Failing matric can feel like your whole world has come to an end. But there are options available to make a success of your career.

Finding out that you failed your matric year is never an easy pill to swallow… for anyone. It’s even harder to accept when the results are unexpected.

While failing matric may be a slap in the face, it’s not the end of the road. You have many options to improve your marks and still make a success of your career.

One thing to note is that your matric year is one of the most important milestones of your career. This means the only way around the disappointment of failing, is to change your attitude and get your matric.

Step 1: Analyse your failure

Did you know that human beings are born with only two fears: we are naturally fearful of loud noises and falling? It’s true. Although you may feel as though you were born with an innate fear for spiders, heights, darkness and failure, the truth is that any other fears you have are stimulated by life experiences.

Therefore, although in your disappointment you may fear that your whole career is in shambles, the good news is you can break free from your current situation.

If you really want to overcome your fear, don’t be afraid to think about what may have caused you to fail your studies. By doing so you’ll start making your disappointment extinct.

Step 2: Find out what options you have available

Although you may feel as if your whole life has come to an end, once you do your research and speak to the right people, you’ll soon realise that failing matric is not the end of the world. You have a number of options available at your disposal:

1. Apply to have your papers remarked. Re-marking your papers comes at a cost. However, if you feel that you honestly did better than your final mark, it can have your papers looked at again. Check your local newspapers for the re-marking deadline dates and fees. If you come from a school where you didn’t have to pay any school fees, you may not have to pay anything.

2. Apply for supplementary exams. If you failed less than three subjects, you have the option to write supplementary exams.

When you should apply: check with your school for dates or contact the Department of Education for more details.

3. If that doesn’t work, or you feel you could do better a second time around, consider doing your whole matric year again. You can either go back to your old school or register with a college that specialises in matric repeaters.

When you should apply: First find out from your school what options are available to repeat your studies with or for a transfer to another school. If you’d rather pursue your matric privately, you’ll have to directly contact the FET College of your choice.

Step 3: Find out where you can study

There are a number of reputable Further Education and Training Colleges (FET) you can gain access to in order to boost your marks. Just be careful that you don’t waste your time and money on fly-by-night operators.

With your qualification in hand, you can gain entry into fields such as Engineering, Finance, Tourism and Hospitality and Tech – the career industry will be your oyster.

Generally, the option you go with will largely depend on the direction you want your career to take and the marks you received. Yes, doing your matric again won’t be easy, but with the right attitude you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish.

If you need more career advice for your career development, Careers24 is loaded with great career growth tips to get your career on the right track.