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Business appeals to more young people than traditional careers

Youth

By BRIAN OKINDA
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In years gone by, the dream profession for the bulk of youngsters appeared to have been a career as a doctor, pilot or engineer.
Such was the reverence that these professions enjoyed that they were equated with success in life.
In recent years, however, the tide has been constantly changing, going by what young people now perceive to be a career of their dreams.
According to a new survey by Research Plus Africa, and published by Well Told Story, a youth NGO, for a majority of youngsters — 38 per cent — success is defined by financial stability regardless of how that is achieved.
DREAM JOB
Besides being financially stable, the young people also said that having a dream job and education are also measures of success.
Each of these two categories was mentioned by 12 percent of the 2,011 youths interviewed for the survey carried out between February and March this year.
According to the study, young people aged between 15 and 24 also regard being a business-person as a more reliable and steadfast way of attaining financial stability.
However, they acknowledge that the struggle to finance their daily needs, such as food and transport, limits their options for making money.
While careers in medicine and engineering are still preferred by youngsters, business appears to be steadily stealing the limelight from the other professions.
Jobs like accountancy, journalism and law, which were traditionally well-regarded, are now largely shunned by a majority of the youth, with only three per cent of the respondents saying they were interested in any of these jobs.
MORE OPTIMISTIC
The study goes on to point out that young people are now much more optimistic about the future as they take charge of their destinies more than they were before.
This optimism, in part, explains why many prefer to venture into their own businesses, with 90 percent of them believing that one year from now, their lives will be much better than it is now.
Despite the optimism, the youth acknowledge that challenges abound in business. It begins when one fails their national exams and drops out of school and consequently finds it difficult to secure employment, which in turn translates to lack of capital with which to start a business.
CAPITAL
While at 66 per cent, a majority of the youth feel that lack of capital/money could be the biggest challenge to their achieving their dreams, there is a large number — 18 percent — who believe that nothing can stop them from attaining their success.
Now, here lies the elephant in the room.
The implications of this could be anything ranging from good to bad.
This could mean that there are young people who are resolute enough and would view those challenges as stepping stones to what they want.
On the other hand, there are those who would go to any lengths, hook or crook, to get what they want.
This was accentuated by a different earlier survey on Kenyan youth, done by the Aga Khan East African Institute in 2016.
According to the survey, the youth said they were fine with corruption in its various forms, and were willing to participate in it if need be.
According to the survey, 50 percent of the youth then believed that it did not matter how one made their money as long as one did not end up in jail.
Another 47 per cent said they admired those who make money through hook or crook. In all, 30 percent said they believed corruption was profitable.
HUSTLING
That said, the recent survey found out that today, while 55 per cent of the youth say they are still students, 26 percent are self-employed or have full and part-time job. Another 33 percent say they have a side-hustle and 66 per cent claim to have an independent source of income.
Interestingly, 33 per cent say that they have more than three sources of income, an increase from 29 percent last year.
Fifty per cent have one or more sources of income, while only 17 percent say they have none.
On their sources of income, 41 percent say they earn money through self-employment or hustling, while only five per cent are in formal jobs.
Others said they are hired occasionally by companies, while others said they receive money from their relatives and other people.
This year, the number of youths who said they either sent money to or receive from others dropped to 58 percent, down from 64 per cent last year. However, the number of those who are borrowing has gone up compared to previous years.
The number of those saving money has marginally increased compared to last year as has the proportion of those who made investments this year.

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