Sarah* has been working since she was 16 but officially became gainfully employed six years ago. She expected herself to have gone further than she currently is and blamed some of her life choices, like attending a polytechnic or relocating outside Lagos, for this.
What's your idea of work?
My idea of work is never being poor, or at least being comfortable, and I know that working will give me that freedom.
I wouldn't say I grew up poor. My parents could give us what we needed; we did not attend the best schools, but those we attended ensured we could become people in life. But I still wanted to go beyond my parents' levels.
My parents were civil servants, and there was nothing wrong with getting a government job, but I felt there was a job out there that could give me something more than my parents' jobs gave them. So, as a teenager, I settled on being a businessperson.
At every opportunity, I tried to earn something, and I discovered later that my parents loved that about me.
After secondary school, I took on a salesgirl role with a lady who sold things on our street. We never agreed on a salary, but she randomly gave me money on some days when I was going home in the evening; at other times, she gave me something from her stock.
How old were you at the time?
I was almost 16. This salesgirl thing went on for over a year, and I didn't have an issue with it since I was busy and got paid. Something else was troubling me — I was struggling to get admission into the university.
After failing JAMB thrice, I was advised to do a pre-degree course at one of these state universities in the south-west. Unfortunately, I did not get into school after the pre-degree programme.
Honestly, I might not be the brightest in class, but I don't think I'm not brilliant; I mean, I passed my WAEC in a sitting. So, I don't understand why I couldn't still get in through pre-degree.
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By the time I returned home, being out of school had started getting to me. I was 19 when I took the next JAMB examination. I settled for a polytechnic or college of education and got admitted into a polytechnic to study statistics.
How did you feel finally getting an admission?
It felt good. but I also felt I had wasted a lot of time, and that was going to affect how long it would take me to start earning money.
But I was happy that I would be leaving the house. I started the course and gave it my best. I tried to avoid distractions, but I also wanted to try out entrepreneurship.
I became a personal shopper, helping people buy things from the market. I made money from that, and I'm grateful it didn't really affect my results. I graduated with distinction.
I was advised to go the direct entry route straight to 200-level in a university, but I wasn't ready to go through the stress again, so I enrolled to do my higher national diploma in the same school. I graduated at 24 and, in my assessment, did not think it was too late to become a graduate. Was I right?
I believe you were.
True. But GenZs of that year are probably married, doing their masters, or already have two to three years of work experience. And I'm not even exaggerating.
For me, it was like the start of another struggle that would go on for about five years. First, I went for NYSC, where I taught mathematics at a government secondary school. I didn't know I actually enjoyed teaching that much until then. I planned to apply for teaching jobs after service.
When I started searching for the kind of jobs I knew would pay me better, something annoying happened, and I experienced it many times.
I noticed that some companies prefer university graduates. Many of them have it clearly written on their job ads: BSc or its equivalent. But I don't think the equivalents include HND. Others don't even disclose until you get to the interview stage.
This continued for almost five years, and it was always painful because I could have avoided this additional disadvantage if I had followed people's advice to go to university.
Although my parents were understanding, I needed to move out and start faring for myself. I decided to get a job at all costs. I eventually landed a contract role as a salesperson for a bank.
The pay was nothing to write home about and was not even worth all the stress at the end of the day. I quit when it started affecting my health. Ironically, I couldn't move out of my parent's house.
A few months later, I got a teaching job at a primary school that paid better than my previous job. I liked it and hoped I could stay longer there to earn my place. But I suddenly had to leave after only two sessions because I needed to move out of Lagos.
Why?
I got married.
Congratulations!
Thank you.
And how did you feel about relocating?
The decision to relocate affected my chances of getting the kind of jobs and pay that I wanted because I couldn't demand the kind of salary employers in Lagos were willing to pay.
The highest I've been paid here to date is ₦200k. While it's not bad for the location, I didn't like that I was back to the just comfortable life I lived with my parents. I didn't want to end up like them.
Does your husband know about this?
No, he doesn't. I understand he does what he can to make us live well, and I'm not complaining. You know talking about something like that can be easily misinterpreted as me regretting getting married to him, which I don't.
I've been working at a real estate company since we moved here. I started as a secretary; now, I help them manage their books.
Have you considered learning skills that can help you work remotely?
Yes, a few months ago, I heard about virtual assistant jobs at one youth empowerment programme I attended. I eventually enrolled for training and will be done in two months.
I'm hoping this changes something. I've often been told that I should stop regretting my choices since they didn't look wrong at the time. But I will be 36 soon, and this wasn't how I thought things would go. I believe something will change one year from now.
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