What to do, what to do...

Let me pose to you this hypothetical scenario. Let's pretend a guy named Tom was giving serious consideration applying to a make-believe school of architecture, at a make-believe university situated in the make-believe city of Las Vegas. Tom is having difficulty making a decision because he is uncertain about this coarse of action on many levels. Perhaps the biggest befuddlement for make-believe Tom is whether it's prudent to judged an entire career in a specific field by the classes that ultimately yield a degree in that same field. See, our hypothetical Tom isn't sure he might enjoy the classes, but thinks that after graduation the career itself might be considerably more creative and satisfying than the courses he took in the make-believe school.

So, what should Tom do? If he begins to work towards a major in architecture but doesn't like some of the courses, should he stick to it nonetheless in the hope that the subsequent career that follows might yield the opportunity to be creative, contributive, and (to some degree) autonomous? Or, if he finds the path to a degree in that field monotonous, intricate, and challenging, should he bail out immediately and conclude that the classes are a prelude to the career?

Tom has not made up his mind as to what specific field in architecture to follow. This has no bearing on the scenario put forth. Either continue with the degree program because it gets better in the real, day-to-day, outside the classroom setting, or abandon all efforts because the classes are a foretaste to the career itself.

By the way, the only commonalities that the Tom writing this post has with the Tom of the hypothetical scenario are appearances, DNA, and very, very similar aspirations. I just don't want you to get the two of us mixed up.