₦airaland Forum

She can't get a qualified welder to weld this shit together for her? Naija and their nonsense mentality.

Returnee slaves. That is why he is behaving to type.

Today Nigeria will know if we have the slimmest chance of making it to next year world cup. Not getting my hopes high.

Everybody should remember that no Yoruba man has ever held the INEC Chairman position. So, if Tinubu appoints a Yoruba man tomorrow, I don't want to hear the cries of the perpetual wailers on this.

Eight Years of School. Zero Job Offers.
After more than 100 applications, I haven’t landed a job—even with years of experience and two master’s degrees
By Sadra Yaganeh
Photography by Richmond Lam


September 4, 2025

Everyone’s saying it, and I’m living it. The most educated cohort in history is also the most chronically underemployed. It can take years for current grads to land a job in their field—and that’s if they’re lucky. I’m one of the displaced. I’m nearing 30 years old, living in a one-bedroom apartment in Montreal with my wife, and I’ve spent more than eight years in school all in order to break into the industry that I’m now, by every measure, more than qualified for. I have two master’s degrees, a strong GPA from one of Canada’s top universities and years of experience in the field. Yet, since August of last year, I’ve sent more than 100 job applications—not one has led to even an entry-level interview on Bay Street.

While the Canadian labour market is steady, in July of 2025 Statistics Canada reported that among youth who want to work, about one in seven can’t find a job. Nationwide, nearly one in four unemployed Canadians have been job-hunting for more than half a year, the highest level of long-term unemployment since 1998. We’ve invested more time, energy and money into finding work, but the return on investment has virtually disappeared. A university education used to be a golden ticket to a stable, high-paying career, but now there are too many qualified grads crowding the market.

AI can also perform tasks junior employees used to do, and at a fraction of the speed and cost. As employers automate entry-level work, there’s less and less chance for new grads like me to get their foot in the door. I’m in finance. That used to be a surefire career path. But the industry is shrinking. Even though the TSX is doing well, businesses are cutting staff drastically and using AI to do the work of entire departments. Before AI, financial institutions employed 2,000 to 3,000 people to generate $1 billion in revenue. When ChatGPT-5 rolled out, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicted a future where a single person could build a billion-dollar company. In mid July, Microsoft released a report showing that AI can now replace about 75 per cent of analysts.

I fought hard to get into this field. In 2019, I graduated university with an optics and laser engineering bachelor’s degree back in Iran, where I’m from. But my true passion was business and finance. I started as an assistant to the finance manager at a small import-export company specializing in dental equipment, where I reconciled accounts, prepared tax documents and filed customs paperwork. Then I got into the MBA program at Tehran Polytechnic, one of the country’s best business schools. After class I stuck around to trade ideas and help my professors out with their side projects, all while working as a financial-planning analyst at an international sales company.

By 2022, I wanted to learn more about North America’s financial landscape, so after finishing my MBA, my wife and I moved to Montreal and I started in the master’s of financial management program at Concordia University. I debated between a Ph.D. or a second master’s, but I’d heard a Ph.D. would close doors, making me too expensive to hire. At the time that sounded convincing. I now know it isn’t true.

I chipped away at the M.Sc. program and accumulated about $50,000 in debt. I was lucky to get two scholarships and steady work as a teaching and research assistant, which helped cover costs. I also worked as a part-time financial manager for the graduate students’ union, which paid $55,000 a year. But the role offered little room to grow. I wanted a job in the private sector after graduating, so I put all of my energy into getting good grades and showing up at career fairs, networking cocktail parties and recruiter panels, armed with my well-researched market insights and carefully honed questions meant to set me apart. Ultimately, I left with a 3.8 GPA, more than 2,200 teaching and research assistant hours and glowing references. I thought I was an ideal candidate.

But something about those networking events bugged me. My conversations with company representatives often ended the same way: “We’re not currently hiring.” I was baffled. Why were they coming to career fairs with no prospects for potential employees? It felt like companies were just trying to build up their brand visibility, showcase how well they were doing and stay in touch with emerging skills, ideas and technology.

