Tips to choose a course to study in Nigeria

 It is sometimes very difficult to find the course that best suits you. There are so many courses offered in various universities in Nigeria and each one of them is unique. Choosing the right course thus becomes a difficult task.

Not to worry, almost everyone is faced with the issue of choosing the right course. I also had the problem of choosing the right course. At first, at a very young age, I wished to study anything related to technology because of my love for engineering. I remember wishing to become a pilot, astronaut, mechanical engineer, and electrical electronic engineer. I later studied library and information science but later decided to become an entrepreneur.

There is a lesson to learn from my story. Self-discovery isn’t just going to happen. It sometimes takes years but sometimes, could happen really fast.

The joy in this is that as long as there is life, there is always hope for a second chance. You could study a course today and choose to follow a different career path tomorrow. While this is possible, it comes with a disadvantage. The disadvantage of not discovering the right path early is that you would be wasting time. Everyone knows time is wealth and no one loves to waste wealth.

To avoid wasting time, there are important tips or factors that can help you easily discover the course that best suit you in Nigeria.

Keep reading below to find out.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Course in Nigeria

There are so many courses offered in various Nigerian universities. Each has its spice and possibilities.

The course you study in Nigeria plays an important role in determining your career path. For instance, if you studied library and information science like me, you can find yourself pursuing a career as a school librarian or if you studied petroleum engineering, you can find yourself pursuing a career as a drilling engineer.

The question is; would you find fulfillment pursuing whatever career that your course presents to you in Nigeria? This is why you would have to consider certain factors that would help to find the right career for you easier. These factors are listed below;

·        Personality

·        Aptitude or talent

·        Interest

·        Disposition (how one feel)

·        Intellectual ability

·        Monetary benefit

·        Prospect

It would be nice if you read each of these factors below.

1.     Personality:

Personality can be said to be the totality of a person. This represents everything about you. This includes your height, complexion, behavior, style, talk pattern, dress pattern, uniqueness, strength, weakness, the pattern of thoughts, and many more.

This is the first factor that one should consider before choosing a course in Nigeria. It is appropriate to note that one’s personality can either oppose one’s career or promote it.

For instance, one who stammers shouldn’t think of pursuing a career in teaching. Likewise, a weak person shouldn’t choose a course in human kinetics. Likewise, a shy person shouldn’t choose law as a course.

Your personality can serve as a strong indication to how well you would perform in a certain field or course in Nigeria.

2.     Aptitude:

Aptitude refers to one’s natural ability or skill. This can also be recognized as your talent.

Everyone has one or more talents. Example of talents includes drawing, singing, painting, acting, and many more. The problem with using your talent to determine the course that best suits you to study in Nigeria is the problem of self-discovery.

The truth is that so many people find it uneasy to know or discover their talent. I also had this problem when I was younger. The reason why so many people find it difficult to discover their natural skill is that they do not consider what they do best, a skill or talent.

For some people, their aptitude is being good with numbers or mathematics. For others, they are excellently fluent in their speech. All these are talents but sometimes they are not easily recognized.

One’s aptitude or talent can be a factor to be taken into recognition when choosing a course to study in Nigeria.

One who has a natural skill in solving mathematics can choose a course in mathematics and statistics or engineering in Nigeria. Likewise, one who is good in comedy can choose a course in theater art in Nigeria

3.     Interest (Passion):

Passion is a drive that prompts somebody to do something. Passion also entails whatever thing you are interested in.

Passion is another factor you can consider when choosing a course in Nigeria. Although, it is possible to be bad at something you have passion for. However, if you truly have a passion for it, you should still pursue it.

For instance, if you have a passion for food, you can choose a course related to food in Nigeria like food and nutrition, food science and technology etc. Likewise, if you have a passion for technology, there are numerous courses in Nigeria that can help you build your skill in technology.

4.     Disposition:

Disposition refers to how you feel in a particular situation. This factor is also a strong factor that can help you choose the right course in Nigeria. For example, if you feel irritated around blood then you should not study medicine as a course in Nigeria. Likewise, if you are so scared of height, you shouldn’t choose civil engineering as a course in Nigeria. 

5.     Intellectual ability:

This is another very important factor to consider when choosing a course in Nigeria. This is very important because it determines to a large extent your success in a given course in Nigeria.

Everyone is not equally intelligent. A student can be either brilliant, averagely brilliant, or below brilliant. A way of knowing how intelligent you are academically is through your performance in class.

A below-average student shouldn’t consider engineering, medicine, chemistry, or accounting as a course to study in Nigeria. The likelihood that such a student will fail or perform badly in these courses is extremely high.

6.     Monetary benefit:

One can also consider monetary-benefits as a factor to choose a course in Nigeria. Courses like engineering, accounting, medicine, architecture are considered some of the highest paying courses in Nigeria.

However, considering monetary-benefits above passion and intellectual ability is a wise action to take when choosing a course to study in Nigeria.

7.     Prospect:

This is the last but not the least factor to consider when choosing a course to study in Nigeria. This factor is almost similar to monetary benefit as a factor.

Prospect in this context, entails the opportunities or the benefits that come with studying a particular course in Nigeria.

Every single course offered in the various universities in Nigeria has its own prospects. However, some courses have more prospects than others. Likewise, some courses have lower prospects than others.

Considering the prospect of a course in Nigeria is somewhat wise. This is because the prospect of a course determines to a large extent how fast you would get employed if you read that course.

This is why some people wish to read a course with high prospect or opportunities like engineering, medicine, pharmacy, accounting, estate management, etc. to avoid the stress of looking so hard for a job.

It is also relevant to note that the state of the economy of Nigeria has led to a reduction in the prospect of some courses in Nigeria. Also, using the factor to determine the right course for you can be deceiving at times. For instance, library and information science is considered a course with fewer prospects. However, there are very few libraries and information science graduates in Nigeria which makes getting a job in the library and information science degree pretty easy.