₦airaland Forum

nass07: Nigerians need to wise up, things have changed, despite the odds white collar jobs employee nigerian can feed a blue collar job nigerian abroad and even sponsor that individual's education at home.

360command: you really want to know how good chemistry is ? just wait till you finish your degree in chemistry, watch and see where NYSC will post you too, guy, you will hate ever studying chemistry.After your NYSC, not all those ones you are telling your father about getting a job in petroleum sector, pharmaceutical sector , where you will find job is been a lab attendant in a secondary school or a chemistry teacher. Well, all of you that likes to think big, by saying 'i want to work in petroleum company or whatsoever , think twice. It level that puts people there.

Since you are in a choosy situation between medicine and chemisty , go for the chemistry and come out in another 2-3 years time.Look for professional courses in business management and do so as you can combine it with your chemistry degree. I said this because i know of a friend of mine who read Medical Laboratory in Ghana, which i believe medical lab is better than chemisty. He came to Nigeria to do NYSC , where he was posted was a dead laboratory building where nothing is functioning.The woman in charge greeted him by saying 'WELCOME TO THIS HELL HOLE'.He never accepted the transfer and looked for other places of his choice forfeiting 4 month NYSC salary. Right now, he is doing or must have finish his business management courses(PG)

joey4jo: True talk, but some places more than others. You got to consider safety. What's the point if there's a high possibility you wouldn't finish alive. Get my point!?

xplen: Yes it does, I did BSc Industrial Chemistry, now doing MSc Oil and Gas Operation Management and got another offer in MSc Chemical Engineering tho not Scholarship. But is it advisable to get 2 masters or i should proceed to PhD instead of the 2nd masters tho i dont wanna become a lecturer? Thanks

Phinga: At abinibi i'm a chemical engineerin student graduatin next year by d grace of God. really need advice on how to move in the necessary direction already i did a course a on 'offshore exploration and float over technology' though will like to enrol 4 more professional courses but its d resources that's kind of delayin me. My grades are good too. I just wanna know what's d way forward.

Ola2much: Pls house i really ur advice b4 making any move.pls wich of these is the best studying mathematics at unilorin or civil engr at yabatech.ur advice will be apprc8d if wit reason.thanks,ur advice will help me in d future.

AjanleKoko: Bros, this is unnecessary.
BlueDiva actually works for an oil company.
Plus, I think most of you misunderstood her. She's not trying to rain on anybody's parade. She only queried the reason for a parade in the first place. Which i understand perfectly. She's a HR person. Why would a staff of Total come on this thread and declare the company's remuneration to the general public? If you were a staff of Total, disclosing your package details on a public Internet forum is most likely a breach of your employment contract and you could be fired.

And how come the singular thing about Total that is discussed on this thread is their salary?

Is it just me (and maybe BlueDiva), or is there something seriously wrong with Nigerians?

BlueDiva: It's you again.
Does your job schedule now involve following a diva around?

BlueDiva: ^^^
Chief, don't ask o.
Oyel money people are not smiling these days.

BlueDiva: Since inception of this thread how many of us are now in Total?
Baba Kasali has since made millions from his farm while majority still daydream of Total.

If you want to work in Total, send your CV to me. . .

richarts: ''I am just as I described?''... I dnt know wat to say. detailed, a reader, a learner, a keen observant, a good listener, someone who puts attention to questions asked.

Ihedinobi: My position on this is that, the undergrad degree is not supposed to be a sort of glorified secondary school certificate. It implies that the holder is capable of fitting into, at least, general tasks in his field. If this is not the prevailing reality, something is wrong.

The bachelor's should put its holder on the job. That training that one is given to fit into a general task encompassed by his degree only says that the degree has fallen in true value. Please allow me to illustrate.

Part of my schoolwork involved engineering law. If I had finished my degree and got employed in a company as an electronic engineer, I shouldn't need more training to be able to advise my employer to pursue a patent for one of the devices or technologies we cook up in R and D. I should even have enough foundation to, by myself, study up on the process and prepare a plan for obtaining the patent and protecting my employer's ownership rights until the patent is obtained. That's my point.

