Burnout Among STEM Students

I’ve always seen STEM majors speak about burnout, the idea that working so hard will eventually lead to depression and the lack of motivation to keep going. Oftentimes, this results in STEM switching majors to something not as rigorous in the STEM subjects. Even though this is so prevalent in the STEM student community, it seems that many of us forget about mental health in our ambitious goals of completing a degree in a STEM field.

I suppose it might be part of our brain chemistry, our desire to keep pushing forward no matter the challenges that are in front of us. We face so many diverse topics, Linear Algebra, Organic Chemistry, Electromagnetism, and so many other difficult topics that many people have never experienced. These topics are challenging, and often failed in college leading to students losing focus on the objective of asking questions such as “What’s the point?” Even though I cannot answer that question, I just look towards the end goal. The “paradise” of completing my bachelor’s degree at my dream institution is a nice thought, and I know that I have to push through if I want to experience that dream.

I have always pushed myself to do the best I can. I just have that mentality to get through no matter the challenge that faces me. That might come from my years of hiking through Boy Scouts, or maybe it’s just the personality I was given at birth. It’s something that can be developed over time, and it's mostly a mentality thing and always believing in yourself and your abilities. Even if it doesn’t go your way, pick yourself up and keep going. All I can say to my fellow STEM students feeling burnout, remember it does get better and that we do this for a good reason. We want to be the next innovators and life changers in the world and although it's challenging right now we will impact lives one day.