The pursuit of a PhD is a remarkable journey that demands dedication, intelligence, and a relentless pursuit of knowledge. It is a testament to one’s expertise and commitment to a specific field. However, in recent times, it has become increasingly common to see individuals with PhDs taking up roles as care workers. While there is no shame in this profession, it is essential to explore why a PhD holder should not settle for such a role, especially when their doctoral certificate holds significant value.
A PhD represents the highest level of academic achievement and expertise in a particular field. Settling for a care worker role can mean underutilizing years of hard work, research, and specialized knowledge. It’s a missed opportunity to contribute to society in ways that align with their academic background.In many cases, care worker roles are not commensurate with the financial investment and commitment required to earn a PhD. The economic returns do not match the skills and expertise possessed by PhD holders. This mismatch can lead to frustration and financial instability.
PhD holders are often at the forefront of innovation and research in their fields. When they choose roles unrelated to their expertise, society loses out on potential breakthroughs and advancements that could benefit the community, the economy, and scientific knowledge.Working in a role that doesn’t align with one’s academic background can take a toll on mental and emotional well-being. The sense of unfulfillment and the cognitive dissonance between one’s qualifications and the job can lead to frustration and reduced job satisfaction.
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Exhibit 1: PhD students in Nigerian universities, 2019
PhD holders have honed their research, critical thinking, and analytical skills. These skills are valuable not only in academia but also in various industries and sectors. It is crucial to find roles that challenge and stimulate these skills, fostering personal and professional growth.PhD holders can set an example for future generations of scholars and researchers. By utilizing their expertise and pursuing careers aligned with their educational background, they contribute to changing the narrative surrounding the value of advanced degrees and expertise.
Read The Impossible 17,831 Jobless PhDs In Nigeria
While there is no inherent shame in taking on a care worker role, it is essential for PhD holders to consider the broader implications of their career choices. A PhD represents a significant investment in education, research, and personal growth. It is a qualification that can be a catalyst for change, innovation, and expertise in a specific field. When PhD holders choose to explore career paths that better align with their qualifications, they not only benefit themselves but also contribute to the betterment of society and the advancement of human knowledge. It’s time to unlock the full potential of a PhD and recognize its true value in shaping a brighter future.
What a well thought out expression of concern! Thanks so much, this is very enriching.
Permit me to say this, Nigeria is a country that doesn’t ascribe value to hard work or merit. My true life story for example, upon my attainment of PhD in 2017 and as a Primary school teacher under Lagos SUBEB, I had opportunity to a FGN mission to serve as a volunteer lecturer in an African country University. It was a fixed term of 2 years (2018-2020). Upon my return, I have been having very nasty experience as an officer now at SUBEB headquarters. The treatment has been so frustrating that if I have another opportunity to check out, under any work status, I will be so glad. At the Board, all my efforts to be considered into the department of my field of study were to no avail. I have been under utilized and it’s really depressing. Nigeria government should please place value on merit and only on political connection. My humble take sir.
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Indeed this is a very brilliant concern you raised about the under valued PhD degree and of course it causes for serious concerns to question that purpose(s) to contribute to knowledge and development on a higher pedestal, and it’s been recently jeopardized for mere academic pursuit. it’s been underutilized after so much efforts , time and resources.
In my added opinion to this topic, even an MSc advanced knowledge should not be underutilized, as it’s supposed to start up an independent position to job creation and innovative possibilities if being supported with expected morals and environmental encouragement to drive the expected added advantage that has been obtained after the first degree, needless to say of the PhD position.
I just hope that a drastic attention by the earlier academic forum will address this before it turns to another menace in our society .
If you have what it takes, then no whining. Just do it.
That is the way it is in Nigeria. We need a national leader who places high value on intellectual hard work and innovation.
Very true!
This is an inspiring peace of art. PhD holders have committed a lot of resources in research and teaching. They should use the knowledge gained in particular field to better the society
I have dutifully read this piece of well thought out work and personally I affirm its truth and veracity.
One thing I did take away from my PhD was the area of finding a missing gap and the novel you can bring to your field of learning.
I have found this ideology in PhD the most remarkable information ? have come across. Despite the challenges everywhere there is something new you can add to make the environment better. Though it might be that where one works might not adequately cultivate and nature what you might desire,but there are ways you can package things and make them attractive.
I have worked in government, taught in a polytechnic and now in a multinationals.
The experiences I have acquired has motivated me to embark on a company registration now.The services I about to offer are still same I had acquired all these years.The flavour I am bringing is to fill in the service gaps I have come across in.the industry.
I don’t regret ever having a PhD, it might take time but the Web of knowledge and contacts you have made you are going to succeed.