The bachelor's should testify to a bias in its holder to knowledge of a particular type. It should say reliably that its holder is grounded in such and such fields so that on the job he can come up with solutions to <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">general</a> tasks in his field without aid. I believe that the Master's says that its holder is so capable in a particular section of his field that he should be consulted on every important issue bordering on it. So the Master's holder should not be used for general tasks except on the strength of his Bachelor's. His Master's is useful for, as an instance, <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">satellite</a> design and building in the telecomm field. There are other highly specialized involvements in that field. But you get my point, I hope.

Remember that my emphasis is on "should". How do I know what "should" be or what shouldn't be? History. Why did the university come into being? What is learning founded upon? That tells whether we have gotten better or worse.

You do get my point, I hope. I really do appreciate discussing this with you guys because it's helping me understand life generally a little more and to review my current plans.

richarts: I will say I fall into the category of what you described up here... detailed, a reader, a learner, a keen observant, a good listener, someone who puts attention to questions asked... Infact I prepare for interviews like its an exam. So if one falls into this category & still fail interviews then I think the problem is the person.

NB: There are exceptions of ''waiting for ones time (spiritual)'' etc but im just saying people without jobs should stop blaming the enviroment for once... Ofcourse the enviroment is not condusive but we should shift focus a little bit on ourselves. I know u would agree with me from the window through which im viewing this.

Ihedinobi: @the bolded: How so, sir?

Ihedinobi: This thread is not that recent, you know. I posted it when I was putting together a plan to start a new undergrad <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#"><a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">degree</a></a> in industrial engineering. I wanted to do it in Nigeria since that is what my reality allows. I had learned that the University of Ibadan was the only uni offering it and wanted to make sure of that and get some idea what the <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#"><a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">career</a></a> environment is like in Nigeria. That was why I posted the thread. I didn't get a hit in quite some time. In fact, this was the third thread I started about it. By the time you guys started responding, my plans had already begun changing.

However, I don't quite understand why you insist on limiting the sphere of my discourse to Nigeria. I was speaking of global realities and referencing Nigeria. I can reference Nigeria, sir, because I am a Nigerian living and working in Nigerian realities everyday. Yes sir, I am employed, I don't quite know why you assumed that I am not working in the Nigerian environment.

Also, how does not finishing my degree disqualify me and render me incompetent to address educational realities in Nigeria? I did spend five years in a Nigerian university, two years in a polytechnic earlier and twelve years in pre-tertiary institutions. Do I read in my submissions like I am unacquainted with Nigerian realities? Am I not making sense?

Again, look a little beyond Nigeria. Take a worldview and discuss with me on that basis.

AjanleKoko: An interesting summation, considering that you never finished your degree in Nigeria, nor have you worked in the Nigerian environment.
So how do you come about it? The Nigerian style of 'sweeping generalization'?

I don't think you need advice or information. Maybe you just needed a thread to blow some steam. End of.

richarts: I observed intently on Nairaland how some people got their <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">jobs</a> via this site, how they got it by favour & how a lot of people are still looking for a job that they deserve. I observed intently my friends that we graduated together & how some are... I mean most of them have good paying jobs while some of us were still waiting to get our first job.

Dont forget im talking about jobs & not entrepreneurship here. I was keenly interested in this aspect of life ie jobs because I was a graduate, third best in my department & for a long time after service I couldnt get a job. Pls note I do not have issues with exams but I noticed I never went beyond interview... I never get called.

I started to think spiritual, I started to condemn the country. More than anything I kept believing in myself because im a <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">very</a> hopeful person. I just couldnt get a job.

All my close friends have good jobs with Harwoth & Dafinone, Ilo Chambers, KPMG, Dangote, SKYEbank... To mention a few, I started to feel so useless & socially exclusive. One thing that kept me going was that I had associated myself with good people right from <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">school</a> & so they kept encouraging me, then something happend.

I had submitted my CV with a company, did the test, with favour of Christ I passed & was called for interview... I never knew until that day that I sucked at interviews. The interviewer was from my state, knows my surname & just wanted to help. He was furious with me & was about chasing me out. I thought I was good but folks I have been the author of my own failures. I was bad at interviews... I say the wrong things.

