I apologise in advance for writing such a long boring post. I'll start by giving a bit of an academic background of myself. Back in school I achieved 10 GCSE's, 4 A's, 4B's and 2 C's. A's and B's were in the core subjects. I'm ashamed to say that I never really worked hard in school or took my studies seriously. Reflecting back I feel as though if I worked hard I know I could have done a lot better.
I then went onto study A-levels at college. It just seemed the normal thing to do as most people I knew from school were doing the same. I wasn't really aware of any other choices such as apprenticeships or anything else back then. The subjects I chose at A-level were Economics, Chemistry and Biology.
I can't even really justify why I picked those subjects. But anyway at the end of A2 my grades were disappointing. I achieved B, C D. I simply just didn't put the required effort or worked hard enough. For the same 3 subjects at AS my grades were A B B.
I wasn't accepted to study pharmacy at my chosen university, so I decided to take a year out and re-take my A-levels. I self studied and managed to bump up my chemistry grade from a D to a B after taking the exams externally. I was accepted to university for pharmacy eventually, but I dropped out after a year. I hated the course, again just as with my chosen A-level subjects, my decision to study pharmacy was influenced by friends who were going to study pharmacy.
After dropping out of uni, I was pretty lost in my life and depressed for a while. I spent a lot of time being a "NEET". I just wasted a lot of time.
I found it very difficult to find any job at first with just some GCSE's and A-levels and a lot of gaps on my C.V. I worked voluntarily at a few places to build some experience and obtain a few references.
Fast forward, I am now 22 and for the last year and a half I've worked in customer service/data entry and admin roles. Mostly been temping through agencies. I got comfortable in a job which I did for the last 10 months or so, working as a temp with no security and crap pay. To be honest if I was offered this job when I was 16 I wouldn't even take it so I'm not sure why I was doing it. Seems like I just accepted whatever and felt sorry for myself.
I have just been laid off and I'm currently unemployed for a week and I've begun to wonder where all the years have gone and I feel as though I've achieved nothing and let myself down. I just feel as though the last 6 years since I've left school have gone so quick and I've not really done anything of true value. Besides the GCSE's and A-levels, I've got a year and half's temping on my C.V.
I want to change my life around, I just feel lost and I'm not sure what to do. The only jobs I feel I have a chance to get are entry level admin/data entry or customer service jobs. None of which I find rewarding or feel as though it's something I could do as a career. I'm really lacking direction and just want some advice really. I've began looking at routes into accounting, and I find the AAT route interesting. I'm not sure if an apprenticeship studying AAT is a viable option for me, or even self-studying for the AAT qualification. I feel as though a qualification like this could help me break into a junior role in accounting. At this moment in time I have no practical experience in any sort of financial role.
If you were in my position what would you do? What are my best options here?
I appreciate any advice.