Being a Nigerian student can be really tough. One minute you are in school and the next you are home for a compulsory break popularly known as “strike”.

And you’re now in a position where you have to figure out what to do with your time. If you find yourself in such a situation, you’re not alone. 

I was also in that situation a few years back. The university embarked on a strike three months before our graduation. I think you can imagine how painful it was for me. 

The saddest part about all of these is, you end up spending 5 years for a 4 years course or 6 years for a 5 years course and that's if you don’t even have a spillover. Yet you’re not guaranteed a job.

Sometimes, when I see the statistics of the level of unemployment in Nigeria I get scared. And that’s because every year, thousands of graduates are sent into the labour market to be unemployed.

Nigeria unemployment rate increased from 27.10% to 33.30% in 2020 according to National Bureau statistics. And this number will continue to increase.

In this post, I will be sharing with you Why it’s important to learn an in-demand skill now that you have the time and also, my top 5 in-demand skills that would help you earn even as a student.

Why is it Important to Learn a Skill?

As young people, it’s easy to fall for the lie that our traditional education system would give us the skill we need to succeed in life. There is a gap between being educated in a Nigerian university and having a skill.

This makes it important to not just go to school but also to develop a skill that can sustain you in the long run.

I had a conversation recently with my mentor. I was so curious to know how he started his career as a digital marketing specialist. I remember asking him if he started his career with the aid of his university degree.

I was wowed by his response, he said, “Joy, I’ve never used my university certificate to apply for any job.” 

Then I asked again, “So how do you get your jobs?” And he responded, “I’ve been on several interviews and nobody cared about what I studied in school and most of the people I’ve worked with are only concerned about delivery. They want to know if I’m skilled enough to help their businesses grow”.

This means learning a skill can help you secure great job opportunities in the midst of unemployment and also as a student.

Sadly, not every skill out there can help you secure great job opportunities and be able to earn as a student. This is why I will be answering the question, “what skill should you learn?”

What Skill Should You Learn?

When thinking of learning a skill, it’s important to ask yourself, how relevant is this skill in the job market? It’s possible to learn a skill and still remain irrelevant in your job hunt.

According to LinkedIn, “In the next five years, 150 million tech-related jobs are projected to be generated worldwide.” Companies need skilled employees to make intelligent decisions and fuel growth. This means a tech skill is one that is loaded with a lot of great opportunities.

Here are my top 5 in-demand tech skills that can help you earn more even as a student

1.  Cloud computing

While the need for cloud computing is on the rise, organisations across the globe are searching to hire cloud experts at whatever cost, according to 2021 job data from Indeed. 

And also, from March 2018 to March 2021, the share of cloud computing jobs per million increased drastically by 42%, according to data from Indeed. What this means is that learning cloud computing can expose you to a lot of great job opportunities.

2. Digital Marketing

With the constant increase of internet users all over the world, a lot of businesses are moving online to be able to communicate with their customers. This in turn calls for the need of digital marketers.

According to a recent finding on LinkedIn, the demand for digital marketers was about 59% but the supply was only 19%. This means that if you learn digital marketing, you can be sure of a lot of opportunities.

3. Web Development

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of web developers is projected to grow 13% from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations.

The demand for web developers is higher than the supply. So diving into web development will mean access to lots of opportunities.

4. Data Analysis

Organisations are constantly searching for professionals that can help them find insight from the large data they have acquired to be able to make business decisions. This makes data analysis an in-demand skill.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, there would be huge growth for data analysis skills, the field is to grow about 28% through 2026. 

5. UX/UI Design

Businesses are constantly in search of UX/UI designers to help make their web pages more user friendly as their customers are online

In 2021,  LinkedIn listed UI designers roles as one of the top 15 most in-demand professions.  This is a trend that will only continue as a lot of businesses are constantly relying on digital products and services for their day-to-day work and interactions with their customers.

Conclusion

You may have heard the saying, “Tech is the new oil”. Yes, it is. The list of tech skills that can help you earn even as a student is so much. The sweetest thing about learning a tech skill is that a lot of tech jobs can be done with a laptop from wherever you are and rarely do you need to be in person. 

With this, you have control over your time, you may decide to do your task very early in the morning in order to attend your lectures later in the day. The focus here is to get the job done. So if you are curious to get into the tech industry, signup at www.mentortribes.com now