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.

I don't think this is a good idea. Just my opinion.
Why don't you find some vocation instead? The abroad route at your age might not really help you. You can even go the IT route, thought a lot of people think it's overflogged, I think there's still a dearth of qualified IT professionals in Nigeria.

There are lots of IT and telecom trainings around, and it doesn't matter if you studied arts in your first degree or are not good in mathematics. Anybody can go that route. Don't go abroad on any suicide mission to waste your time and money. It won't even help you when you come back home. Better look for something to do here.

AjanleKoko:

I don't think this is a good idea. Just my opinion.
Why don't you find some vocation instead? The abroad route at your age might not really help you. You can even go the IT route, thought a lot of people think it's overflogged, I think there's still a dearth of qualified IT professionals in Nigeria.

There are lots of IT and telecom trainings around, and it doesn't matter if you studied arts in your first degree or are not good in mathematics. Anybody can go that route. Don't go abroad on any suicide mission to waste your time and money. It won't even help you when you come back home. Better look for something to do here.

@Ajalenkoko

Thank you for that Candid advise. I have seen many Third class graduates with good jobs. I do not support the abroad thing either, you may regret it and waste your resources and eventually regret it.

@sweetT

yeah right. third class with good jobs - AND 10 years younger than the poster or 15 years younger.
who'll consider a 33 year old man,
with a third class
which took him double time to get
for a "good job" ?

besides when investing in a candidate for employment ,this high paying
corps aint as foolish as you think to splash money on folks.

its more lik to groom them for the long haul that's why you see some
people with 30 years experience in a particular industry.
such people can easily ascend to CEO at the end of the day.

parry that with a prospective applicant who'se over 30 and you see why
they may not want to consider you - no matter the shine-ness of your degree.

33 or 35/36 after you get the second paper + 30 + 35 years puts you
at 70+

how many ceo today do you see at that age?! (i stand to be corrected)

sorry guy. age counts.

thanks for your comments.
please i really need more suggestion - my question is about
permissive embassies and what their take could be on my age.

@ajanleko.

i had lots of capital - then i could hve considered entreprenuership

barring that, i think a lot of knowledge could help salvage the future.

i think once i get better degrees , i'll be able to
improve my lot.
then i could salvage some more time.

^^
Fair enough.
As per visas, it depends on the country though . . . embassies tend to look at the likelihood of an applicant coming back.
I'd advise you try Canada. They seem to be a bit less finicky. The UK and US seem to be paranoid these days.

kambo:

@sweetT

yeah right. third class with good jobs - AND 10 years younger than the poster or 15 years younger.
who'll consider a 33 year old man,
with a third class
which took him  double time to get
for a "good job" ?

besides when investing in a candidate for employment ,this high paying
corps aint as foolish as you think to splash money on folks.

its more lik to groom them for the long haul that's why you see some
people with 30 years experience in a particular industry.
such people can easily ascend to CEO at the end of the day.

parry that with a prospective applicant who'se over 30 and you see why
they may not want to consider you - no matter the shine-ness of your degree.

33 or 35/36 after you get the second paper + 30 + 35 years puts you
at 70+

how many ceo today do you see at that age?! (i stand to be corrected)

sorry guy. age counts.

Nigerian companies really splash money developing their staffs to that level? I've always taught most people save up on their own for further studies/development
I doubt many employers see their recruits as future CEO,in fact I wonder if employees ever raise to the very top from entry level, rarely read of long serving employees in this environment they always fall out or branch out one way or the other.

interesting

@most

What's your first degree in?

Take the I.T route as suggested; age and first degree is usually not a barrier as long as you are good and you'll need to up your networking skills whether you travel out or not

_{did you just finish, or what have you been doing ever since}

AjanleKoko:

I don't think this is a good idea. Just my opinion.
Why don't you find some vocation instead? The abroad route at your age might not really help you. You can even go the IT route, thought a lot of people think it's overflogged, I think there's still a dearth of qualified IT professionals in Nigeria.

There are lots of IT and telecom trainings around, and it doesn't matter if you studied arts in your first degree or are not good in mathematics. Anybody can go that route. Don't go abroad on any suicide mission to waste your time and money. It won't even help you when you come back home. Better look for something to do here.

