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Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality - Politics (20) - Nairaland

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Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by Olaone1: 10:38pm On Mar 07, 2013
Kilode?!:


Sadly, I was a victim too. In one of the years up there, mine lasted for over 9 months. sad

I'm still in therapy and recovery embarassed

grin grin
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by Nobody: 1:09am On Mar 08, 2013
@OP very well said.

@Ajanlekoko you will always have my respect for being consistent and saying the hard truth that some us don't like to hear.

I remember vividly that 7 years ago, 2006, 2007 and old-time Nairalanders can bear me witness, it was possible for you to attend 2 Bank interviews in a week and also get recruited simply by gate-crashing at the venue of aptitude tests.
At that time, shortly before I completed my NYSC a friend of mine woke me up with a phone call on a saturday morning at 7am informing me to hurry up and get dressed to attend a bank aptitude test at 10am same day, when I asked him what bank was recruiting, he told me it was Unity bank...I just hissed, dropped the call and went back to sleep. cheesy (no offence to Unity Bankers by the way wink)

But now, things have changed drastically...if you get a job in a Micro finance Bank now thank God, I still try to monitor current job boards like Nairaland in order to examine the situation of the Nigerian job market but the state of the economy is far less than impressive.

The current unemployment rate in Nigeria in my own opinion ranks amongst the worst in the world, having said that this does not mean there are no jobs at all but only for the fortunate few.

I am one of the advocates of having a foreign degree if you wish to have exposure but only believe it can be used as good leverage with the requisite foreign experience not that you cant get it by work for a top corporate or MNC in Nigeria but how many people are even given the opportunity.

In the UK, where I am presently studying for a postgraduate degree, the citizens are also complaining there are no jobs while non-EU students after graduation choose to go back to their countries rather than remain illegal immigrants, this is quite understandable and which is why Indian students in their wisdom have chosen not to spend hard earned money to pay thousands of pounds to obtain foreign degrees any more in the UK now David Cameron had to visit Indian in person soliciting for their comeback assuring them that the immigration laws will be changed...in what way? he cant really explain it.
Recently released statistics show net immigration into the UK has fallen by 34% within the past 12 months! largely drive by failure of international students to come study in the UK.

But still there are jobs for those that seek them and I have changed part-time jobs three times seeking higher pay since I arrived last September.
One thing I discovered about developed countries especially the UK is their greatest investment is in people and not fixed assets, Human assets.

That is why you will see a school teacher or a social worker earning more than a company accountant, a nurse will earn more than an engineer. You wont believe how old some of their buildings are and the simple mini-cars these people drive about but they believe everyone has a right to the basic things of life including good food and education.

I really feel for the poster and it may be too late to pass any advice but trust that doors will open for you soon enough and a parting shot for anyone choosing to come abroad for a degree:

1. Have a contingency plan and don't expect the job will fall on your laps even if you had Naija work experience. Apart from UK graduate positions if I don't get into any, I already applied to several PhD studentships (with funding) and will switch CAS numbers next fall securing my place here for the next 3 years at least.

2. Be ready not to go back home until you have solid 3-5 years work experience and I mean SOLID... for example, having worked for years at a UK/US call center job hoping you will be recruited as a Senior Software Engineer in Nigeria because you studied MSc Computer science at a Uni in that foreign country is not exactly solid but probably you have worked on some IT projects, developed some applications that had commercial impact.

3. Have an open mind here and be ready to do any 'moderate' job, I mean jobs that are below your 'paper' qualification employers here don't really care about your degree it is what u can do. That's why most IT recruiters here place MSC and BSc and High school leavers with years of coding experience on the same entry level and promoting based on on-the-job performance. As you keep at it you will get the job, position and experience that you desire which can be used as a bargaining chip when u get back home. Just see your foreign degree as a 'means-to-an-end' an opportunity to access the benefits of the land.

4. Finally, when u secure that plum Naija job, have your offer letter sent to you even before booking your flight ticket back home. wink
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by Olaone1: 6:54am On Mar 08, 2013
AjanleKoko:

More like 100% actually.

1992 - 2 months.
1993 - 5 months.
1994 - 5 months, all the way till January '95.
1996 - 6 months
2001 - 3 months
2003 - 6 or 7 months (i forget)
2007 (or 2009, not sure) - 6 months.

That is the one I can remember.
During Ali Must Go riots, were they not closed.
I'm not sure but I think it happened in the 70s.
Did students lose some weeks/months or not?
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by AjanleKoko: 8:21am On Mar 08, 2013
Ola one:
During Ali Must Go riots, were they not closed.
I'm not sure but I think it happened in the 70s.
Did students lose some weeks/months or not?

That was 1978,incidentally the year ASUU was formed from the old NAUT.
Now that was a student plus teachers collabo, and it resulted in a long closure as well.
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by Nobody: 9:19am On Mar 08, 2013
@OP very well said.

@Ajanlekoko you will always have my respect for being consistent and saying the hard truth that some us don't like to hear.

