A Failure?

Hi guys, I have just got my CIE AS exam results, I have got 1 C, 2 Ds, 1 E and an ungraded. I first started this year thinking about doing mechatronics engineering but now I know that I am not suited for it. I am going to be changing courses but what I have learnt has given me more questions than answers. I have discovered that I don't actually know what I really want to do and I realise I am not going to get anywhere in life without a drive to be successful. I have tried before but it did not work I always tended to stray back to the same old way I've been I would like to know how to get that drive. Added on that I figured gratitude and the feeling of concern for oneself would help with this but even after I have failed I still have no urgency to start caring about my future. How do I gain that concern for myself and that drive?

Much Appreciated

I come from the US, so I'm a lot more adamant than some others about finding motivation in other ways than sinking yourself into debt. School is great and I encourage everyone to get a degree if you've got the motivation for it, but not everyone comes straight out of secondary school ready and willing to tackle university.

Honestly, sometimes it takes working a crap job or seeing a $0.14 bank account balance to get someone motivated to hit the books. Some people find they'd rather take up a trade than get a degree. While I'm sure I'd catch flak, I'd suggest taking a break rather than potentially maiming your transcript even more. But I also don't know how the UK handles public loans or overall subsidization. I also wouldn't want you to risk losing financial supplements for good either should you take a break.

If you have a career counselor at uni, talk to them. Also find some good aptitude test and take them. Find what comes to you easily and naturally and then do some leg work. Aptitude tests will give you a range of options. Go explore them, shadow the people in those jobs for a day and see if it's for you. Look up courses for it and go sit in on some of the lectures - see how you like it and whether it's for you. When you figure out what comes easily for you and makes instant sense, you won't really need that much drive and effort to succeed. Besides, the enjoyment of what you do will drive you by itself. It stops being a slog and becomes something you are looking forward to doing.

Also agree with jmann that uni might simply not be a good choice. Some people are simply better working with their hands, getting into skilled trades, etc. Again goes back to doing some leg work to find what you actually like doing. What do you do with your free time? Hobbies?

i think you have the motivation to change because you are here posting this thread.

try not to stress, this path didnt work out, what have you learnt? this isnt for you.... thats absolutwly fine, no shame in that. Never forget that we learrn through our mistakes. i wouldnt necessarily call this a mistake, its an opportunity to think about why you chose that? what was your final aim? what do you find interesting? what can you visualise yourself doing in the future?

try to talk to a career guidance counsellor, but dont think of this as a failing, think about it as an opportunity to find whats right for you... we are all unique.

when i was in my 20's a woman in an agency said that because id had lots of job i would become unemployable... 24 years later i have never in my life not had a job, it took me a while to find out what i wanted to do, but i learnt transferable skills along the way, so no learning is ever wasted

reframe your thinking and you can try and figure out where your journey should take you next

OP: You're not a failure.

I went to college to be come "the next Tom Brokaw". After I did a screen test, I realized that I wouldn't even watch myself on TV. I majored in Communications and History which qualifies you for nothing.

I had to go out and work in different fields and see how and where others were succeeding in their careers. After my mid-20's, I knew that I never wanted to work for a small company, that I wanted to be an director-level IT management role, I wanted to make a minimum amount of money by certain ages, etc. I did not hit all of those goals but I kept them in my stream of consciousness when making career decisions and eventually it worked out.....

And then it didn't.....

I lost my job and was almost broke two years ago. However, I kept looking for work (and doing volunteer work to keep from going crazy at home), refreshing my interview skills and techniques and got an Agile certification (CSM). As soon a I thought all hope was lost, I got an interview that landed me the biggest role of my career.

You are going to go through phases in life (like you're in now) where you don't know what the next step is. The key is to look around you, identify the strengths you have and see how they can benefit you in your next semester/job/role or whatever. No one is going to hand you success and if they did, you didn't earn it and no one will respect you for having that success.

You probably need someone to mentor you or serve as an advisor. I never had this until I was in my early 30's, but once I did, it was easier to identify paths to success and how to address my weaknesses that were interfering with getting there.