Go-to school, study hard, bag a degree and get a job! That’s probably the most used line parents drilled into their kids in their elementary years as the best and only route to success. It’s very basic and direct, if you don’t go to school and get good grades, you’ll never be successful. You can never underestimate the value formal education is to the typical Nigerian, and while that is not a bad thing, it’s also worthy to note that it is not the only way to be educated and or successful in life (if your parents are not mine, please don’t say this to them). Many parents don’t know finding a job in this digital age is a different process than it was twenty years ago.
Formal education is so revered in Nigeria that the Yorubas have a song to reiterate its value. You don’t have to be Yoruba to know this song ‘‘bata mi a dun ko ko kaa, ti n ba kawe mi, bata mi a dun ko ko kaa, bata mi a wo serere nile, ti mi o ba ka iwe mi, bata mi a wo serere nile’’ if you are Nigerian and you don’t know this song, please recheck your origin.
Contrary to popular belief, a university degree isn’t necessary for a high-paying job. In fact, with the rise of tuition costs around the country for both undergraduate and postgraduate programs, you may be better off financially without a degree (Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates are just a few multi-billionaires with no degree). This article is not meant to discourage you from attaining formal education to its highest level as you wish to but there are also several fields through which high advancement is possible without a degree, or that have entry-level salaries that are very substantial once you acquire the relevant skills.
Some of the best jobs you can get without a college degree are in the fields of sales, transportation, and even medicine. With all these sources of income combined, your paychecks are limitless, with or without a diploma/degree certificate.
If attending college isn’t in your plans, you should consider getting a degree via distance learning programs or get an online degree in any course. In Nigeria, while you might not need a degree to get a job, you would eventually need it for career progression.
In no particular order, We have compiled a list of 5 amazing career opportunities that don’t require a university degree(yet).
1. CopyWriting
Copywriting is the act of writing a text for advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness, increase leads, drive sales and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.
Copywriting is not something you learn in the four walls of the university, it’s a skill that can be honed and improved over from the comfort of your fingertips. Although writing can be an innate talent, copywriting goes beyond that. A writer may be very good at writing short poems and articles but that doesn’t qualify as being a good copywriter. A copywriter aims to persuade the reader to decide as regards what he/she read. Copywriting is a multi-billion dollar industry that is quite untested on this side of the world, the need for more copywriters is on the rise in the Nigerian economy and there is no better time to be a copywriter than right now. Copywriters are needed by almost every organization thereby not restricting them to a certain sector.
Copywriters earn an average of NGN150,000 or more monthly depending on the industry of interest.
Read Also: Easy steps on how to make financial progress in 2020
2. Photography
Smile, say cheese… Snap! Yes, that was easy right? Its almost 2020 and photography is here to stay! Gone are the days when photographers are categorized as school dropouts who could not cope with education and they had to learn a trade or something else to keep busy. Wake UP!
Have you seen President Muhammed Buhari’s photographer? The advent of photography tools like Adobe Pro, Photoshop, etc has seen a major surge in photography and photo-editing. Photographers now rank as one of the most sought and highly paid craftsmen in the country. If you have a good eye for angles and colors, you may just cut it out as a photographer and if you’re still doubting what photographers do that you can’t do with the filters on your iPhone, do a google image search on Fatima Dangote and Abubakar Jamil’s wedding and ask yourself, will you like to be the photographer for DJ Cuppy’s wedding?
3. Web Design
Have you noticed how everybody is a CEO these days? Everybody owns a blog or a site that they probably don’t know how to design and arrange, all they do is post contents there. Most blogs out there are just like that and that’s where a web designer comes in. Although Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production, designing, and maintenance of websites. Content Management system like Blogger, WordPress, Wix, etc have made web design very easy to implement, these days you don’t even need coding knowledge to build and design wonderful sites. Web Designers can earn between NGN 250,000 to NGN500,000 and more in advanced cases.
Read Also: Cellulant’s Tingg set to change the way Africans pay
4. Social Media Specialist
The world is indeed a global village with millions of people spending multi-hours on social media daily. Since everyone spends a fraction of their day on social media, it makes total sense for companies to leverage this opportunity to advertise their goods and services on social media. This surge has led to the thought that every organization needs a social media presence. As a social media specialist, you will be saddled with the responsibility of creating and maintaining a company’s presence on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram amongst others. In some cases, you will be expected to maintain the company’s blogs too.
You will also oversee increasing the company’s brand exposure through digital marketing techniques and tools. Social Media managers can earn an estimated average of NGN120,000 monthly or more in other cases.
5. Agency Banking
Agency Banking means providing banking and financial services to the underserved population through engaged agents under a valid agency agreement, rather than the traditional banking teller/ cashier system. The owner of an outlet (Agent) conducts banking transactions on behalf of a bank or financial agency. Agents are being enabled to provide basic financial and banking solutions and charge customers rates for providing these services. Agency Banking thrives in rural and sub-urban areas where banks are not easily accessible, simply put an agent is the bank in his/her locality.
Financial Agencies like Cellulant have made Agency banking easy and lucrative with apps like Tingg whereby agents and users have easy access to digital financial services including peer-to-peer payments, savings, retail loans, airtime, ticket purchases, investment & other lifestyle services in Nigeria & across 17 countries in Africa.
Tingg Agents earn as much NGN200,000 monthly performing easy transactions on this platform.
Attending a university isn’t for everyone, but anyone can have a satisfying and well-paying career. With the right skillset and determination, you can still find the career that’s perfect for you without needing to earn a degree.