Stay or Not

[splatter]

Hello every one i am new here and i was wondering i joined first because when i go to collage i want to be a engineer. but with all the time and hours i put into this robot i am wondering is it worth it in the long run because of well my school work is suffering i am not doing well because i cant find the time to study and also i am falling a sleep in class and missing important info.
what do you guys think i should do stay or quit the team ?
from
bob

[Tom Line]

You can't do everything. One of the big lessons from FIRST is about time manangement, and it's one even a lot of mentors (including me) need regular reminding about.

You can't do scouting, mechanical, programming, and business. Or at least, you can't do them well.

If you are struggling now to manage your time, you'll struggle even more in college. Learn to understand how much time you can spend on the robot and still take care of your schoolwork. If that's the one thing you take away from the FIRST program, it will be time well spent.

[Dustin Shadbolt]

Like Tom said, you will need to know the limit. I got a crash course in that, and trust me it took awhile to get use to stepping back and letting things happen. I now have a great balance of time and robots . I would suggest staying because it sounds like you are a key part of the team. You just need to take a look at how your time is balanced and what you need to do to fix the situation.

I don't think it's possible for one to leave FIRST. I mean I caught myself still not being able to sleep January 7th and trying to guess the game lol. I left for a few months and then poof I was back and helping program. It's an amazing program that offers even us college kids some extra knowledge and hands on experience that a lecture hall don't have.

[Basel A]

School should always be a priority over FIRST, but it seems most people can strike a decent balance. Just try to limit yourself, I know I have trouble with that sort of thing.. Especially considering I did things for robotics up until an hour ago when I started my homework

But seriously, you should probably be able to find a way to fit an FRC Team into your life; as a wise man once said, "Never let your schooling get in the way of your education."

[JaneYoung]

It takes a lot of self-discipline to balance academics with other aspects of your life. If you are failing classes or earning low grades and you are falling asleep in class, then you have to take a responsible approach to changing your routine and finding the balance again.

If you need help in determining where you need to cut back in robotics and apply yourself more in your school work, talk to the teachers involved, your mentor(s), and your parents or guardians. They are the ones who can help you get this turned around and get you back on track. I often say that FIRST isn't for wimps. It's not. There is a lot of pressure involved and it takes a lot of careful planning and decision-making to deal with/manage the pressure. It is up to you to respect that part of it and do what you need to do to succeed in setting and reaching your goals.

Jane

[kstl99]

I just finished the book "The New Cool". I loved how it captured so much of the FIRST experience. The only thing I did not like was how much time the students put in. I do not really know how many teams come close to that much commitment and it certainly paid off for them but I would not, as a mentor with a job and a family be able to put in that much time nor would I want the students doing it. Our team leadership agrees and makes a point of letting all know it is ok to work all you can but no more. As important as what FIRST has to offer is it is not the only valuable thing in life. If your part on the team requires that much time then maybe you need help from others on the team. I just hope you are able to scale back instead of quiting.

[arob9119]

I completely understand your situation. But there is a good reason why I think you should stay in FIRST.
FIRST gives you an opportunity like no other. Instead of getting a conventional education like you get in the classrooms, FIRST offers hands on learning. You get the special opportunity to work alongside professional engineers and learn how engineering works in the real world.
Whatever decision you decide to make, I'm stoked that you want to become an engineer.

[Tristan Lall]

What grade are you in?

And if you are willing to discuss it in public, how badly have your grades diminished? (Was this on a particular assignment, or a whole course?)

[rsegrest]

Tom is right. If you look at some of the smaller and yet highly successful teams they do not always try to accomplish everything the challenge entails. They pick one thing to focus on and they do it very well. You should try to do the same thing. Figure out what you are truly interested in whether it be mechaincal, electrical, programming, or design and focus on that area.

I would also suggest something I implemented on my team last year which is an A/B schedule. I do not know how your team is run but I do not require every team memeber to be here every night (I'm the only one who gets to do that). Talk to your mentors about you being there every other night (i.e. Monday/Wednesday/Friday or Tuesday/Thursday whichever works best for you). This gives you some down time as well as being able to keep up with your school work AND allows other students to be there to work as well. It worked well for our team although they were not happy about not being able to be here every night. I am almost positive your mentors will tell you that school work must come first (or that there must be a balance) so that you can continue to participate on the team.

If you are a rookie member of the team then know this, FIRST is a very demanding, high intensity, and fantastic project. Burn out can be common in many roles (even mentors) but it is also one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. It has the potential to change your life and not just in terms of attending college. At this point the most important thing you can do is talk to your mentors and if they are true mentors they will help you figure out how to balance your school work and the team. As a student you are the lifeblood of the organization and our teams and that makes you a very important part of the bigger picture.

[vigkvagkv2]

I'm absolutely positive that if you told your mentors your situation, they would be more than happy to tell you to focus on schoolwork first. I propose getting your schoolwork done (at least for the most part) before you start to work. On my team, we have a mandatory homework hour where you have to work on something school related. If not, then you read. This seems to be able to keep most student's grades up. Also, we have a rule stating if you have a D or lower, you can't go to competition (which is a great motivator).

[pfreivald]

Health.
Family.
School.
FIRST.

Any other order is a mistake.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by pfreivald

Health.
Family.
School.
FIRST.

Any other order is a mistake.

This. (Well, substitute "work" for "school" as applicable.)

[Matt Krass]

I'm a recent returnee to FIRST, I put a lot of time in to FIRST in high school and when I got to school I said "enough, time to shift gears". It was the best decision I could have made, and while there were definitely times I wanted to jump back in to it I stayed out for two reasons.

First, schoolwork, it's very important, I can't stress enough how many people I saw miss out on a perfect job opportunity because their GPA was 3.49 instead of over 3.5. It's a big deal, and I guarantee you're gonna get blindsided by the amount of work and the levels you have to work to.

Second, try other things! There's lots of other stuff to work with in engineering fields. While at Clarkson I was on the Baja team, the amateur radio club, the open source club, the SPEED Radio team, etc. There are lots of things besides FIRST out there, and you should try them all and see what you like!

When I got back to FIRST, the hardest part about mentoring was recognizing that I'm not a high school student anymore. There are other programs, and other hobbies that are also very worthy of your time!

Good luck with your decisions,
Matt

[princessnatalie]

FIRST is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

However, I was in the same boat as you last year, during my 2nd semester as a sophomore. I had a lot of other personal issues going on in my life and I had to make decisions as to what I could and couldn't handle. This is a big part of high school, and life, and I wish I could've learned my limits earlier, because my GPA suffered immensly because of time management, lack of motivation and personal issues.
As a junior, I know that school comes first, but I could personally never leave my team because of my grades. My parents and I decided that if my grades fall I can't be as involved in robotics, and for me that was enough motivation to keep my grades up.
FIRST has taught me so much more than anything I learned in the classroom. It taught me how to deal with people, how to build robots and (as cliche as it sounds) it taught me to be a better person. The thing with my team, is we are so close, we are family, and I have figured out so much about who I am because of FIRST.

In the end, grades come first. But for me, FIRST was too valuable to miss out on. If I wasnt on my team, I believe I would be struggling more with my grades and my life.

[Graciebot]

I know what you mean about time management -___- Sometimes it gets very difficult to take on so much. See if you can spend a little more time doing your homework and then go to robotics when you are done, that's what I do. Because even if you do amazingly in FIRST, colleges aren't gonna look at you if your grades are suffering, and then all your hopes and dreams of becoming an engineer will be crushed and that is very sad So learn how to balance time, but stay with the team! It's super fun