Thanks
Sirs, The PhD is preparation for a University Lecturing job. That is all, not a Nobel prize. A significant number of PhD “opportunities” are barely research assistants working on a grant proposed by a principal investigator; the same can be said for postdoctoral positions. So ask. Do I need a PhD and 4 to 6 years postdoctoral “training” for for that rare University post? In many cases, there is glut of PhDs hanging about when time and effort would be better spent serving society in other ways.
True, we are innovators, Philosphers, let us animate the society for its betterment
I hope I heard you correctly Sir, and if I did, I beg to differ with your statement. PhD holders have a significant role to play in industry jobs as well. Come to think of the skills we acquire when we have pursued a PhD. So, it’s beyond university job.
The inappropriate utilization of Doctorate degree holders could be traced to the hidden faceoff between highly educated and subeducated members of the society.
The faceoff is no longer hidden. It is very obvious these days.
I love this presentation and stand point on facts and common realities of life. PhD degree goes with a lot of dedication and hardwork in a specialized field of study. Although,our current realities in the society does not help or a comodates a phD holders’ view points. Instead preference was given to interloppers in the field just to rubish the learned person. It is important to give respect to WhoM it is due.
It is only the private sector that can utilize PhD holders or any certificate holder to it specific field thinking government can is a joke political appointment will always Trump merits
Here in South Africa, a PhD qual. is a holy grail for smooth entry into both private, government and higher education employment opportunities. Sadly, PhD holders in Africa tend to be less of job creators, patent innovators or aspiration for becoming high net industrialists as seen in the Silicon Valley phenomena, globally. A bubble will one day burst when over-supply of PhD across the continent fails to match available demand, while perennially concentrating on being employed instead of themselves creating employment legacy to buttress future PhD graduates.
Beautifully said
Dear erudite African colleagues. May we find a framework to nourish a sustainable collaboration of prospective (PhD hopefuls) and novice (newly graduated PhDs) and the veterans (Profs) by increasing our appetite of visiting websites (NRF, HSRC, National Lottery Board, etc) in South Africa where a storm of grant funding is in perennial existence to scientists/academics/non-profits for diverse future-focused projects. These opportunities tend to be open for all, not exclusion of non-South Africans. I was once part of a corporate sector fund worth R50 million to uplift historically marginalized communities, focusing on school leadership qualities development, on behalf of University of the Free Statem South Africa. Let us turn our commentaries into applied scientific work now.
Well stated. We should use knowledge gathered from research conducted to create job opportunities instead of relying on a pay cheque.
We’ll put! PhD holders should be more proactive in creating opportunities for work rather than waiting to serve where others have created them. The idea of fighting so much for us to only be university teachers who rely on other peoples work will particularly lead our societies no where. A PhD should give one boldness to think and act differently. This is how innovations come about. We should also be more bold to advocate for deeper thinking and analysis particularly when we are given government/societal roles since this will inculcate well thought out plans to deal with the problems facing, one of them being the value of education & research in development. Otherwise, we shall continue crying that Society does not value us.
We’ll put! PhD holders should be more proactive in creating opportunities for work rather than waiting to serve where others have created them. The idea of fighting so much for us to only be university teachers who rely on other peoples work will particularly lead our societies no where. A PhD should give one boldness to think and act differently. This is how innovations come about. We should also be more bold to advocate for deeper thinking and analysis particularly when we are given government/societal roles since this will inculcate well thought out plans to deal with the problems facing, one of them being the value of education & research in development. Otherwise, we shall continue crying that Society does not value us.
Thumbs up for you , you nailed it…. many thanks.
You said it well….. on point!
But what of PhD holders in non-Science fields?
We have remained consumption economy/country. The situation would only change when we become production/manufacturing economy/country.
The humiliation abroad continues. It’s terrible.
Nice write-up. However, the truth remains that any PhD Holder who goes for supposedly lower job is doing so as last resort to enable such person feed. Nigerian Government should rise to it’s civic responsibilities. Stop chasing rat while your house is on fire.
Well written ? ? Inspired PhD student, University of Johannesburg, SA
Higher qualification holders should and oath to be innovative and creative in their different fields of study so as to poster economic growth and development both for personal and to the society. PhD holders shouldn’t be dependent rather they should creative.
