If you are about to go into the university, let this article serve as a guide, especially if you’re a little confused dwelling in that state of dilemma wondering whether to go to the university or not. So I’m approaching this article as though I am talking to my young teenage cousin who is just fresh out of high school. Because I know how pressuring it could be when you are done with high school and you are faced with several roads which you don’t really know which one to travel. For your parents, they want you to go to the university, and watching your friends also accrued some sort of pressure because they are all going to the university. So you were filled with anxiety because you don’t want to be left behind. So what do you do?
What You Must Know Before Going to The University
The first two questions that I ask people if they tell me their intention of going to the university are; “Why exactly do you want to go to the university? What are you really looking for?
Before you think of going to the university, make sure you know your ‘why?’. By this I mean, knowing yourself. Identify your gifts, talents and potentials. I generally assume that people in the university should be people who had already known and discovered themselves. By doing this, going to the university would become a complement, and an enhancement to you. But how are you really going to know yourself and really understand what you want in life? For you to achieve this, it is very important that you do not rush. Take a little break after high school and try out things around the areas of your interests. Learn new skills, and take up courses. Take up at least six to one year or more to figure out yourself before rushing to the university.
But here is the problem; I have discovered that people who go to the university are divided into two categories:
1. Those Following the Crowd—their parents, friends etc.
Most people are going to the university just because their friends are going. So they blindly joined the herd without a clear vision of what they really want. This can be treasonous to their dreams because, they won’t probably understand this during their early age in the university until graduation when responsibilities began to creep in. This is instigated by the art of enculturation, because most parents want their children to go to the university because they feel that it is a norm which they don’t have to violet. They are following an already preordained pattern, thinking it was the way it supposed to be done. But that becomes a problem because things are no longer the way it used to be. The world is changing rapidly.
2. Those following their minds—dreams, vision, and personal ambitions etc.
The second set of people you will see in the university are the people who think they knew what they already want out of life. They have a dream, vision which may not be easy to accomplish without a degree, such doctors, lawyers, some specialized kind of engineers. But here is the danger, over seventy percent of these courses, even though professional, are already being taken over by Artificial intelligence.
Going for The Wrong Reasons
I know by now everyone should understand that you don’t need university to be rich or successful. I see people blaming university for not teaching them to be rich. The truth is, as beneficial as University is, it’s not designed to make you rich. It is designed to make you become an educated employee, and there is nothing wrong with that, unless it’s not what you want. And yes, it’s a smart move that most universities are now beginning to incorporate entrepreneurship in their curriculum. So don’t go for the wrong reasons. Know exactly why you are going so that at the end you won’t turn around to blame a course that didn’t contribute to your failure.
The Downside of University
SUPLY AND DEMAND; THE HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
This is more disadvantageous for most people who are going to the university with the sole purpose of getting a job. I don’t think it’s a wise decision for anybody to go to the higher institution with the hope of getting a job. It’s not bad to work sometime after graduation but don’t let it become your only driving force. You should have a higher purpose. And the high unemployment is one of the reasons why you should not depend on a job. The labor market is not friendly.
For instance, in Nigeria (at the time of writing this), the higher institution enrolled almost 2 million students yearly and graduate around 600k every year. And at the end of the day, less than half of these people would end up getting employment.
But sometimes it’s not really about getting the job. But the question is; Is it in the area of their discipline? Because one of the things we call employment is in a scenario where an engineering graduate would be employed in a bank. A medicine graduate working in a police station. Most times life just happen, and never usually happen the way it’s planned that is why at the end of the day, these graduate admit working at the places where they would otherwise be working even if they didn’t attend the university. This can only boggle your mind if you’ve gone to the university with the hope of getting a job. The unemployment in Nigeria is fierce, now look at for the statistics.
It was discovered that
58.9% of HND graduates are unemployed.
49.55% of OND graduates.
39.75% of BSC Holders are unemployed.
So to sum it all, Nigeria has a total of 2.9million unemployed graduates with useless certificates, and with no economic contribution to the growth of the country.
So you will have too many graduates fighting for few jobs, so the system became crowded. If you are a graduate already, why not exempt yourself?
I’m about saying something ridiculous…, “if the university really meant well for the people and for the society, wouldn’t it be fine if they (universities) take a pause for some time and let the youth make use of their minds. Because there is so much noise in the system. And let the youths make use of their own minds. And it could have been more profitable if most graduate have use all the time spent in the university to engage actively into productive things that would enhance the economy since most of the graduates would still get the same result even if they didn’t go to school. “so let the university rest for a while.” But that won’t be possible because of one thing—business. School is a business, an academic mall that you go to purchase a tangible product called certificate, and intangible service called knowledge or education.
The Origin of Unemployment
Let me tell you why it seems like the universities are failing the youths of this generation. It is because of the ever evolving world which we are living in facilitated by these eras.
The stone age– a time in human history when stones are the major raw materials for production.
The agrarian age—when agriculture and the production of food was a central focus of human societies. And most number of successful at that time people was farmers, and worked the land.
The industrial revolution—a period of global transition of human economy towards widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing process that succeeded the Agricultural Revolution.
Second industrial Revolution or the technological revolution—it was a phase of scientific discovery, standardization, mass production and industrialization.
The information age—which can be also called the digital age, the computer age, internet, silicon, new media age.
Let’s do a quick recap on how each of this era affected human influence. So, this means;
Stone Age—your wealth depends on your artistic prowess and craftsmanship.
Agrarian age—your wealth depends on how much food you can produce and distribute.
Industrial revolution—your wealth depends on your position in the hierarchy within the manufacturing industry. Which means the higher you climb in your academic larder, the better position you will get in the workforce. So that was the time when people basically went to school so that they can be employed to work in higher positions in the factories. Maybe, from the laborers to the managerial levels.
Digital age—the more creative you get with the information at your disposal, the better chances you get at creating wealth. And that is the era which we are in.
Note: If you are from a poor background, you have stronger reasons for skipping University.
This is 2024, considering the world’s economic climate, it posed more viable reasons why you should not go to University if your family is still struggling financially. It was during the industrial revolution that parents could sell everything they had just to train their child in the university with a hope that would ultimately materialize. But it was not the same in today’s world because time has changed. You don’t need to look so far to see it, just look around you and study the world.
What did you notice in all these stages of human history? Transition, evolvement, and adaptation. That is the only way humans will survive in this dynamic world. And it still going to change. Maybe next it would be the robotic age. As we’ve already seen it coming.
How to Escape
If you are already in the university, use that time as a good time to experiment things in the area of your interests and to develop your talents and potentials, or to learn skills that would place your feet on a better ground before you graduate. Most great people I know today started when they were in school. And do not forget to invest in good relationships while in school.
For an Unemployed Graduate
If you are in this category, you have some double work to do;
- Your mindset.
- Your ego.
You need to step down from the tower of your mind and embrace reality with humility. Please, try and learn a trade or a skill. Especially, look out for those things which those people you may call uneducated are doing and find a way to do that better. Don’t even think twice about this.
I know people today who think that the solution is in the gathering of more certificates. The HND didn’t work, so they opted for B.sc, that didn’t work, they go for Masters, that didn’t still work they went for Ph’d. Is that not madness? They keep vacillating, and time is going. My secondary school proprietor did his masters in Britain and came back to Nigeria and still couldn’t secure a reasonable job, so he started up a private school. It was from that early stage that I zeroed my mind about getting a jobs after school.
However, in conclusion I think we have touched on all the facets that has to do with education system and the best way to approach it, for both graduates and undergraduate.
Education is really good, and you should have no regrets for getting it with job or no job.
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