Unigurl18,
I'm so sorry to hear that you're struggling with this, as somebody who puts a lot of pressure on myself academically I can see how this would be causing you a lot of stress. I might be able to give some advice too - I finished my degree a year ago and have had many friends drop out of their degrees and change paths, or discover new paths within their degrees along the way. I've also had friends who have received a range of different GPAs and are now each doing very different things with their degrees.
Bachelor of Medical Science sounds like a tough degree in itself, coupled with the fact that it doesn't sound to me like it's your true passion, and also the uncertainty around where it may lead, I can see how it could be stressful for you. If it helps, most people I know who have done education have loved doing it or found it relatively straightforward to study.
I'll pose a number of questions if you're still between ideas of what to follow as a potential career path:
- Do you have any hobbies or interests at all? Would you consider/have you considered pursuing any of these?
- What subjects were you good at/did you enjoy in school? Could you see yourself pursuing any of those?
- What job did you see yourself doing as a child, if any?
- What is most important to you in a future job? (It sounds like job security, diversity of job prospects, and stable income may be important factors, perhaps intrinsic enjoyment might also be a factor)
- What is least important to you in a job? What would make you instantly turn away from a job?
- Have you worked any jobs before? If so, what did you like/dislike about them? (eg: pace of the environment, social aspect, hours, flexibility, difficulty of roles, etc.)
You don't have to answer all of these here (or at all), but they could be good things to consider if you're deciding where to go next, should you choose to stop pursuing your current path. It's also very normal to reconsider your career path at any point throughout your degree. A lot of people do, and that's okay. A lot of people I know have also failed at least one subject at one point, including people I know who are in well-paying, stable jobs currently. That's very normal. If there's one thing I've learnt about uni, careers, and being out in the workforce, it's that your personality, passion, and even network/connections made along the way can, in some certain cases, carry a lot more weight than academic success.
It's good that you're thinking about this now. At 18, you're still very much discovering who you are, what you like/don't like, and where you see yourself fitting into the world. You may find your career path diverges many times over the course of your adulthood, and that's okay. Learning is a lifelong journey.
I hope this helps, please feel free to keep chatting - we're here to support you.
All the best, SB
