What will it take for me to be successful in the engineering field?

Great question. It also depends on how you measure success. My answer is based on working as an engineer. Where G is focused on becoming an engineer. Also, very important.

I find that better engineers have a good understanding of fundamentals, an eagerness to learn, a willingness to seek advice from others, and a realization that to be successful, you have to work well with others in and outside of engineering.

Desire. I always tell my students that folks tend to be good at what they like to do, and they tend to like to do what they're good at. This lucky synergy makes for happy, successful engineers. Another nice thing about engineering is the tremendous variety of jobs and applications. It's unlikely you'll never find a job at it that you like. You may find a particular position boring or too stressful, but the job market for engineering is very large. My advice is to take classes and internships in a range of skills and take the one that suits you best rather than deciding on an occupation or position first.

A want to solve problems is key. An imagination also. As a child I used to design and draw machines, boats and a dream home.

An aptitude for technical drawing is very useful or an ability to use Autocad or other similar software. Using computers is also key. Being good at Maths is a bonus.

If you get a job working within the engineering industry, you could be sponsored to go to college and university; an apprenticeship, rather than having to pay for the education yourself. Or apply for apprenticeships as they come up.