Every November, my timeline gets flooded. Caps flying, gowns glowing, and hashtags like #ProudGraduate and ***#***MamaIMadeIt dominating social media.
And don’t get me wrong graduation is beautiful. You’ve worked hard, burnt midnight candles (and sometimes the neighbour’s Wi-Fi), and you deserve the celebration.
But here’s the bitter truth: after the balloons pop and the cake is finished, the degree won’t automatically hand you a job. If paper alone made people rich, our social media would be filled with millionaires showing off mansions, not graduates posting “Anyone know who’s hiring?”
Look at the world’s top innovators:
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Elon Musk says college is for fun, not for learning.
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Sal Khan reminds us you can learn anything for free online.
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Mark Zuckerberg insists you don’t need a degree to gain skills.
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Jack Ma says the world offers opportunities without a degree.
These guys didn’t sit around polishing certificates they built skills, solved problems, and created value. That’s why they’re billionaires while many degree holders are still stuck asking relatives for “airtime being Dollar.”
Here’s the African truth:
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The vendor who learns digital marketing can outsell a graduate.
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The hustler who learns coding online can build an app and get investors.
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The farmer who learns new irrigation techniques on YouTube can make more than a bank manager.
So, my brothers and sisters, let’s stop worshipping paper. Degrees are good, but skills build wealth. The world doesn’t pay you for what’s written on your certificate it pays you for the problems you can solve.
Moral of the story? Don’t just chase degrees, chase skills. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about the gown you wore on graduation day it’s about the value you bring to the table.
By The Chartered Vendor
#AfricaMustThink #SkillsOverDegrees #Entrepreneurship #AfricanYouth #EducationRevolution #BuildNotBeg
