Certificate Acquisition vs Self Development

Certificate Acquisition vs Self Development

Attending some sort of college to acquire more knowledge in a particular field of choice is an amazing idea and highly encouraged that we all try as much as possible to pursue one discipline or the other to a professional level – get certified by an approved institution or educational body.

We now live in a society where not having any sort of certification is seen as abnormal and frowned upon like a disease, which in turn has transformed people into zombies with desperation to do whatever it takes to have one certificate or the other even if it means selling a kidney to have one or never have a reason to make use of the said certificate.

As an African myself, it is natural to relate this to my immediate environment. I was born in southern Nigeria, schooled across the land and have lived, visited and mingled with people from other nations and continents within the last 20years I can confirm that majority of us are getting it so wrong.

Firstly, I must confirm and acknowledge that to be educated is mandatory for every being no matter what your social status or family background is - education will take away illiteracy, ignorance and possibly poverty.

That being said, we humans may look alike but we mostly have different paths in life. The fact that your “friend” or “brother” is studying medicine and aiming to be a medical doctor does not in any way translate that you must follow that path or that it’s remotely connected to your destiny.

It’s not uncommon to find 5 University graduates in a family of 7 and yet only one with a job! We have been brainwashed into thinking success is tied to certificates and the more you acquire, the more your chances of getting a shot at success – this has been proven not to be true over and over but the same error is still ongoing in our society!

I have seen around me how worse the situation has become lately. I have seen people spending nearly 7 years if not more considering very common industrial or union strikes in our citadels of learning to study Law and eventually go to law school and only to return with the “certificates” and now getting roadside training in “interior decoration” or even worse “makeup artist” – all to make ends meet and sure that’s a trained lawyer but all that doesn't matter now does it?

To be educated is the best thing that could happen to any human being after having life but being smart along the line makes that life even more worthy and stress free – Many people have encountered their calling from the early stage of their life, say when they are in their teens but the fact that everyone in the society is going to the University or some college, they assume they must go that route first before coming back to their calling, they conveniently ignored the part where that opportunity won’t be waiting forever, neither would they be as young, agile and versatile as they were.

The four walls of the University or College will give you the knowledge, opportunity to meet other people and create your connections – trust me you will need them at a later date! But the university or college won't teach you how to live your life or how to survive in the real world, now this is the knowledge that you will have to find and build yourself – it’s called “street wise” – it’s obviously not a smart idea to get a degree and be waiting for a white collar job, you have been trained in one field but you were not tied to that path – now this is where being street wise comes handy, drop the degree as quickly as you got it and chase another path instantly rather than waiting for that job that’s not forthcoming.

These days, it is very much possible for a high school drop-out to end up employing a Msc holder – the only difference here is the “drop out” was smart enough to identify his purpose and adapt to his ability rather than be pursuing what he is incapable of – we all have limits to our ability and the earlier we know and admit to it, the better for us.

In Nigeria for instance, everyone wants to attend one University, Polytechnic or some college even when they are aware that they are not cut out for that way but peers pressure and family impact is taking charge here and they prioritize satisfying others and sacrificing themselves – that’s rather sad!

A university with the capacity of 5000 students annually is now admitting 60,000 students for various courses that includes a “4 year course” in “Yoruba Education” “Laboratory Technology” “Art History” “Library Management” “ Child Education” “Primary Education” “Comparative Religious Studies” “ Religious Studies” amongst others – These students will spend an average of 6years to acquire any of these certificates when its obvious that there are no jobs readily available for them but the desire to “feel among” has robbed them of their youth years – Majority will come back to the stage they ought to have tried initially – now everyone is into “business” . Can you imagine any sort of business with 4 to 6years invested in the knowledge acquisition and building that business? We are talking about a possibility of multiple branches and a self-made person here!

Every one of us can’t attend college just as we are not all destined to be wealthy – do not waste your time in going after what you don’t need or what is not beneficial to you! What is important is to be educated and literate but if you are cut out for studying further then that’s a welcome development and you should be encouraged to do so, we need professionals just as much as we need artisans.

We live in a continent where you can have 40 graduates of different fields in a company and their director is one roadside “Engineer” from some village in Europe forming as “expatriate” and getting paid a humongous fee with preferential treatment. Guess what? the only difference between this “expatriate” and the local workers is the "boss" knowing what he is capable of early and quickly joined a trade of his choice at an early stage rather than pursuing some papers where he is sure that he will never excel, he started early and mastered the trade, hence why he is now the “boss “in a third world country where certificates’ matters more over common sense and experience.

Young people or job seekers are not only guilty in this instance – The government and the employers are also culprits. First-degree holders are now being treated like secondary school leavers and most are being offered unprintable jobs in the name of paying their bills – I am sure they expected something different after spending all those years chasing certificates.

Most successful people around the world are dropouts with no certificates and yet they are now the top employers in the world and they are individually richer than some countries around the world.

This piece is not to discourage people from going to college or university, on the contrary – it is highly advisable to attend but only if it is necessary and important to your dream – there is no shortcut for someone dreaming to be a medical doctor and has the passion for science and humans but for an average student that knows his or her limits, it is not mandatory that you must have certificates to improve your ability – learning a trade and attending a technical training school is equally a path to success. A plumber can end up as a C.E.O of a plumbing company with a franchise, A cook can still own chains of restaurants just as a carpenter can still head a furnishing company.

It’s never in the schools or certificates but in yourself – your ability to chase your desire, to identify your passion, to be smart with your choices – these factors will make you stand out in your field of choice. Not all Lawyers and Doctors are successful just as not all plumbers, tailors or carpenters are poor. It’s all about packaging - see the scenario below.

Mr. Ade, Mr. Musa, and Ms. Nneka were classmates in high school and they all were hoping to be amongst the movers and shakers of their community in the nearest future. While Mr. Ade is an average student, Musa, on the other hand, is on top of the class with many awards to his name, Nneka is struggling with her grades but she is determined to keep going and not to be left behind but Nneka also has what Ade and Musa do not have which is her business acumen, she has a penchant for selling one thing or the other to other students – she always has things to trade. If you want to get rid of anything – Nneka is your girl to speak to.

Years went by and they left school, now they are all chasing the almighty JAMB entrance examination. It was an easy ride for Musa as a result of his brilliance and he got an admission into a first-class university to study the course of his choice. Ade is still trying his Luck with JAMB and he is on his third attempt (Musa is now in the third year in the University), Nneka was smart enough to identify her calling and she has moved to another state to learn the rudiments of business from a well-known and established businessman.

5 years later – Musa is now a graduate and luckily he got a job with a Government parastatal, Nneka got her “freedom” from her master and now owns her own business and trading and developing her business gradually, Ade is still there too and blaming JAMB for his misfortune and on why he has been stagnant in life.

From the story above – All three subjects are educated, one has a certificate and successful, one does not have a certificate and successful and one does not have the certificate nor the success. This simply means that we all have different paths in life and we can’t copy each other in any way, it is important to know one’s ability and passion, it is a lot easier to develop what you have interest in over learning something new entirely – you can be taught but to assimilate, that’s another story.

No harm in securing certificates but not at the expense of burying your talent.

Choose wisely.