I was once fired like you, now doing pretty ok. Young man, forget what had happened, it over now, learn to be humble at work especially you are learning from others who had greater experience, be sincere, be not afraid of criticism and losing, btw you have nothing to lose when you are at starting stage. There is no absolute right or wrong decision, learn how to work with people, EQ.

Seem like you are in pretty bad stage now, go and get professional help. Heal yourself first.

Be positive about your future, learn to hope for better future.

private degree not recognized by public sector

btw i entered mindef with my pass degree. its the interview that matters. if you get called for interview of course. but for mindef, they judge you holistically, with PT test and they do look at your resume and testimonial. in short, (not flaming) a arts first class hons person might not be as capable as a engineering pass degree holder. i can confidently say im better than most even with my pass degree. i just didnt like studying. The job might require more critical thinking and hence the PT test. of course, i guess sometimes luck plays a part too, interviewer wise.

be confident in your abilities. know what you can do. you yourself know whats your capabilities as compared to others. dont give up hope!

Good luck, unfortunately your starting pay will be lagging behind your peers, so are your CEP and increments.

Yea that's the main problem. CEP and pay is too closely tied to academic scores.