White versus blue

There’s plenty talking among young people about getting white collar jobs and I’m wondering… are we young people listening at all? Are we paying attention? Are we observing the trend of the world today? 

Not too long ago I met with a fresh first class graduate of engineering, he was within the State government secretariat and when I asked him what he was doing, he said he was looking for a job. Then I said to him, “You know the era we are in, there are really no government jobs for now”. He replied “then you are lucky”. When I probed further to find out why he made the statement, he went on to explain how those who have government jobs are settled for life, how they are secured and have a regular income, blah blah blah.  As I listened to him, it dawned on me that this must be ignorance playing out in words. 

The truth is, a lot of us are ignorant! Going on about how nice it must be to put on a neatly ironed shirt and trouser, a tie and probably a suit, sit in a well air-conditioned office and just write memos, then have a steady paycheck that gives us a sense of security, then what? I bet it hasn’t occurred to you that there are a lot of restrictions and limitations too. I never wanted a government job or at least a regular 8 to 5 job so I wasn’t looking, it just came. Well that is not the point. 

My point is why wait and waste away in anticipation of a white collar job, when you can get involved in a blue collar job? 
For the purpose of clarity, let’s quickly see the difference:
*White collar jobs simply put, are jobs that basically involve mental exertion rather than physical strength e.g. desk jobs like the civil servant, the cashier in the bank, the consultant on legal issues and so on.
*Blue collar jobs are jobs where people do work needing more of physical strength and skill like hair dressing, make up, automobile mechanic jobs, etc. On these jobs, you could get stained, ruffled and/or really dirty. 

Over the years people have downgraded the blue collar jobs because of the need to look polished and reputable and I’m wondering, who says you can’t be polished doing a blue collar job?  Hmm, in our local parlance, “my dear, hunger never catch you”. If you’ve been hungry, you would know that necessity is the mother of invention. Well that’s on a lighter mode.
But more seriously, I don’t believe we go to school so we can get white collar jobs. I believe education only gives you an edge and can also give the polished and sophisticated look you so crave no matter what you do for a living. It’s unfortunate that a lot of young people are misguided in their choice of studies while others are frustrated trying to get admitted into departments of their choice. I strongly believe that something can be done about it. 

Usually, everyone is passionate about something; everyone needs money to survive in this world. Now tell me, how any of these are hinged on the ability to get a white collar job? I have met with doctors turned full time business women, met with lawyers who settled for music, engineers who settled for photography, and geologists who settled for farming and so on. What does it really matter? 

Just in case you think I’m over doing it, let’s see a few examples we can relate with: 

#Tara Durotoye. Here’s an extract from her story as documented by Lioness of Africa 
Tara’s early journey towards business and entrepreneurship was inspired by an advertiser, who spoke to her about being business conscious whilst she was still in secondary school. She remembers: “I was in secondary school many years ago and a man came to speak to us and he came to us as an entrepreneur, that is, as a business man. He was in advertising and because he was creative, I found him interesting. He made me interested in business… I eventually went to the university and I studied law. As an undergraduate, while I was in school I started a business. I started with just N15,000. It was less than the cost of a blackberry phone”. Today, as a graduate of law, Tara’s business - House of Tara has over 3000 reps spread across Nigeria, 20 studios across Nigeria and international recognition and I bet she has a cozy office and looks more polished now.

#What about Aliko Dangote? He ranked first in 2008 Forbes list of Nigerian richest people in the world with an estimated fortune of 3.3billion dollars, and as at 2015, 18 billion dollars. He started out with a small capital to start his trade in commodities like cement and the list grew lager and now, he is known as the ‘golden child’ of Nigerian business circles.  According to nijia.com, as a self-employed person, with minimum basic education, he proves that business success is usually through strength of mind, honesty and perseverance; and not necessarily by obtaining Harvard-oxford certificates or first-class academic qualification. His managerial skills surely are the envy of economic professors.  See that? Life isn't about white collar jobs, its about making a positive impact, its about being fulfilled. 

#And Olakunle Soriyan? Now the principal Transformation Strategist of Olakunle Soriyan Company, says in his biography as documented by ipledge2nigeria.com, “I was a refuse collector in Lagos State. Before pushing cart from house to house became popular in Lagos state, I started it; nobody pushed cart and refuse before me. When I did refuse collection and saved money, I began to fumigate from house to house; carrying fumigation machine as an undergraduate in LASU. I moved from there and began to sell barbeque…the night I started, I was arrested by operation sweep for illegal hustling…the next day they brought me back and everything was burnt. So I had to start again. Doing barbeque, I made my first N1 million”. Despite graduating with a third class in economics, he is a voice to be reckoned with in some sectors in the country, especially in the corporate world. He has also become critical to the interest of very intelligent business and cooperate leaders, opinion leaders, top government officials at various consulting and training intervention as well as cabinet retreats. 

These are all educated yet they didn't start out waiting for white collar jobs’. As a matter of fact, most of them have more money and more recognition plus satisfaction doing what do than many ‘office job’ people. I think white collar jobs are good if you get them, especially when they involve a lot of exposure and good paychecks. However, sitting and waiting for them when there are numerous options to be explored, is just crazy. You have a brain, so come off your high horse, get dirty if you must, make an honest living (at least I’m sure the money won’t be dirty), gain fulfillment and endeavor to leave your footprints in the sands of time. That’s all that actually matters. 
This is an appeal to all under graduates and fresh graduates please do not sit and wait for a white collar job when you can excel at a blue-collar one (maybe far more than you could in a white collar). With the world’s presently dicey economic state, we should be thinking more about what we can do for our nation, to add value, not just wait for what our nation can do for us. Your birth into any nation is a call to serve. Nothing works in this nation right? Try living everyday with the mind of service and see how well things work. 


Picking up a blue collar job doesn’t make you less of a human being or less educated, it is lack of integrity and drive for excellence that does. No matter what you choose to do, remember that there is one who blesses the work of our hands, whether it is white or blue collared. Stop being choosey, just work, serve and keep serving no matter what side of the coin you find yourself.

By Fidelia Ben-Udi