This week's blog choice is the article in our Choices Column 'Demola's Dilemma'. It was based on an email from a young man who wrote to us about the crossroads he is currently facing. If you missed YED on Tuesday, then you can catch up by reading his story below.
Whenever I was asked what I
wanted to 'become' when I was in secondary school, I bet I would have said an
Accountant without blinking. That was my dream profession until SS1 when I
found out that my accounts never seemed to balance. It was then that I began
try to figure out the real reason I wanted to be an accountant. “How can I get
angry solving questions in my dream career?” That was one of the questions I
posed to myself. I asked accountant friends and uncles what they do daily, in
order to get an idea of what it is like to be an accountant. I came to the
conclusion that if I carry on with this ambition, I might regret my choice of
career. The feedback I received led me to the sad conclusion – Accounting is
not for me. This revelation prevented me from studying accounting at the University-
a feat which would have been impossible if my father were to be alive and if I
did not end up having a D7 in Financial Accounting in my O'Levels. Accounting
was his dream for me, he was so convinced about it that he had a heated
discussion with Mr Adesaunya, my Secondary School principal. He insisted that I
should be an accountant against the Principal's advice that I should go to Art
class preparing for a career perhaps in Law or Mass Communication. Dad
prevailed of course and I was transferred to Commercial class. Sadly, he passed
away just as I was finishing my Secondary School.
These things happened years ago
and now I am a few days away from being a graduate of a prestigious Nigerian University
and I am still searching for my dream career. Dad was right about Accounting,
it is a promising career but it is not for me. I live in Lagos where everyone
seems to slave away every day, getting home late at night. I do not want to be
held in traffic for long hours coming from a job I do not love. Even though
this may be wishful thinking, I don’t think this type of thinking is limited to
me. Most of the soon-to-be graduates I have interacted with are thinking the
same way. They say “I want to work in a bank or any other big institution, work
hard for about 10 years and earn big and afterwards move on to my real
ambition. For every day I spent not liking a Job, I will console myself with
the thought that someday I will be leaving.”
If I were to choose a career that
I would love, it would involve Creative Writing and Teaching, but then teaching
is not as rewarding as banking. I would spend years in teaching in a Secondary
School before I can earn the same as an entry-level staff in a bank. Can I
truly consider that? Should I add writing textbooks to boost my earning
capacity? On a visit to the school counselor she suggested a career in training
and facilitating as opposed to teaching business studies in secondary schools.
My mentor and friends suggest pursuing a career in writing. However, I still
want to earn high for some years then log out to a better plan or more
lucrative career.
Post a comment below to tell us what you think about Demola's situation, or what you think he should do.
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