Q&A: WHAT NEXT AFTER A 2.2 CHEMISTRY DEGREE?
Dear Jarus,
My name is Ahmed; I’m 27 years old and a 2.2 graduate of chemistry. I recently finished my NYSC, and ever since I have been in confusion on what should be my next move.
After a lot of thinking two things came to my mind:
First, to apply for PGD in chemical engineering since it job prospect is higher than chemistry this will enable me to switch to engineering after that master degree.
Second, to go straight to do my master’s degree in chemistry.
Kindly advise me sir
Thank you.
***
I passed this to a member of our advisory team that is in best position to treat:
Tope Ajetunmobi
Tope is a petroleum engineering graduate of Imperial College, London, United Kingdom, and a first class chemical engineering graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
Hi Ahmed,
Good you are considering your next move post NYSC. Now I will be very blunt here…. What exactly is your passion? Chemistry or chemical engineering? What I tell people is: Forget about the job. If you are smart and intelligent, you will always get a job even if you read Yoruba literature in the University. So every engineering and science field is actually very lucrative… Just a small summary here of chemical engineering:Chemical : you need to very good in Mathematics and chemistry. Your passion should be understanding chemical processes and how they function. Did you find mass/molar conservation in chemistry interesting. How much mass/moles of a new substance is produced when 2 different raw inputs combine in a specific chemical reaction? Do you love differential equations and calculus in general?In summary, what exactly is your passion? Go for your passion and the sky will be your limit, trust me! Forget about the statistics. I have friends who read chemical engineering and currently make millions every weekend being event organisers (pls google sanya adebayo aka tanto). Trust me, I even went further to read petroleum engineering for masters and I don’t make millions per week!!!I also have friends who read mechanical engineering and worked as IT/SAP consultants for big multinationals in Total and World health organisation. When I was doing my NYSC in Maiduguri earning N15,000 per month, he was earning millions as a consultant less than 1 year after graduation. That was my mate! All from OAU Ife.I gave you these 2 examples to show that these guys had 2 different passions(event management and IT respectively) but read chemical engineering and mechanical engineering respectively. They do not earn their living from these at all. Same goes for people who read chemistry. Let’s be honest, conditions are very harsh in Nigeria now. Little or no jobs everywhere. Even oil companies are firing people! So, it’s either you consider entrepreneurship or you consider the option in the next paragraph…It might be worth you applying to schools abroad (US and Canada specifically). I do not recommend UK or Europe in general as there are now very strict job requirements post-study for non-Europeans. The good thing with America is that whether chemistry or chemical engineering, you will likely get a scholarship once you ace the GRE. Kaplans and Barons GRE books are available at Yaba Tejuosho market to buy. If you do not reside in Lagos, find a friend who will help you get the books. You need at least 2 months of dedicated study in a quiet environment to study…that’s what I did before I got a scholarship to America, although I eventually came to London instead.Hope this helps.All the very best.Cheers.Tope
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