you love, if you really think it’s not for you. Good luck
mixture · 02/03/2018 19:37

khanacademy has some training videos on algorithms and also about all of your other subjects where you might need to do a brush-up. Remember that all the other students might not have read it either or, if they have, it might have been some time ago so they don't remember hardly anything anyway...

How much mathematics and statistics is it anyway? You might not need to know it on your five fingers to just get by.

Do you have a study pal? That's very helpful and actually quite crucial.

But @pecanpickles is also right, there's no shame in dropping the course if you realise it wasn't for you, or that it was too hard for you at this time.

CuboidalSlipshoddy · 02/03/2018 20:11

Methods of Maths - prereqs Stats and Calculus

I'm slightly surprised that a Data Science course needs calculus, but it might be a product of the maths modules that are being "borrowed" from related courses. If you haven't done any calculus (A Level maths?) then that's a hell of a thing to suddenly find you need to get up to speed on.

Machine Learning is a very broad subject, and it's perfectly possible to do a good CS degree and not go near it, particularly if you did a CS degree more than ten years ago. I'd be surprised if they need much more than a passing knowledge and Wikipedia will do you.

Are they assuming you can program? And if so, can you program? Because in my experience that's the killer for non-CS people doing CS-related MScs that aren't explicitly conversion courses.

TakeThatFuckingDressOffNow · 02/03/2018 22:37

Mate - I was in the exact position a while ago. In the end when I truly realised I didn’t want to do it anymore I quit. Honestly don’t waste time, money and effort doing something that isn’t right for you because you don’t like the idea of telling everyone you quit Life is too short!!!

All the best

mixture · 03/03/2018 05:16

Before just resigning from class, outright, maybe there's another thing you might want to try since you've wanted to study this topic and have gone at length to secure a seat on this program. You could try to find out more exactly what precise knowledge it is you're missing with regard to the subject you're studying now. What I mean is that if you're currently following a programming class, you find out what it is the others have learned that you haven't and that is crucial for the class you're taking, and then you go on to Khan Academy to see if you can fill the gap and if things start to get easier for you. I would suppose matrix multiplication could be such a topic, then maybe the school just writes "calculus and math" as a prerequisite, they don't have the time to bother with all the little details. Even if the school has put up a long wish list of subjects you're supposed to have read before, like calculus and machine learning and what not, maybe not all of that knowledge is crucial or necessary with regard to the topics you're actually studying now. For example matrix multiplication you could watch a video like that of Khan academy as a brush-up: KhanAcademy

Original poster
DrowningEveryDay · 03/03/2018 05:38

I'm slightly surprised that a Data Science course needs calculus

Because it's needed for Statistics (multivariate, etc)

The Data Science course I am doing is for comp sci graduates. So a lot of knowledge is assumed. As per programming, I know basic Python - I thought that's all I need. Apparently, that's incorrect.

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mixture · 03/03/2018 10:08

Here's a little something on statistics to check out, KhanAcademy again... are you sure you need the lot, or that you will just need a few pieces here and there, like a little something about Anova and linear regression? It makes a huge difference to your decision about what to do.

What do you need in terms of programming? I would also have thought, like you, that a bit of Python might not be too bad. Break it down in small pieces and see if you can work your way around the requirements one by one, probably the students won't need all of their knowledge from, say, a statistics class to get by, but just some minor part. But, it's so much easier for the ones arranging the course to just say you need this and that in big chunks (like that you need "multivariate statistics"). It could be the case, but it could also be the case that you only need a small piece of it, a piece that's within your grasp.

greendale17 · 03/03/2018 10:13

The course is designed for students who come from a strong maths and comp sci background - both of which I am not.

^So why are you doing the course when you don’t have the necessary experience for it? I can see you struggling with this

CuboidalSlipshoddy · 03/03/2018 16:06

Because it's needed for Statistics (multivariate, etc)

Very few CS graduates, other than from a select handful of courses, will have done much in the way of continuous maths since A Level, and even then it'll mostly have been in a 10 or 15 credit first year module. A good number of CS graduates, some even from Russell Group universities, won't have A Level maths at all. Plenty of CS courses, in fact I'd hazard a guess at most CS courses, will contain no calculus in any compulsory module, and will not have calculus as a requirement for courses in the territory you're in. It sounds like you're doing a course which would challenge people from all but the most mathematical of CS degrees, and as by the sounds of it you have neither, it might be a stretch.

mixture · 03/03/2018 16:36

Here are some arguments against continuing should you need them:
Forbes on four reasons not to get that masters in data science.

mixture · 03/03/2018 16:38

Have you paid a lot of money for your classes? Can you get a refund? Can you postpone, and decide to fill the gaps before continuing by taking e.g. some online courses while working or studying the required subjects? Many questions, only you have the answers...

BrownTurkey · 03/03/2018 16:42

Talk to them now about whether you can switch to another field, catch up or leave gracefully. Just tell them what you have told us, they will learn not to waive pre requisites again, or they will help you. Hope you sort it.

Original poster
DrowningEveryDay · 04/03/2018 06:20

Have you paid a lot of money for your classes? Can you get a refund? Can you postpone, and decide to fill the gaps before continuing by taking

I will have to pay the student admin fee but I am not yet financially liable. Also, I got a partial scholarship (I'm paying 1/3 of tuition - which is another reason for me to regret ). I can defer the start for a year.

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