He eventually taught me how to perform at interviews on the spot & asked me to take my time to answer him so he could just put something down. I was lucky or perhaps it was a battle that day as he was about chasing me out but God intervened. Thats how I got my job.

We need to develop ourselves folks & really understand why we aint getting those jobs. Are we too loud, too corky or unprofessional. Do we use much gestures, look away from the interviewer all the time or give wrong answers?. These are things we should <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">check</a>. Its not the economy at times but us.

My last failure was with a French company which I had worked so hard to secure that job. Done the test & other things. I was invited for a group interview & did you know my mistake?... I wore a suit. I never knew some companies are keen on business casual for group interviews. The guy that didnt perform atall & which I thought wasnt qualified was picked.

Morale of the story is to help ''drop'' a ''think'' into your ''thought''... I mean sel-evaluate & self-appraise or rather check why you havent got a job, be realistic with yourself & <a class="ktg6us78hf8vdu7" href="#">work</a> on it.

All the best.

NB: Dont hesitate to start small. What matters is what vision you have for your life. Never loose it.

Ihedinobi: You do remember that I said that I left my degree, right? I didn't finish it. It wasn't working.

cowgurl: Thanks for the tip buddy. Lemme remind you, one being knowledgeable and getting certified if possible in all professions is very important for good business be you self-employed or not, don't wanna be limited you know, call me jane of all trade and mistress of all, lolz!

OPM stands for Operations and Personnel Management, ever heard of it?


And who says Psychology does not cut across all professions Yamakuza, you?

diegs: Is it possible for someone who read business admin to change to maritime. If it is possible, how can one change without going back to the university to study for another 4 years? Are there any short bt detailed courses that will do? Pls a frnd of mine needs an answer. Anybody in2 maritime should also reply Tnx

Ihedinobi: I quite disagree with you both. If your position that the bachelor's degree is just theory (which educational practices outside Nigeria or Africa proves untrue), was it always so? I think not. And I think that if what used to be the work of the bachelor's degree is now the equivalent of the Master's degree then, we may infer that in the future it may be necessary to have better than a doctorate to be useful to mundane tasks in the industry. And I believe you'll agree with me that that is absurd.

The fact is that educational methods are evolving, not devolving. The bachelor's degree should be of greater value today than it used to be, if it is less, then our methods are poor. My parents are very old-timers. Both of them were, at least, close to legal adulthood at Nigeria's independence (my dad was 29, my mom was 15 in 1960). They used to regale me with stories of the elegance and quality of education way back when. I also did some reading up on my own and confirmed that entry level work back in their times (and in some cases, even today in the West) required no more than a good high school education. The bachelor's degree stood one out so powerfully because of the abilities and skills it indicated that such a person was considered capable in at least, mid-level management. The bachelor's degree implied ability and skill once upon a time in Nigeria, it still does in the more developed countries of the world. The master's degree implies mastery of a narrow portion of a field while retaining relevance in a wider frame. The doctorate stood one out as a creator or pioneer of outstanding new knowledge in a field. The professor was the disseminator of new knowledge in his field. He's actually a doctorate who's devoted himself to finding or creating new knowledge in his field and promoting it. So, when you say that all the bachelor's is good for is practically theoretical information in his field, what exactly is the point? He accumulates theories so that he gains employment to learn what to do with it? That doesn't make any sense.

Foundational knowledge that enables a person to do any task without need of expertise is such as high school or the secondary school gives, not the undergraduate degree. To conclude that expertise is not necessary to the undergraduate is to make nonsense of the idea of the university.

And I totally disagree that the realities of Nigeria should redefine the principles of life. Nigeria's current condition has us thinking upside down about a lot of things, but our conclusions are no less false for all that. And, I assure you, that no company "forces" engineers to become technicians in Nigeria. Why? Because engineers are not produced in Nigerian universities, whatever the curriculum may say.

AjanleKoko: That makes a helluva lot more sense. Master in Entrepreneurship ke?



How so? Oh okay, my quip about Total abi? Don't mind me jare. Nigerians and bandwagoning. Before you can say 'entrepreneur' this thread will start to trend, and peeps will show up and post on here about how their friend just finished the masters, and immediately got a job with Total