I started applying to full-time finance roles in Montreal. My dream was to become a market-risk analyst. At first, I visited company websites to look for available positions. These were banks, financial institutions and large and medium-sized corporations, as well as some health-care and insurance-related companies. I never sent out boilerplate applications—I did research on the company’s history and what they were looking for and tailored every resumé and cover letter for the job. If a posting emphasized global markets, I drew attention to how I could assist with currency risk; if it was more heavily skewed toward regulation, I highlighted my knowledge of compliance frameworks. But most companies looking for a market-risk analyst preferred candidates with a financial-risk management certificate, which I didn’t have.

I widened my search to look for corporate finance roles—similar to the financial planning analyst roles I’d already held. I had tons of evidence that I could help a business budget, raise capital and plan for the future. I started searching across more sources like LinkedIn and Indeed. I asked friends at companies for referrals as well, but that never landed me an interview.


On LinkedIn I cold-messaged employees at companies I was interested in—a tactic I’d seen work for some of my friends and colleagues. Many were quick to refer me to their bosses, because many companies offer bonuses to their employees if their referrals lead to a hire. Once again, this process led nowhere for me. Eventually I was applying for junior roles that I was overqualified for. Even though I have entry-level experience from Tehran, much of it seems invisible to Canadian employers. One day I spent all day sending out 10 applications. No one got back to me.

After searching for so long, I began to notice that many postings were just smoke and mirrors. I saw the same roles be deleted and reposted over and over again with no one ever hired. Companies seemed more interested in giving the illusion of growth, stockpiling résumés, testing salary expectations or holding out for some fantasy candidate than actually filling roles. In one case, a friend from Concordia was working for a large financial company that regularly tops the list of prolific employers. When I asked him about a posting that kept resurfacing, he told me that the position had been filled long ago and he was personally training the new hire.

Of the junior roles I applied for, I landed seven first-round interviews and four second-round interviews. But more often than not, I’d hear nothing at all—not even a boilerplate rejection email. Often the companies used opaque, one-way portals that made it impossible to contact anyone in the hiring committee to follow up on an application or ask for feedback. At first the silence made me question myself. Was I missing something? Was I a lousy candidate after all? But the more I spoke to those trying to break into the industry, the more I realized I wasn’t alone. I know eight people with the same M.Sc. degree as me who can’t find work. One of them is a brilliant strategist who ended up working as a manager at Pharmaprix (Shoppers Drug Mart in most provinces). The company is happy to have him—he keeps getting promotions—but it’s not what he planned on.

Living in Montreal presented another hurdle: my lack of French. When I started my degree, there weren’t French-language requirements for professional jobs, just a preference for bilingual employees. But four months into my program, the Quebec government overhauled Bill 96, which significantly increased the priority of the French language. Now firms that once operated entirely in English wanted proof of fluent French, even if just to appease the Bill. Without that, my candidacy meant almost nothing. At the same time, employers seem more interested in practical certifications—such as the Chartered Financial Analyst, Certified Financial Planner and Certified Public Accountant designations—than master’s degrees.

In May, I finally stopped applying in Quebec and turned my sights to Toronto, where I think I’ll have a better shot of getting a job in my field. I haven’t been called for an interview yet, but if I get a job, my wife and I will have to pack up the life we’ve built in Montreal and relocate. I’ve already endured one painful immigration, and this one feels like a second. We’ll miss our community, but I’m not the first one in my friend group to feel pushed out of the province after finishing school.

While the job hunt drags on, I’ve started working on a fintech startup with a group of like-minded friends. We’re using those same AI tools that are replacing us to create an app to help small entrepreneurs navigate complicated tax filings and grow their savings through smart managed investment. I used the latest AI coding tools to create part of the app in seven hours that would have previously taken a 10-person team at least two months to finish—that pace is equally dizzying and liberating. I’d never envisioned myself as a business owner, but I finally feel satisfied at the prospect of autonomy over my own future instead of grinding to prove my worth for a job that, for all intents and purposes, doesn’t exist.

https://macleans.ca/society/eight-years-of-school-zero-job-offers/

Maybe a new citizens too . Because many of the citizens are unbelievable in their beliefs and expectations

Our style of play looks like we have a mediocre coach. The right wing is completely empty. Leaving Ola Aina running up and down. We concentrated all the players on the left wing / area where you have Simon, Iwobi, Ndidi, Lookman etc operates from. Our Players are decent but we have the very wrong formation. Quite unfortunate that Nigeria football has sunk this low.

