This is a statement that followed me for a few years in Nigeria and frankly, after a while, it simply started to upset me. No, it is not the start to a motivational speech, nor is it people professing their faith (Corinthians 4:13). No, it is a job seekers response to the question “What would you like to do”.
Now before you all attack me, I get it, I know, I have seen it. It is difficult out there, a degree guarantees you nothing!!! Absolutely nothing!!! And with the current exchange rate, there is nothing as demoralizing as emerging from 4+ years of struggle to join the band wagon of “I am looking for a job”. However, sometimes I can’t help but think we are the own architects of our predicaments.
Let me give you a summary of my story, I graduated with two degrees in Chemical Engineering, so you can imagine how many hours I put into that. After a year plus of looking for a job, I decided to take an unpaid internship. Yes, I worked for free!!! Now because I worked for free didn’t mean I didn’t hold myself accountable to high standards, I worked just as hard if not harder than the paid staff and was soon awarded a permanent contract. After 2 years with them, I realized this was not the direction I wanted for my life, so I made the most difficult decision till date. I dropped everything I knew and wanted and moved countries.
I started from the bottom again, took another internship which was meant to last 3 months. However, I quickly made myself indispensable so I was offered a position to undertake my NYSC with them. Then disaster hit, my batch was the first batch to all be sent to serve in schools. I remember staring horrified at the letter which sent me to a primary school in Oshodi. I remember thinking to myself am I going to waste one year of my life. What am I going to do with this experience once I am done?
Omo I was not going to carry last so I fought back, first I signed up to serve for free, yes people Lagos state government did not pay me a kobo. Now because I was not paid, I was a part-time staff and I was redirected to a school a walking distance from my house which meant no cost incurred on my part. And finally, I went back to the company who initially offered me a place and asked for a part-time position. Now, of course, all did not come easy I had to fight and fight I did. The fight did not end with me getting a placement with the company I wanted to work for but I took it as far as holding myself to the same accountability as the permanent staff. This meant I had to perform just as well in both places.
By the end of my service year, I had secured employment, to the shock of most of my corp members. They were now dealing with the question I dealt with when I first viewed my dispatch letter “What am I going to do with one-year teaching experience”. Why am I saying all of this, I am saying this because I want us all to take responsibility for our lives and future. Planning for your future does not start after you are done with school but while you are in school.
This is the perfect time to begin to mold yourself into what you want to be, have a clear direction, have goals, a plan and most importantly take steps to achieve it. I find the saying “I can do anything” the easy way out, you have your hands in everything and you are not committing to anything which makes it easy for you to blame others and society for your problems. Trust me problems will come; Rome was not built in a day. It also makes you easy prey for the dream killers, we all know them the people whose sole purpose is to (UN) intentionally bring you down. Fight back; you are after all the architect of your destiny.
