Hello , I have been meaning to ask you this. Without a degree, can you stand the test of time?

The speaker at the career day event said this convincingly to the entire crowd of finely dressed gentlemen and ladies sitting in the hall.

When everyone had stopped murmuring and given him their attention, Mr Akin went on to narrate his experience with a marketing firm.



He had just left school and was very eager to begin his dream life. So he sent out application letters to different finance/marketing firms since he studied business management in school.

At the time, most of the companies had rejected his application because he had no prior experience besides a university degree. The last firm which invited him for an interview kept ignoring his fine 2.1 and was instead keen on what he was doing besides studies at school?

Mr Akin did not understand the question. 

So he honestly told them the only thing he did at school was study, more study and church fellowship.

His interviewers didn't seem pleased, so they gave the question a different approach.

"Besides studying your textbooks and praying, did you take time to carry out innovative and impactful extracurriculars in your area of study?"

At this point, he knew a yes would be a lie and open him up to more questions he wouldn't be able to answer, so he was honest.

The interviewer went ahead to advise him that although getting a degree is important, the truth is a lot of conventional universities are yet to evolve with the new method of learning.

The new method that applies to a real-life situation, helps you to think out of the usual, allows you to be creative with your ideas and make sure you are not only diligent but also a great contributor in achieving the vision of wherever place you find yourself.

With that said, he was recommended to take up 2 certified online courses on social media marketing and 1 on data analysis for 6 months.

He was only going to be employed fully as a staff, depending on his performance on these courses.

So you see, a degree is important, but have you ever asked yourself how it can help you stand the test of time in a fast-evolving and more practical society?

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