The sudden rave for white collar jobs is quickly waning. More and more people especially young graduates are beginning to realise that there is no manna from heaven anymore. The stories of yore, were jobs were brought on a sliver platter to our fathers don’t find place in our contemporary society.
Soft skills have begun to find appreciation amidst the Nigerian youth of today. Many have come to realize that their eventual take home pay subject to taxes and irrelevant cuts from authorities at months’ end do not even come near the profits from one job while carrying out these soft skills, coupled with the accompanied freedom and the ability to plan a path in the selected work-no HR, no assessment forms- they quickly realize that it is more profitable than the ‘hot jobs’ many look for today.
My short term experience (going to almost a decade now) has a graphic designer and recently added photography has personally proved this point to me. On a singular job, I could earn as much has half of the annual salary of my colleagues settled in the average working job. This is coupled with much fun and the liberties to decide how to spend my time choose my deadlines and the opportunity to meet with ‘ogas at the top’, senior men that they might not get the opportunity to see or meet with except they have achieved a level of professionalism or have been promoted to a higher level.
This financial and time freedom doesn’t come without its share of responsibilities has many times many who carry out their trade in soft skills have a hard time deciding what to do with the extra time…many engage in unprofitable ventures and many others just while away time idling expecting the next big break. A call to career liberation is not one to laziness or complacency, but rather one that calls one to the highest of responsibility…the ability to manage oneself without rule or supervision. It calls for self mastery, being able to boss yourself and also sacrifice, because quite unlike the office goer he has to ensure that the work is done and there are no mistakes…he bears all the consequences for his actions or inactions.