I completed my Bachelor's in Electrical engineering last year in a foreign country. I already had a job pending in that country when I finished but due to visa concerns, I would only be able to start working after 7 months. Although I had no plans of pursuing Master's at that time, I decided to enrol into a 1-year Master's program in Statistics and Data Science in the same university to spend my time productively.

Two months into the program, I realize that I have not been putting my heart and mind into studies. I am only going to lectures for the sake of it, and I will probably not use most of the knowledge gained in my courses in the career path I want to pursue.

I was just able to obtain my work visa from within the country, so I can start working after one month in the position I had secured last year. However, if I push it through for the next 5 months, I will be done with my coursework and I can start working right away while I complete my thesis on the side. On the other hand, if I decide to quit now, I will lose 50% of the fees I have already paid (on a loan).

So, basically, if I do not quit now and start work after 5 months, I will have a Master's degree by the end of next year, more career options and make some use of the fees I have already paid. But if I decide to quit now, I will have a month off to rejuvenate (the past few months have been very stressful for me), get an extra income of 5 months which I can use to start paying off my debt and save the other 50% of the fees. In addition, I may save myself the struggle of pushing through an intensive degree I am not too interested in or the risk of failing a few courses. The same knowledge can be gained online via a ton of resources available on the subject.

Could someone please guide me on what would be the right approach to my situation? I feel like I had made a hasty decision to enrol into the Master's program, but I do not want to make a hasty decision to drop out. Any advice and guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Is your gut instinct pulling you in any particular direction?

It sounds like you want to quit but want permission to quit. It is your life and do what is best for you.

I would prioritise your mental health and not put on too much stress.