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People take advantage of me because I don’t have university degree

Editor
September 18, 2013
5

Good evening Mr. Jarus, I am so inspired by your write-ups here and God will continue to increase you in wisdom and understanding. I need your advice on way forward about my future right now as I am confused on what to do about my life.

My name is Uche (surname withheld), 29 years of age and knowledgeable on computer repairs and networking but without university qualification. Due to this deficiency people tend to take advantage of me. I want to know, can I still go back to school and after graduation can I still get job? Or should I write certifications such as A+, N+, CCNA. With these certifications can I be employed in Nigeria labour market?

Your advice is urgently needed sir. Thanks and God bless

++++++++

Dear Uche,

Thanks for your generous words. We are nothing but pencil in the hand of the Almighty.

I ran your issue by my team:

 

MICHAEL TAIWO, PhD (Arkansas)

 

MT pic african

Even with computer certifications, without a university degree, you will still be at a disadvantage.

My advice is that you should partner up with someone and start your own small computer business. That way, people pay you based on your problem solving ability and not on which school you went to or which certificate you have.

So try and find a way to start solving people’s computer problems and go from there.

 

IDRIS BELLO, Msc (Oxford)

idris-bello

Go to school but pay your way through with the work you do on the side. Don’t expect to learn too much in school so you may still have to teach yourself a lot through the web and learning from others.
But it will give you a degree and some self confidence so that you don’t keep feeling that people are looking down on you even when they are not. Good luck.
THE JARUS VERDICT
I think Idris and Michael both agree that a university degree will really help you. They are also at concurrence that the skills you have already can be turned into opportunity.
People tend to wield examples of people that are successful without university degree – like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Samuel Adedoyin of Doyin Group etc – but I don’t particularly subscribe to not having degree. Aliko Dangote started business before degree, yes, but he later got degrees from Al-Azhar in Cairo and one other Brazilian institution. For you, I think you need a university degree. Polytechnic is also not bad, if gaining admission into uni proves difficult. Like Idris mentioned, it boosts your confidence. Also, university education gives you some exposure and refinement.
However, don’t drop your current work of computer repairs and networking. Thankfully, you can continue doing it by the side, while still schooling. Far back 10 years ago when I was an undergraduate I knew students knowledgeable in computer stuff and making some living out of it on campus while still schooling. You may decide to go into partnership like Michael suggested.
On getting job after graduation, you may actually not need to work for anybody again after graduation, as you never can tell, your partnership (or sole business if you decide to go solo) could have come of age. You also come across to me as someone that will thrive more on self-employment, rather than on seeking employment in labour market.
For the certifications, you may have a go at them if you have what it takes, but I’m not sure they should be top of your priority list.
You also need to work on packaging yourself, and probably improving your communication skills too. This may be part of the reasons your clients are taking advantage of you. I once scolded one web designer for too many errors in the website he designed for me (not this one), thereby giving me much work to do, correcting his work over and over again, especially since the website had gone public (reputational issue for me).  Despite being good at web designing, I find it difficult to recommend him to others because of the lapse in his written communication skills. So all these things matter in your field.
All the best brother.
Jarus
TagsAl-Azhar university Cairo; did dangote go to school; computer repairs; computer networking; university degree for computer; computer certifications
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5 comments

  1. danny 18 September, 2013 at 15:29 Reply

    according to my opinion, i think the guy should get a finance related degree and write the computer certification exams to get a a leverage on everything.

    • Jarus 18 September, 2013 at 17:20 Reply

      Thanks. But I don’t particularly agree that he should take a finance course. He never said he had interest in finance. So I’m not sure it should be a finance course he enrols for.

  2. Ololade 20 September, 2013 at 12:54 Reply

    Learning neva stops he can stil go bac to sch to get a degree,I want to send a personal message to u dt won’t go public,I want to seek advice frm u sir,u r alredy chartered acctant?

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