I'm I'm not really

@elvis_w_g

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Why it worked

The video offers a relatable narrative about career aspirations and the perceived value of education, resonating with viewers facing similar dilemmas. The speaker's personal story and practical advice provide actionable insights, making it valuable content.

Summary

The speaker shares their experience of pursuing a master's degree in the UK due to perceived job market limitations in Kenya. After realizing the high cost and the fact that practical skills, not just academic papers, are valued in the job market, they advise viewers to focus on acquiring in-demand skills like AI, cybersecurity, and data science instead of solely relying on advanced degrees.

Structure

1Personal anecdote about not valuing master's degrees
2The struggle to find a job after undergraduate studies
3Decision to pursue a master's degree in the UK
4Realization that skills are more important than degrees
5Advice to focus on practical skills for career success

Original caption

I almost spent 1.9 million shillings on a master's degree. Let me tell you why I stopped. I did Procurement at university. When I graduated, I did what everyone does. I started looking for a job. The jobs were not forthcoming. So my brain went to the next obvious step. Do a master's. Then surely employment follows. But I convinced myself a Kenyan master's would not be enough, so I aimed higher. I applied to the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom and received an offer letter. Then we did the maths. Over two years, the whole thing would have cost roughly 1.9 million shillings. Around 20,000 pounds. And I sat with that number and something clicked. I was about to spend 1.9 million to buy a stronger promise. Not a skill. A promise. Because look around honestly. A matatu driver is never asked for a certificate. He is asked how long he has been driving and whether he can handle the vehicle. The mechanic in your village has steady work and feeds his family, and nobody has ever seen his papers. They are paid for what they can do. Meanwhile we produce overqualified, jobless graduates every single year. People with impressive documents and no marketable ability. So I made a different choice. I invested in skills instead. Design, web development, content, AI tools. Things that produce results people pay for. Now let me be fair. If your career genuinely requires a master's, medicine, law, academia, research, go and do it properly. But do not enrol simply because employment did not arrive. My recommendation instead is to take advanced programs that build real skills. AI. Cybersecurity. Data science. Data analysis. Things the market is actively hungry for. Because our unemployment crisis will never be solved with more papers. It gets solved with abilities. You are rewarded for what you can do. Not for what you attended. Think about that. — Elvis W.

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Transcript

I'm I'm not really a very huge fan of master's degrees and a PhD's and the rest because you see when when someone is looking for a job maybe you did your degree after you show money is and you're not being able to to actually get a job to actually get a job the next thing you think about is about is when you attend a Vanya and probably get a better or even get another job or even get a job at the end of the day. But for me I'd try to think about it in a different way that bandwaggo I was part of that bandwagon. You know I did procurement in the Vanya procurement degree and when I finished my procurement degree the first thing I was to look for a job. The jobs were not very good and were not very forthcoming. So is what I decided I decided that I would enroll into a master's program but in the corner Pata job quote unquote if I did a masters in Kenya. So what did I do? I rushed to apply for a masters in the United Kingdom and I got an offer letter from a university that it was a university of Hertfordshire and well enough when we checked the prices of the master's program it was no little money in a period of two years we would have spent over 1.9 million Kenyan shillings that's a lot of money for me. I don't know if that's the whole truth but that that was the total was around 20,000 pounds or something like that. And eventually me I just decided Upana. Kwani these people who are in Kenya or the people who are actually making money in this country. What is it that they do and I came to one realization. It is not about papers, it is not about how good you performed. It is what you can do your abilities. That is why Makanga how we zangwe akona certificate. Dereva haulizango and haulizango unaweza umeendesha matatu miaka ngapi? You know how to drive this? You can do it. Okay. If you look at mechanics, most of them are actually having a lot of jobs and most of these guys will be able to take care of their families. You see the theory we buy is that we're looking for a white collar job. And when we don't get the white collar job, what could I actually do to get the white collar job? Si degree me kata kufanya kazi. Can I take a master's program and get a job? So instead of thinking about that idea of papers, why don't you think in terms of a skill set level? I'm not saying don't do your masters if you have to go well. Well tower. But remember today you're rewarded because of your abilities, not your papers. And that is why my biggest recommendation is this. Take advanced programs that teach you skills. AI, cyber security, data science, data analysis, right? All these are some of the things that you can actually get to think about. But we, well, what people think is that masters can always have a lot of people in Kenya who are very overqualified and jobless to solve our unemployment crisis. We have to think about skills, not papers. We have to think about abilities, not makarata, right? Because at the end of the day, people having the jobs, stay there and make money because of their abilities, not papers. This one is just something to think about for those guys who keep asking me about master's programs. Think about that.