i'm a quandary here.
situation hyper critical.

i have a 3rd class (poor result)
i am 33
i have no job experience( formal employment)

i have no nysc certificate (got my result late)

this is the hurdle before me.

to surmount them i've decided to go the education route
get anoda degree - abroad.(masters or undergraduate)
it will cost me and my family and arm and a leg but its to salvage a dire looking failure.

then maybe i'll be able to face the future.
at least i'm looking at the far future


the issue i face is -
i'm told i wont get a study visa at any popular embassy because
of my age.
i have correspondd with schools who say age is no problem
i'm now concerned about the embassy issue.

i would take any country - particularly out of Africa -
but i need a low cost , high quality education country. not a 3rd world entity
trying to make money thru education. i also need somewhere i can work.

i didnt go to school late , but uni did me in ,and i have to pay the cost for the damage. took the jamb that got me admission in 1997 and never dropped out of school ,but like i said university did me in.
don't want to talk about the unsavoury experience.

I have no intention of migrating - not at all.
i believe i can salvage my future with educational qualifications -
especially those with international calibre.

enough said. need advice on the visa issue . thanx. please respond.

Awww,what a sad experience you got, well if you wish to travel out of Africa at all cost for maybe undergraduate or postgraduate, will advice you to travel either Sweden, U.S or Cyprus.

What do u mean by d university did u in?!

In my view, considering your age, degree class and (speculatively) the length of years it took you to even attain that degree class, I think you really need to think twice about your plans.

I don't think your profile would make you attractive to good universities for postgrad degree. And not many postgraduate qualifications would make you that much more attractive for future employment, more so if you get it, as it is most likely, from a university that is not so good and then combine that with your profile as stated in the first sentence.

I would suggest you explore alternative approaches IF YOU CAN.

This is possibly the critical time to stop looking at how employable you are and start looking at how you can get self-employed. This might be the most realistic approach to get you where you want to be. It would be a hard slug but I think it is better than wasting your money on a foreign postgrad qualification from a poor institution and come out to struggle for a job and be discriminated against based on perceived quality.

Look at self-employment. It does not have to be grand, it might be simple buy and sell. Engage in it with the funds you would have blown on foreign degree and build it. Buy books on business and magement to sharpen yourself and improve your performance in it. The £8000 or so you would most likely waste on postgrad can be capital.

Furthermore, if you are lucky during your business adventure to engage in transactions with a big firm, if you impress your contacts in the firm very well with you thinking, business acumen, self-presentation and courtesy, you might just be able to network and be offered a job if one is available and you ask to be considered. Your qualifications would not matter then because they know and like you.

@ ccollins
its like u write your project in year 1 pay off your house rent that year
and travel to school next year hoping to spend a week - cuz you just want to know
when you'll b posted for service - with hopefully
from that day in year x it takes your uni 6 years to get off their arse
find your result compute it collate it and prepare a result for you-3rd c.
that's how my uni did me in-those bastards. looking back i should have or could hve
bullshitted the whole thing and started all over again .thats what people ask me.
but it was alway like this year i'll get my result ,this year i'll get my result.
i got fixated on getting my result - because i had worked hard for it.
ironically,the year i decided this would be last time i ever went to school for my result
is the year the university approved it! i was already 31 then. too late for service (nysc)
.

about cyprus - they have an age limit . above 30 need not apply .
i would love to try sweden. i really don't want to migrate really- but who'll believe a
33 year old saying that? I think U.S will be too expensive for my people o. e too cost.
but if they'll give me visa - maybe i may give it a try.
please give me list of other countries you know off.
i'm determined to get past this problem even if i have to take 3 years to tackle it.
thanks please give me feedback.
i never thought i'd be this old still on square one. thanks all.

@sagamite
you make mighty sense there. thank you.
as for employment and how i'll make a living i really don't know.
certainly i'll fail age cut tests , but
typically thinking leads to blind spots.
lets really look at it.
poor first degree - , high age equals what?
this is life. sometimes calamities strike like a dirty slap at your blindspot delivered
by an adversary that knows your weak points. only after the tragedy are you wiser.
think of u.s.a before 9/11. they didnt see it coming.

8000 or 10 000 pounds is no chicken change.
but i'm thinking - if i have to live up to age 50 or 60 , how would i salvage that time.
what if i live to be 70 or 80?
the education if for the future years i got left and i think it pails in comparison.
i'm not shaken or of low esteem because i believe your mental and physical properties
don't alter from their true form e.g you'll look the same facially 40 years from now,
einstein would still be einstein - his physical properties - at any age
so would wole soyinka still be able to write kongi even if he sufferd a 30 year set back
and winston churchill would still be himself even if he graduated late
so looking at age now and opting out - because after all i'm age x - is not smart.
jobs and money aint everything. sure i've suffered a terrible loss. but i think with better education i can still salvage the remaining years of my life. and i think the future is worth saving.
i just need to get out of this sick country into a conducive atmosphere where i can study and move on in life.then i don't care where i end up after that.

@Most:


but i'm thinking - if i have to live up to age 50 or 60 , how would i salvage that time.
what if i live to be 70 or 80?
the education if for the future years i got left and i think it pails in comparison.
i'm not shaken or of low esteem because i believe your mental and physical properties
don't alter from their true form e.g you'll look the same facially 40 years from now,
einstein would still be einstein - his physical properties - at any age
so would wole soyinka still be able to write kongi even if he sufferd a 30 year set back
and winston churchill would still be himself even if he graduated late
so looking at age now and opting out - because after all i'm age x - is not smart.
jobs and money aint everything. sure i've suffered a terrible loss. but[b] i think with better education i can still salvage the remaining years of my life. and i think the future is worth saving.[/b]
i just need to get out of this sick country into a conducive atmosphere where i can study and move on in life.then i don't care where i end up after that.

I just hope someone is reading.

@ Poster, i thot i had issues, missed my 2.1 goal by a shortfall of 0.02 in my CGPA, 23yrs old, degree in public administration, and a bit confused on what career i really wanna follow,
, Then i read ur story, Totally emphatise wiv you, iThink Sagamite kinda has a point tho, By the time u come out wiv ur degree, u'll be unemployable due to age, (Fact), You should consider investing that money in another venture, U need to be on ur feet soonest and age aint really on ur side, at least u're a graduate (if that counts for anything/ego massaging), I'm currently serving in the HR dept of a coy and know the intricacies of landing a job, all things being equal, not good, and all things are mos def not equal in ur case,
, Wish u all the best of luck tho, No matter what you choose to do, it'll be the right decision (as long as it aint foisted on you), cos advise is just advise, until the adviser can walk a mile in ur shoes, Hit us up wiv ur decision/success story in a bit, Cheers!