Although I'm still way younger than 33yrs, this advice is certainly for me, thanks mr ajalenkoko, please i've asked for your mail address in another thread maybe you didnt see it. Kindly send it via pm. Once again thanks for you efforts in this forum,

AjanleKoko:

I don't think this is a good idea. Just my opinion.
Why don't you find some vocation instead? The abroad route at your age might not really help you. You can even go the IT route, thought a lot of people think it's overflogged, I think there's still a dearth of qualified IT professionals in Nigeria.

There are lots of IT and telecoms trainings around, and it doesn't matter if you studied arts in your first degree or are not good in mathematics. Anybody can go that route. Don't go abroad on any suicide mission to waste your time and money. It won't even help you when you come back home. Better look for something to do here.

sure, there are some certification in IT world that we have very few Nigerians that are certified and the demands are high. what about cissco, the final stage, how many nigerians have it? so do your research well.

My advice to you, just quietly go and do your PGd and then Masters (within 3 years at least) and during that period, go some professional courses, e.g. MCITP, CCNA, ICAN, Project management. Dont give up hope. If you go abroad now, it will be difficult for you. I wish you God's blessings in life.

I have a friend who is now over 40.
He graduated with a 3rd class degree in English. Went to NIJ, did a diploma, went back to school and did masters. He eventually went to the UK and did a PhD in advertising/marketing.
He lectured at a couple of universities (good schools too!) in the UK, and is now back in Nigeria, at one of the private business schools, the foremost one. He's a professor of marketing today. By the way, his 3rd class is from a 3rd rate state uni.

3rd class isn't the end of the world. The problem is, we Nigerians are somehow bent into this fast-track mindset. We're always looking for quick fixes, rather than applying ourselves. In fact, it has become such a generational problem that it amazes me. People are just playing life in Nigeria like a lottery.

AjanleKoko:

I have a friend who is now over 40.
He graduated with a 3rd class degree in English. Went to NIJ, did a diploma, went back to school and did masters. He eventually went to the UK and did a PhD in advertising/marketing.
He lectured at a couple of universities (good schools too!) in the UK, and is now back in Nigeria, at one of the private business schools, the foremost one. He's a professor of marketing today. By the way, his 3rd class is from a 3rd rate state uni.

3rd class isn't the end of the world. The problem is, we Nigerians are somehow bent into this fast-track mindset. We're always looking for quick fixes, rather than applying ourselves. In fact, it has become such a generational problem that it amazes me. People are just playing life in Nigeria like a lottery.

you have to consider the economics of it all, the employers, the competition, the family, the expectations, capital to go it alone. . . .

@ op

pls lets know what course u studied, and what your affinity for IT is.

If canada doesnt pan out, shey u will consider china? You can get undergraduate admission in some schools at 40. Its cheap, and u can do bizness if u cant work.

Alternatively, u might go for a short IT diploma course in India. The intl exposure might be beneficial.

You mentioned you dont have capital for business. I want to believe that plane ticket is enough capital for some ppl, not to mention evidence of 1yr living expenses u r required to have.

If u decide to stay back and start a business (which is a form of work experience) or get a job while pursuing ur pgd/masters locally or online, u might want to consider professional qualifications like CIMA cos u have to write stage 2 and above in the uk, so that might help with the visa.

Rdi.co.uk, an arm of the Open University, also has distance learning centers all over naija where u do 1yr here and 1yr there.

In summary, apply to europe, americas and asia. If u go, fine. If not, choose plan b above.

Dis Guy:

you have to consider the economics of it all, the employers, the competition, the family, the expectations, capital to go it alone. . . .

It's all in the mind bro.
That's why sometimes it is good to fail a little, so they can take their eyes off you, and you can be whatever you want to be without the pressure.
The so-called expectations notwithstanding, when you fail, you are forgotten quickly.

feeding wife and kids . . . not in the mind

Taking care of aged parents who just scrapped enough to pay for degree - not in the mind

Taking responsibility of younger siblings is not in the mind

Dis Guy:

feeding wife and kids . . . not in the mind

Taking care of aged parents who just scrapped enough to pay for degree - not in the mind

Taking responsibility of younger siblings is not in the mind

Hmm.
So everybody says. But when you have no means of taking care of these people . . . mysteriously they seem to get by. In fact, they ignore you sef, once nothing is forthcoming.