No minions in African football anymore. All these smaller countries are proving everyday that big names either as player or country does not play Football in Africa.

esnbrutality:
Una too cry sef..

Bwala don expose una..

May God rid Nigeria of this shamelessness.

This self acclaimed developers are just shameless.

Desperation to unseat Buhari caused unrest in South East

Nothing in the quotes suggest that Charly boy suffers depression because of the renaming of the Bust stop. Nigeria media and their theatrics..

Thank you for helping in feeding a hungry nation.
You chose to offer solution and be practical about it, rather than choosing the complaint route

YesDaddyTill203:
No need for this attempt at revisionist history. Obi was a failure, and no amount of revisionism can change that.

What was said about you while in office is more important than whatever they are saying when you decide to run for office. Tribal and religious sentiments have changed a lot of what they are saying about Obi now.

What were the citizens of Anambra saying when he was in office? Not what they are saying now that they are desperate for a Igbo President.

Look at the dates on these tweets...that's very important..

SE as Dem make the whole story about Obi, even though he was just a footnote in the story. Moreso the reference has to do with the Agbotikuyo eye service and paparazzi photo ops. Useless things.

My own be say, let every man treats any woman the way they would like their own daughter to be treated. Do unto others as you would like for them to do unto you.

Cho Cho. Always saying nonsense. Pit Obi

LegendHero:
Below are the six Nigerian founders that made the list.

—Calendly - Tope Awotona

—Flutterwave - Olugbenga Agboola & Iyin Aboyeji

— Cityhealth Block - Toyin Ajayi

—GIP - Adebayo Ogunlesi

—Esusu - Abey Wemimo

All Omoluwabi. Whom God has blessed, no one can curse. I am proud of my ethnicity

Since japa dey your eye, go there and japada if you so desire later. Otherwise all your options seems good and they all have their merits. As for demerits, nobody knows what tomorrow will bring.

Pit Obi is a little boy.

WriteerNg:
Living in the US is the fastest way to die. The most unsafe country in the world.

Everyday one natural disaster or the the other.

Let's not even talk about the mass shootings and stabbings that happens every 30 minutes.

More deaths than the Ukraine war.

USA uses "perfume" to deodorize and cover the stench of their ugly crime records and security failure.

This Oyibo bad o. He don give this young girl 4 pregnancy pa pa pa. How much he paid for bride price sef?😄

Baba Ologo!
Baba Ologo!!
Baba Ologo!!!
May your days be long our ancestor!

Smartcitizen:
Kwara and Ekiti is now south east with lots of bandits attacks.

People can lie to themselves o!


🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😅

Whatever is happening there is child's play to what you guys are experiencing. But who is counting? Anyway, I used the word relative in comparison. And out of about 7 states that you associated with Yorubas, you mentioned 2. Moreover , all over the world, no where is completely safe, hence the use of the word relative. If you got no lesson to learn, bikonu, kwantinue. Ajuwaya!

Sheuns:
You think it’s the “Subsidy is gone” statement that made Dangote in your words “invest this much”.

Dangote has been building that refinery since 2013/2014 during GEJs tenure.

If not for Covid, APC that put the country in 2 recessions, the refinery would have been concluded and operational since 2015.

Covid 2020, APC 2013/14 is the reason the refinery is not completed by 2015.. You guys will never run out of excuses. Kwantinue..

Very nice! South West relative peace and business friendly environment paying off. If you like continue to kpai unaself because your favourites lost the Presidency. Dem no dey telly man, na your body go tell.

Japan already has special visas for skilled immigrants.

3 Ibo Biafran National. 90% of the time, you will be right even before reading the names.

Does he have a job? What kind of work ? An idle hand is the devil's workshop.

That makes sense. Nigeria disintegration is only a matter of time.

Hopefully guys like this will stop dancing palongo on the dilapidated roads in their states
It baffles me how person go see all these problems and still go carry state money go put money inside brewery..

Hopefully South East people will not transfer all their PVC to Lagos in the hope of manipulating the result there and just write election results in their states as they always do. The scam practised in 2023 will not be allowed to repeat itself.

This lady fit Don born already. Nigeria celebrities Sabi lie no be small.