Episode 3- Dreams Vs Reality
If only Tobi knew
When I was in junior school my teacher engaged us in a game he called ‘what I want to become’. It was fun. We all sat in an eccentric circle, all eager to take turns. I remember a few things some of my fellow mates said that day. Josephine, the prettiest girl in the class (I had a crush on her for months) said she wanted to be a medical doctor. That was a very smart thing for a young child to say. Many parents, even till today want their children to be medical doctors, lawyers, and engineers because the ideology back then was that, engineers, lawyers and medical doctor make lots of money and are well respected in the society. “ Like I said in the last episode ‘aye ati jo’. Although, there is a nice ring to been called ‘Dr. Tobiloba” or “Barr. Tobiloba.” Other kids said a lot of things like astronaut, mechanic (today this is polished as mechanical engineer), nurses, pilot, teachers and a host of professional things. My teacher was impressed, very impressed. We had great dreams for ourselves. Dreaming is good until you wake up to reality.
Josephine today is a sales representative at a big company in Enugu. She is a medical doctor by degree but a sales representative by profession. This is the reality that most of our teachers never tell us about. Josephine did well in all her exams but the economy couldn’t house her dreams and simply because no one tells you or prepares you for the reality, you invest solely on that dream. Mind you she is excellent at her job as a sales rep, to be exact, she loves her job. She makes good money; at least sufficient enough for her and her family.
I was really angry when I came to realize that Josephine couldn’t live her dreams as a medical doctor. What then was the point of her 7 years in medical school. I was enraged. I cannot invest that part of my life and not get to practice what I worked for. Sales representatives (I scoffed), what is that compared to being a renowned surgeon.
So, if you’re reading this as an undergraduate, just know that the profession you are spending your time and resources dreaming and working for might not actualize. 20% of you might get lucky to live your dreams. You might get to work in big companies exactly how you planned it and make good money while at it. 30% of you won’t get job on time and might grow grey hair while waiting for the perfect job(I seriously advice against this). You will become prayer points and spend time attending career breakthrough programs and it is this time it will dawn on you “job no dey look face”. 10% of you will yield to mediocre salary paying jobs with the hope that ‘a good job will still come by’ (maybe, maybe not). I wouldn’t want to hang on to that believe for so long. Many will yield to anything thing that will put food on the table, because at the age of 27years no one wants to remain dependent on their parent (most especially guys). And to people like me, 40% of you will invest in skillful jobs and put the certificate in the cupboard (just be careful not to let the rats feast on it). This right here is the 21st century reality.
The 40% of the unemployed population that engaged in skills are those we mostly see make the news headlines (this is aside the corruption of our politicians and celebrity scandal). I know few who realized this late but quickly got over their day dreaming and faced reality. There are no actual jobs waiting for you when you graduate. 21st century isn’t filled with the professional fantasies of my junior years, it is filled with monetized skills which I will expose you to as we progress further into this episode.
The guy who wanted to be an astronaut is today a millionaire graphic/website designer (thank God). My guy who wanted to be a mechanic is a programmer at Microsoft. Many of those who wanted to be medical doctors are today fashion designer, make up artist, musicians, actors, sound engineers, etc. My ex-girlfriend is today a pastor( this is not a profession to me) but I respect that she found her solace in God, so let’s leave it at that.
My fellow unemployed youths, Nigerian isn’t your modern day fairly tale where you can wave a magical stick and BOOM! you have landed a job at Chevron with a six-figure paying salary. This is reality dear. If you’re lucky and your magical stick works, congratulations, but to those of you still playing damsel in distress, wake up to the Nigerian reality.
This post is brought here because of a number of people who can’t access this series through their phone screen. To read Episode 1 and 2, click here.
New episode drops every Monday (sorry I haven’t been very consistent).
Drop your comments/contributions/observation/feedback in the comment section.