I remember vividly that 7 years ago, 2006, 2007 and old-time Nairalanders can bear me witness, it was possible for you to attend 2 Bank interviews in a week and also get recruited simply by gate-crashing at the venue of aptitude tests.
At that time, shortly before I completed my NYSC a friend of mine woke me up with a phone call on a saturday morning at 7am informing me to hurry up and get dressed to attend a bank aptitude test at 10am same day, when I asked him what bank was recruiting, he told me it was Unity bank...I just hissed, dropped the call and went back to sleep. (no offence to Unity Bankers by the way )

Agreed. 2004-2008 was a boom period (whether it was bubble that was destined to burst is another kettle of fish) for the Nigerian labour market. There was almost more demand than supply sef. Banks - nay financial services industry in general - were recruting almost on daily basis, with fat pay. People, especially qualified folks, were spoiled with choices. That was the period some of us entered the labour market, and probably wise enough not to resign after one year to Masters abroad as some of our mates did after earning fat pays for 1 year. I remember telling StanbicIBTC to hold on, refusing to go pick my offer letter, while waiting on Vetiva. I remember not hsowing up at Accenture tests invitations, asking KPMG to shift my interview date for me etc.

Things are no longer that. You hardly have options today. Even with my 4 years experience, I spent almost 1 year actively nosing for a move before one fell on my lap last year.
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by vanitty: 9:25am On Mar 08, 2013
And merry-go-round we go!
You just don't go to university to learn 'book'! Your skill set becomes more enhanced not talking about experience here.

Anywho back to topic, so you have a foreign degree and so what? Situation like this irks me, so you automatically think you deserve to be on top of the pile in Nigeria. How fair is that? Relegating the Nigeria graduate further down the job line.

If you a Cambridge/ Imperial/ Harvard or whatever uni graduate is stupid enough in the first place to go and be looking for job in Nigeria and you find yourself competing with an Offa Poly graduate, if he happens to get the job, so be it! Don't start lamenting on how unfair it is.

Even in the country you did the so-called degree, do you know how many of your mate are working in low skilled jobs?

You get to Nigeria and expect to lord over everyone, automatically wants that Millionssss job with no experience Why don't you stay and be demanding a high paying job in that country! and nope I am not hating on your 'ish' foreign certificates, I have been accumulating then since I was in year 7!
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by debosky(m): 9:47am On Mar 08, 2013
^^ Pray tell what certificates get issued at age 7 these days? cheesy cheesy
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by vanitty: 9:59am On Mar 08, 2013
debosky: ^^ Pray tell what certificates get issued at age 7 these days? cheesy cheesy

The teletubbies ones ofcourse.
I have the right to be proud of my colourful drawing certificate as well.
All na foreign
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by AjanleKoko: 10:10am On Mar 08, 2013
debosky: ^^ Pray tell what certificates get issued at age 7 these days? cheesy cheesy

Kindergarten certificate of completion grin
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by Emperoh(m): 10:22am On Mar 08, 2013
debosky: ^^ Pray tell what certificates get issued at age 7 these days? cheesy cheesy

I wouldn't know whether he meant 7 years or year 7 undecided
All join sha
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by vanitty: 11:03am On Mar 08, 2013
Emperoh:

I wouldn't know whether he meant 7 years or year 7 undecided
All join sha

Year 7 is 10/11 years old but yep all join.

@ Ajanlekoko
Don't be looking down at those certificates, I have a plan for my "foreign" certificates. Thank you very much
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by AjanleKoko: 2:12pm On Mar 08, 2013
vanitty:

@ Ajanlekoko
Don't be looking down at those certificates, I have a plan for my "foreign" certificates. Thank you very much


Of course you do wink grin
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by InvertedHammer: 1:47am On Mar 09, 2013
coogar:

that's the twist about this whole thing.....

there's no job i have done that i wouldn't have coped with as a secondary school graduate - what i am trying to say is it would take the dumbest of a dimwit not to cope with any job regardless of his grade in the university. they make you go through all those hoops and when that dream job lands on your lap, you are basically checking the pressure and the temperature of a pump every 1 hour and you are getting paid £500 per day for it. tell a junior secondary school student to do that and he would certainly do it without stress.

that line of argument is a bit lame to claim no organisation would hire a dullard. every graduate who can read and write would cope in most organisations. 90% of the tasks are common sense. a bit of in-house training is included too so it's impossible for any graduate of any discipline not to cope with the tasks required. under the cover of this, applicants of all kinds slip through the system.

Aptitude tests and interviews are weed-out processes. The companies know that any f_khead can do the job.
But they want the best for their money. I have heard of new employees who go through all these rigorous processes
to get hired only to find out that their supervisor/bosses are dumb a_ses. You remember the Civil Defense boss
who couldn't give the website of NCDS? Do you think he got the job on merit? Can you imagine that the slowpoke is some
people's boss?

That's Nigeria...where unimaginable things happen.
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by doziej84: 5:02pm On Mar 12, 2013
Rhino.5dm:


Yeah, a little bit of exaggeration for the sake of this banter cool. . . but on thesame length, I haven't met any fresh university graduate, straight from school that can interpret 3D or 4D seismic data without further on the job training.

@rhino, do you have a degree in Geophysics?
Re: Foreign Degree & The Nigerian Mentality by Coolgar: 12:30pm On Sep 13, 2017
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