Well written, thank you for sharing. Inspired PhD student, University of Johannesburg, SA
What do you think if the PhD holder can not apply what he learnt
I tend to agree with others that the idea of a PHD is to cover a gap in research, providing a solution in a specific area of study. The fact that one needs a livelihood is without question but it is assumed that your area of specialization should be the space you have created for you to contribute to society, academia and to personal improvement. Some body mentioned the Ivy league of technology because it service and answers probably not one question but a host of questions. What does your PHD assist with and its continued usefulness in humanity? It is not worth a while to slog in so much effort , time, resources, and sacrifice so much and then walk away and be happy doing something else. The big question is why do you want to do a PHD, because making money is not always a good reason for it. PhD is an academic achievement and not an economic attainment that is the reality in the ground.
The fact is that so much waste is going on everywhere in Africa. The western world knows how to tap a PhD holder more than African folks.The PhD holder himself must rise by themselves and take up the gullet.
Intellectually provocative! Well, it’s essential to consider individual circumstances . Many of us PhD holders in Kenya have care work as a temporary measure, however, we know it is not the most suitable career path for our level of education and expertise
Most African countries due to lack of leadership has made academic degrees of no significance. People just want to have the degrees, but deep in their mind they know that the environment may not reciprocate in same degree the investment in acquiring those knowledge.
Humans will always be in search for daily bread, and if the desirable is not available, they make use of the available.
It’s debatable that most of the PHD holders have no choice than to take up the available role to meet up their daily bread.
If we fail to fix leadership in Africa, we will continue to witness a misplacement in this nature.
Very insightful. In most organizations, a PhD holder is subordinate to a clerk who barely fished high-school and elevated through political connections and favoritism. Africa will not progress until we utilize the hard earned PhD knowledge and skills.
Very informative piece.
PhD student, Uganda Martyrs University
A well written article. Think of it PhD holders. Think of it policy makers. Think of it universities that produced these errant PhDs. Much as we think of sustenance, think also of sustainability. After bread and butter, what next. Add worth to your personality. Can it be said it is a shame to the producers of these PhDs?
Apart from South Africa and Egypt, tue rest of Africa does not yet place high value on thw Ph.D. In planning stages, the Ph.D. is indicated as necessary in relevant areas. But in implementation, political connection and expediency count for more.
Do the universities in Uganda and Africa take this seriously or they are producing for the sake? On the other hand, with the low quality of education and care work, which PhD would want their child or family to go to waste? One has to make hard choices but for research, there is no choice. Wherever one is, that should be their research ground.
As with everything in life, Man always find a way to take something neutral (in this context PhD certificate) and utilise it for either a good or bad purpose.
PhD is not in itself good or bad, it is a certification you go for if interested in it though your desire for seeking it might not be realised after and that is part of life. Some have the PhD certificate and have decide not to use it or go into something different from what they have a PhD in.
Also it is the responsibility of all PhD holders who desire to use their PhD to find a way to explore it. The Bible says “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of Kings is to search out a matter” Proverb 25 vs 2.
A care job is not bad but your goals in life must compel you not to settle for some things.
An Excellent write up indeed. It is a shame on what is happening in Kenya to PHD holders. Indeed what I have noticed is a fight between the least educated, holding most senior positions and the most educated, doing menial jobs. We must rise higher than this…sad.
A properly made PhD holder doesn’t look for work or job to be employed for. PhD is not an honor but a self development for a purpose of creation. PhD training prepares you to be a producer of knowledge, tech, policy, or in general social change and information. On this basis you dont wait to be employed but you get self employed and producing legitimate products for and in various fields.
You can be a care giver if that is what you want orb0lanned to use your PhD for. Important thing is to see yourself using the PhD asserting your agency not being dictated by an employer.
PhD holder who run around looking solely to be employed to be relevant must reexamine their background reason and training for the PhD and how they earned it.
This write up helps in appreciating what PhD actually aims at: producer and creator of sort, not being a dependent and consumer of all.
This is the fundamental criterion for a well earned PhD.
It is quite inspiring, reading this piece and very encouraging to see the number of comments it has attracted. In my own opinion, people who pursued their PhD have their reasons. Some by nature of the job they are doing, in order to be promoted to certain level they must have PhD. So the first motivating factor to make an impact lies on the intention of pursuing the PhD. Nigeria is a country where relevance is given to paper qualifications rather than one’s contributions as such, displaying PhD certificates to some, may be seen as any other certificate that can be forged. It therefore beholds PhD holders to prove their worth in their area of Specialization by making meaningful contributions.
Nevertheless, the Country is in no way supporting or encouraging researchers. What sort of research (scientific) can one carry out in a Country without steady light, water, standard laboratories etc. A PhD holder that can’t afford a motorcycle let alone a car and decent accommodation as he or she is jobless, is left with no choice than ‘a survival job’ with whatever he or she can grasp whereas those with lesser certificates or qualifications in the National Assembly are being celebrated and they have lots of Naira to throw around.
