They say that we are better educated than our parents' generation (a fat lie). What they mean is that we go to school longer. ~Richard Yates
I was having a brief chat with a student some days back, so I asked her whether she was enjoying her studies and the plans she had for the future, (she is yet to Join University) she told me she was so looking forward to joining university and would only be happy after graduating and getting herself a job- talk of being independent :) somehow I felt happy for her but felt the urge to tell her to tone down her getting job enthusiasm a bit, coz apparently, that’s where happy life seems to end for most graduates.
I see students joining University with a lot of enthusiasm, with the hope that after graduating they will immediately secure their dream job and set their life rolling! (Which is perfectly in order only that there appears to be lots of challenges before you get it rolling) and the ‘better’ the course that you are pursuing the happier your future life looks. I remember we use to tease education students that they were waking up early just for 20 bucks (That’s almost the amount that Kenya TSC pays graduate teachers) coz somehow we felt that our course was a bit superior to theirs and therefore our starting salary was somehow pre defined :)
Most students realize that life is actually different when looking for attachment places but most importantly after graduation. That’s when they realize that real life is far from the imagined life after collage. We have heard of extreme cases where graduates tear up their original university certificates after failing to secure a place and others doing the unimaginable jobs. In some parts of the country like Nairobi, drivers and jobless graduate youths have entered into an informal arrangement in which the latter occupy seats to lure passengers so as to fill the vehicles quickly, for their effort, the job seekers get between Sh30 and Sh50.
I have nothing against being enthusiastic when joining collage, but I just wish I could tell them to tone their expectations just a bit, in that case, they would know how to fit and deal with real life after collage without getting extremely disappointed.
Just like churches have become a major source of income for some preachers, am afraid learning institutions are slowly turning into cash cows by introducing some courses that are not so relevant which they insist students must take. Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often young people are being given cut flowers when they should be taught how to grow their own plants.
Having had a taste of life outside collage (real life) coupled with so many other issues, I came to the conclusion that if I were to go back to college, these are some of the things that I would do different:
I was having a brief chat with a student some days back, so I asked her whether she was enjoying her studies and the plans she had for the future, (she is yet to Join University) she told me she was so looking forward to joining university and would only be happy after graduating and getting herself a job- talk of being independent :) somehow I felt happy for her but felt the urge to tell her to tone down her getting job enthusiasm a bit, coz apparently, that’s where happy life seems to end for most graduates.I see students joining University with a lot of enthusiasm, with the hope that after graduating they will immediately secure their dream job and set their life rolling! (Which is perfectly in order only that there appears to be lots of challenges before you get it rolling) and the ‘better’ the course that you are pursuing the happier your future life looks. I remember we use to tease education students that they were waking up early just for 20 bucks (That’s almost the amount that Kenya TSC pays graduate teachers) coz somehow we felt that our course was a bit superior to theirs and therefore our starting salary was somehow pre defined :)
Most students realize that life is actually different when looking for attachment places but most importantly after graduation. That’s when they realize that real life is far from the imagined life after collage. We have heard of extreme cases where graduates tear up their original university certificates after failing to secure a place and others doing the unimaginable jobs. In some parts of the country like Nairobi, drivers and jobless graduate youths have entered into an informal arrangement in which the latter occupy seats to lure passengers so as to fill the vehicles quickly, for their effort, the job seekers get between Sh30 and Sh50.
I have nothing against being enthusiastic when joining collage, but I just wish I could tell them to tone their expectations just a bit, in that case, they would know how to fit and deal with real life after collage without getting extremely disappointed.
Just like churches have become a major source of income for some preachers, am afraid learning institutions are slowly turning into cash cows by introducing some courses that are not so relevant which they insist students must take. Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often young people are being given cut flowers when they should be taught how to grow their own plants.
Having had a taste of life outside collage (real life) coupled with so many other issues, I came to the conclusion that if I were to go back to college, these are some of the things that I would do different:
- As much as I will learn the offered courses, my ears will always be open to what is going on in the job market, I will learn tones of other things that I feel will give me a competitive advantage over the others.
- Passing exams will never be my priority, I will instead concentrate on getting the concept
- I will have fun and lots of fun, will enjoy my collage life to the maximum (coz apparently, this is where real life is!)
- I will network right from year one but most importantly I will focus on being the job creator rather than the job seeker because it is this jobseeker mindset that prevents most people from exploring their full potential
- I will be flexible enough to do anything/any job (and I mean anything) with all the enthusiasm that I can master, provided I have my set targets and goal in life- which you must have if you are to go anywhere
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