I'm 15 and worried I'm never going to succeed in life?

Hi, Emma,

Of course you're not silly to be stressed out about the future. Fear of the unknown is a natural human mechanism, it's deeply engrained within us all. And sometimes, in times of immense pressure, we feel it overwhelmingly.

But the truth is, it's okay to be worried. And it's okay to not know what you're doing. And it's okay to not be as smart as your brother, or to not have the right test result for maths. Because no one else has the answers either. We're all confused and we're all struggling and we don't know where we're going, and we all look around and think everyone has it down and assume we must be the only ones feeling this way. But we're not, we're all bullshitting our way through life just the same. And you might spend the next 20 years of your life with no clue what's going on - but that's alright, because that's most likely exactly how life is supposed to be

Keep going :)

Oh dear, I've got deja vu! That was me, more years ago than I care to admit, except for the brother part, as he's younger. I'm the eldest, and a lot was expected of me, when basically, I just wanted to get married and have kids. I don't know where your parents are coming from, of course, but mine had mixed motives - partly, they genuinely wanted the best for me and thought they were doing right by pushing me; but also, they hadn't had the opportunities they would have liked for themselves, and were trying to live out their unfulfilled ambitions through me. I tried to please them and be the person they wanted me to be, and ended up not doing that well either. I'm not thick, but I'm not as academic as I appeared, and I struggle with certain situations, which haven't helped; but if I had my time again, I'd be true to myself and do things differently. Both parents have died now, and at the end of the day, they were proud of me anyway. Have a chat with a teacher or careers adviser, or a school counsellor, if there is one.

Being successful isn't achieving what others expect of you, it's becoming the person you're meant to be, which, right now, you may or may not have a clue about. But get some unbiased advice and, within reason, follow your instinct.

Emma - First relax - Join the club of folks that had a hard time deciding their life's pursuit. I had the same problem many years ago.

One way to find out what you like is to do some volunteer work. Most churches, hospitals, senior centers, animal shelters and other similar groups have volunteer programs. This will help you meet interesting people and may help you decide what you like. Also, volunteer work is looked very favorably by employers when they look at your resume. It tells them you will go above what is expected.

A word about hobbies is good to add here. Many people try to merge their hobbies or personal interests with their career. Really the idea with a hobby is to take you away from your job into another area of relaxation and fulfillment. There may be some downsides of making a hobby a career.

In your case you like animals. Being a veterinarian is a difficult field and an expensive one in terms of the time and money to get those credentials. If you decide you would like to work with animals you could be a salesperson for the medication that is used in animal clinics. That way you could be around animals without the school requirements. One of my friends did this and has been very successful at it. Also, even if you got a regular job you could still work around animal as a volunteer at an animal shelter.

So there are a lot of creative ways to get to do things.

Remember that just like you may change your major several times while in school you will likely change your career several times in your lifetime as you change and your needs or desires change. I was a campus minister for 8 years, a retail manager for almost 20 years and have been a computer engineer and IT magazine author and editor for 16 years.

Best wishes!

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You sound like you are from England? Regardless I don't think u need to worry yet. talk to a high school career counsellor if you'd like to have a better idea of what you might do after high school. I had no clue at 15, decided at 16 Id like to go into engineering, near death experience at 17 which slowed things down, 19 finish high school and start college in engineering , year 2 and I'm not entirely sure it's what I want to do. Don't stress about being 15 and not knowing what to do when you "grow up".

The reality is that you will change your mind constantly over the next 10 - 15 years about what you want to do when you grow up. It's really just going to take some time for you to figure it out. Do as best as you can in school so that when you're out of high-school you give yourself the most amount of options possible (university vs college vs community college vs workforce), and as the possibility of what might make you happy/what you'll do well at comes up, do a full research on those possibilities by talking to your current teachers, prospective post-secondary schools, people who currently work in those fields, etc. Don't count yourself out because you're not sure if you're smart enough for something, that's a cop out. You have to try fully for what you want; you don't get anything in this world because of maybes or might-bes.

years ago we didn't have to decide what we wanted to do until we were 19. If you have to know this very minute what you do is go to a psychologist and take one of their tests that deals with personality/job. It's a test that has no right answers, the answers only apply to you. You move quickly thru the questions answering them off the top of your head how you feel about what's being asked. then they grade it and come up with some jobs that would be appropriate for you at this stage in life. That will give you an idea of what jobs there are out there.

While you' re talking with the psychologist tell them you feel you will sabotage yourself (schooling/work) and need to learn how not to do that to yourself.

Lots of the classes you take you WILL NEED later in lfie so you need to get yourself a tutor/mentor to learn them, and especially math.

Arrrgh! - I hate it when people do this to kids.

You do not have to be a genius to work with animals.

There are so many jobs with animals, and a lot of it is paying attention and caring about them. So just know someday you can do that, and get paid for it, and you don't have to worry about that now anyway.

When someone asks you what you want to be, tell them "happy". When they tell you there isn't much time, ask them what executive profession they think anyone will hire a 15 year old to do. And then just wait.

You're a kid, and I'm sure you have a lot of talents. Most adults have several careers, not just one. Just learn as much as you can while you are young, go to college, and try different jobs. You'll find what you're good at - adults just get nervouos that some kids aren't thinking they need to work and pay their own way, so they keep asking what they are going to "be".

You are going o be you, and you will figure out what you can do for work very soon. You will get customer service skills, and maybe work in a restaurant or a gift shop or a store, and maybe do childcare and then decide to study that at college. Or you could go and learn how to program computers, and work for any number of companies, or work at a doggy daycare and then someday open your own.

Just explore, and when the next adult asks what you are going to be when you grow up, just look at them and say, "I'm not sure yet-- what about you?".

Success means a lot of things to a lot of people - you need to be able to pay your way. But there is a job for pretty much everyone, and we all have different talents. You'd be shocked at how many adults can't do math. Don't let them drive you crazy - you'll be fine.

Since you know what your interests are, you are already doing well. Pursue whatever you are interested in and at whatever time, even if it is later in life. You don't have to worry about switching your career or position whenever you like. Diverse experiences can open up more doors for you in the future rather than staying put in one profession or position. You don't have to be a genius to do anything you want. To be successful does not take brains, but more hard work and persistence than anything else. If you work hard and try to improve in whatever position you end up choosing, chances are it will eventually end up turning into something successful. That could be through promotions or raises or eventually being noticed by others, as well as self reflection of your growth and preparation for a more challenging career.

Sup kiddo, look, here's the deal. I'm only 12 and I'm asking pretty much the same questions online on Yahoo. Don't be fooled or convinced with the same crap that everyone on the internet says all of the time: ''It'll come to you eventually, try to be inspired''. No. Here's MY advice: Take action on your decisions, look up some cool jobs that suit you. For example, if you're imaginative or creative, research your options as a director. Or if you're athletic or daring, research your options as a break dancer or rock climber or something. Good luck to ya!

As long as you get good grades in school, really you don't need to worry. When I was your age, I thought I was dumb and I got depressed but I kept on going, and it got me three university degrees and a teaching degree.

Good for your brother, you should praise him up! Your brother's possibly going into the same career as you (professor of what you did not say), so maybe ask him for some details. For a nurse, you must be good in Science, do GCSE, A Level and go through university. That's the UK, unsure about the US.

My advise to you is study more, revise. It's the only way you'll get somewhere.