Until the Country called Nigeria is ready to survive, check out other countries in Africa. They are making positive progress. How many years do you have to pay school fees to do a programme a Master’s degree or PhD in Nigeria with incessant strikes disrupting and prolonging the period unlike what is obtainable outside Nigeria.
How frustrating it can be. It is only in Nigeria such happens.
Again, the poor quality or standard of degrees (all not only PhD) churned out in some of our Nigerian Universities have in no small measure contributed to societal and economic challenges as little solutions seem to come from them.
There may be a need to have PhD holders of related professions or of areas of interest. They can come together, take up projects to better the society, they can attract funds through grants. This can be a kind of community service.
Dr Mla,
Yes, holding a PhD degree is testament to hard working. How I wish that countries take advantage of such citizens.
The problems of underdeveloped world are so common.
In Nigeria, as in many other countries, there are situations where a Ph.D. holder might opt to take on a lower job role. Several factors influence this decision, and they can be understood through various aspects of the Nigerian context.
Firstly, Nigeria faces significant challenges in terms of job availability and market demand for highly specialized roles. Ph.D. holders often experience difficulties in finding positions that directly align with their areas of expertise due to limited opportunities in research, academia, and specialized fields. Consequently, they may choose to take lower job roles as a means of gaining a foothold in the job market while seeking better-suited opportunities.
Financial considerations are another critical factor. Pursuing a Ph.D. can be financially draining, and many Nigerian Ph.D. graduates may have accumulated substantial student loan debt or personal financial responsibilities. Taking a lower job role can provide immediate financial relief, allowing them to meet their financial obligations and support their families.
Moreover, Nigeria’s job market is highly competitive, with a high unemployment rate, especially among the youth. Ph.D. holders might find it necessary to accept lower job roles to avoid extended periods of unemployment, which can have a detrimental impact on their financial well-being and professional growth. Taking a lower job initially can be viewed as a pragmatic move in such a challenging employment landscape.
Geographical constraints can also be a factor. Ph.D. holders might be limited by their ability to relocate for a higher-level job, and they may prefer to remain in their current location due to family commitments or other personal considerations. In such cases, they may choose to accept a lower job role available in their vicinity to maintain a balance between work and personal life.
Lastly, career transition and exploration are reasons that resonate with Nigerian Ph.D. holders. Some may discover new interests or passions after completing their doctoral studies and decide to pursue different career paths. Starting at a lower role in a new field allows them to gain valuable experience, develop the necessary skills, and build a foundation for a successful career change.
I read this piece and an interesting topic. This my view.
In the Nigerian context, while taking a lower job role may seem like a step backward, it can be a strategic move to navigate the complex employment landscape, meet immediate financial needs, or pursue a career shift. It’s essential to approach this decision with a long-term perspective and a commitment to continual professional development, aiming to move up the career ladder as opportunities arise…
How much are PhD holders paid monthly? Working as a PhD holder but you cannot be able to pay your bills. Nigerian government did not place any value on that certificate.
Very inspired write up. And that should be the case in normal circumstances. Like someone already said, taking on a role that does not align with one’s PhD is often a last resort. Anyone going for a PhD definitely has decided to go into the academia to pursue teaching and research or go into the private sector to drive innovation and create value. Settling for less can be frustrating. That’s my personal experience. It is worst when you will not even be given chance to contribute as a volunteer. I once went to HOD of department in a higher institution in Delta State and volunteered to teach for free. The door never opened. CV dropped here and there are yet to get attended to.
So while waiting for appropriate opportunity to open up for proper alignment with my Ph D in Communication Studies(International Communication), I continue fight for the survival of my entrepreneurial endeavour in the Bakery industry.
Someone said Ph.D holders should be creating jobs and not seeking to be employed. Getting into my Ph.D enabled my mind to embrace entrepreneurship. So i agree. But for me that effort has not been my area of specilization. So the internal void created by unsatisfied appetite for research remains. We must not forgot that not all Ph.Ds result in breakthrough technological invention. Many provide new theoretical perspectives that require further studies for validation before the mainstreaming of the ideas can occur. It is such ideas that eventually change society. It means that genuine Ph.D holders are people who can purse the ideas of their Ph.D all their life if need be. Isn’t that how professors come about?
While every Ph.D holder may not end up a Prof. The underlying fact remains that at that height, they see what many do not see and therefore can serve as candle lights lighting up the dark spots in society and body of knowledge. To lit ? a candle ? and put it under the bushel makes no sense.
So governments at all levels must take the responsibility to create enabling environment for Ph.D holders to be meaningfully engaged by institutions, governmental and non governmental agents and agencies for them to contribute meaningfully to social engineering and development.