Imagine if your parents said to you in your last year of secondary school – do whatever degree you feel most passionate about. We would probably think they had lost the plot somehow or that it was some kind of test.

Well consider it for a moment. Which career path are you most passionate about? What do you have a natural inclination towards? What drives you? Taking things apart maybe, building physical objects. Arguing about all things relevant & irrelevant, making points in a logical manner in front of an audience. Helping people? The workings of the human body and how it functions, the human spirit, the soul perhaps & how that functions? Maths maybe (it is possible) and the joys of Calculus & Logarithms, Literature?

Then consider this - You have a strong passion for Literature, you present it to your parents – the idea of studying English at University. Consider how they would react and if you will be able to stand up to the barrage of questions that will range from

‘And what do you intend to do with English’? ‘What kind of Job will you do later’ if you study that?

The crux of this banter is this – I propose a very controversial statement for us all to digest. Your Career Choices, actually scrap that, A Successful Career Choice does not depend on what degree you did, but on the skills you acquired as a result of your University experience, the natural skills you possess before you enter University and the Experience you gain post University. Where you end up (for a career choice is a continuos process where you instigate change, take chances & move jobs until you find your niche), depends on all these three components.

I studied Law at the University of Bristol, a University that ranks amongst Oxford & Cambridge. Upon my graduation, as a result of being disillusioned with Law despite my 2:1 degree from this prestigious Uni, I decided to branch out into other areas and I undertook a post graduate degree at Kings College in International Business. I’m presently working as a Financial & Management Consultant in London Uk. I also write part –time. My intention is to publish my book one-day.  Who would have thought my path would be this wayward, definitely not my parents!

To re-iterate it is not what degree you do but where your passions lie. Too many Nigerians still cling on to the notion that success lie with the traditional career options listed above. So many others are disregarded and undermined. The time has come when IT & telecommunications is taking Africa by storm. Where web designers, programmers & Call Centre Managers are ranking the same as the traditional banker and lawyer.  It’s not what degree you study; it’s what you do with that degree that really counts!

I can also assure you that those who dare to break out and try something novel & close to their heart will ENJOY & HAVE MORE FUN than those who conformed to the traditional route. My career path has just begun & I am having fun already, I look forward to where my road will take me, I embrace change wholeheartedly and I am up to the challenge, are you?