What do you currently do?

There are ways to learn - colleges tend to have courses for machining, woodwork, etc. Some offer part time and full time studies. Look under Mechanical Engineering Technology or machining apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs. Getting into one of these programs will help you find out what you really want to do.

As an aside, and as an encouragement, I am a Tool and Die Maker. This is my second (third, really) career. My first career was as an electronics and computer engineering technologist.

I just completed my apprenticeship, and I wrote my exam in November. I first graduated college in 98, then again in 2007. I will tell you that going back to school was hard, but it was the right choice for me - and the second time around, I knew exactly what I wanted, and exactly what I needed to do. I had a goal. The first time around... Not so much. Plus, I had to pay out of my own pocket the second time around... So the pressure was different.

I will tell you to have a goal. Know what you want to do, and then go after it. Plan ahead. Don't be lazy, and don't get frustrated. The second time around isn't about marks anymore... It's about succeeding and about getting out and making money or doing something you really want. Sure, you should do your best for your marks - and the better you do, the more likely you will succeed. Put a five year plan together and try to stick to it. It isn't easy, but having an outline in your life makes things easier.

If you want something badly enough, you will do what you need to do to get it.