By Ibrahim Abdulsalam
Bear with this quote; “there is nothing in doing nothing”.
Until you are set to start to do something, success is not in view. I’m sure almost everyone must have thought of becoming a president, billionaire, best student, best footballer, and so on. Dreaming big is not the problem is the 4W and H.
What do I mean by the 4Ws and H?
What to start, when to start, where to start, what to start with and how to start. These are what I consider the pathway to success.
What to start?
As a student of mass communication, you can’t expect to build a career in all aspects of the course. You can’t pursue a career in advertising, and at the same time become a journalist, a public relations practitioner, and photojournalism.
I do believe that one can be a jack of all trades and a master of all. However, when it comes to career success, the ladder must be climbed step by step.
The course we are studying has many career opportunities. The question is; which one do you think you are the best fit for? For instance, if you are studying law, find out that aspect of the law that you command understanding more. If you are studying mass communication, look for that aspect of communication you want to annex. If it’s nursing, there are various categories, look for what you can do best.
Do you know pharmacy is not just about selling drugs? You can study pharmacy and be a specialist in drug production, community pharmacy, clinical research associate, medical science liaison, and so on.
If you are studying accounting you can also specialize in information and technology accounting, Forensic accounting, managerial accounting, controller, etc.
The idea is, that a student planning on just studying medicine and surgery must narrow his career is not just medicine and surgery but physician, surgeon, anesthesiologist, dermatologist, and so on.
When to start?
After deciding on the career to build on, the next important thing is when to start. The answer for this is simple, the time is NOW!!
No matter the level you are in your institution, the moment to start building this career is this instant. So, if I may ask, have you started building your career?
Everyone wants to be successful but then, not everybody knows the pathway. If you are among these people, then you are in the right place. Let’s move on.
Where to start?
The best place to start building your career is in school. Many people made the mistake of planning to go practical with the course they are studying after graduating. The fact is, no employer is willing to train an employee who didn’t get himself acquainted with requisite skills while in school. Today we have IT, SIWES, personal volunteering, and so on. These are what you can engage yourself in as a student to practice your career.
Utilize the period you spend on the practical aspect of your career because, at some point, it is what will matter.
How to start?
Erase the mentality of coming to school just to attend classes and pass exams. Yes, you heard me right!
Today, some people are in the university with full scholarships because when they were in secondary school, they participated in a lot of activities that earned them scholarships. There is no point in having a first-class in law and not knowing how to compose yourself when in a courtroom or how to file a lawsuit.
Also, there is no point in having a first-class in mass communication and not being able to report a story. The same thing applies to a first-class in computer science that cannot replicate an app we are using nowadays.
A few days spent on career-building opportunities will only accelerate your success and not your failure. Some have fortified opportunities; sleeping off in classes because of the lecture’s induced boredom. Seek seminars opportunities; maximize your long holiday, enough of traveling the evening of your last paper. Your counterparts abroad attend seminar camps or go for internships in organizations but you just want to go and sleep and wake up for a whole month. It doesn't work that way.
Did you know that internship is free? Did you know that volunteering, though not attracting salary can build your career prospects? And yet you are in your third year and you have never attended a seminar. AH!!
Some people are masters at influencing menial jobs of 10,000 or 8,000 and will still be owed salary. However, these opportunities are easier gotten when you start with someone.
Who to start with?
Start with successful visionary mentors, Start with connected lecturers, don’t let them rest, complain to them, tell them you need opportunities, and connect with people online.
Do you know you can contact a career mentor online? LinkedIn, Twitter, and others are there for you to reach out to that successful journalist on TVC, AIT, NTA, and other television stations.
Also start with friends who have started well. Friends that are ready to go any positive length to succeed.
I will like to leave you with this:
“You might not be able to win yourself a first-class as that is beyond your control, but you should give everything you have, empty the tank and be sure that you have nothing left to give, and be satisfied with whatever your effort can attain”.
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