The irony of education, especially in this part of the divide is that it is thought that being educated alone will make one rich.
However, the reality is that education alone does not amount to being wealthy.
One major problem with most educated people is that they are realistic and nothing significant was ever accomplished by a realistic person.
Such a person will always live under the family tree most of his life.
Most people attend tertiary education for security reasons, and unfortunately, there is no security in the labour market or anywhere on earth.
Read also: 16.9% of Nigeria’s PhD holders are jobless – NBS
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing, according to Hellen Keller. Most graduates end up being poor for many reasons such as;
Graduates don’t think beyond their certificates
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think,” Albert Einstein said. Have you ever heard the creativity term “think outside the box”?
One of the main reasons the majority of graduates are poor is simply that they cannot see and think beyond their certificates.
I’ve seen graduate engineers working as bankers, and doctors with superb web and graphic design skills.
The fundamental truth of life is that the skills needed to be much sought after and to become more successful in life are not really found within the classroom walls.
Read also: Here are educational degrees with highest unemployment rate in Nigeria
They prioritise certificates more than gifts and talents
In pursuing one’s passion and in searching for jobs there has to be a complementary balance.
Everyone is talented for something, but the winning edge comes from one’s ability to work on his/her gifts. The best way to develop you is toward your natural talents and interests.
We need to work harder on our gifts than our jobs if we are to live a fulfilled and impactful life. It is a man’s duty to uncover, develop, and sell our gifts.
Certificates prepare students for a world that no longer exist
Experts believe that in the present world, most of the skills taught in schools are becoming obsolete. The world has changed a great deal and so is the need of people.
Knowing that the current form of university education, in Nigeria especially, doesn’t prepare students for the future is imperative.
The country’s archaic methods and learning approaches are preparing graduates for a world that no longer exists.
Read also: Solving Nigeria’s education challenges
They know less about themselves and more about things
Certificates and degrees do not reveal themselves to people; they measure people’s intelligence quotient.
Often people fail to discover that there’s no recovery without discovery. A poor man is just someone who hasn’t come across himself.
The more you discover yourself, the more you become aware of the treasures hidden deep within you.
Certificates and degrees can kill initiatives
Degrees and certificates can close one’s mind to ideas. If you are not careful, your qualifications and certificates can close your mind.
The purpose of education is to keep your mind open to boundless possibilities forever!
Fred Smith saw an opportunity to deliver anything overnight anywhere in the USA, and FedEx was born to deliver ultra-fast delivery anywhere in the world.
It’ll be interesting to know that in a Yale economics class, Fred Smith got a grade “C” for an idea the professor belittled as unworkable.
FedEx became the first American business to make an annual profit of more than ten billion dollars.
Degrees and certificates position you to look for jobs and not for opportunities
Certificates and degrees prepare graduates to look for jobs and this does not open them to see opportunities that can change lives.
You’re not poor because you don’t have a job; you’re poor because you don’t see opportunities and take them.
Poor simply put is ‘passing over opportunities repeatedly.’ What keeps people ahead in life is not their education or degrees, they simply seize the opportunity. Jobs may be scarce but opportunities aren’t.
Degrees prepare people to look for security and not to take risks
We need to be willing to make mistakes and take risks at breakthroughs. Learning from mistakes and taking risks help us to know what works and what doesn’t!
When Thomas Edison was questioned by a mischievous journalist as to how he felt he had failed 999 times before he got the idea of the light bulb, his answer stunned the entire world when he said confidently,
“I have not failed 999 times, I have only learned 999 ways of not making a light bulb.”
Many graduates are poor because there is no teaching in schools about the skills required in the modern world to get rich.
Real financial security and freedom is not your job, but your passion, your gifts, your talents, and your ability to see and seize opportunities.
