Topic: A Skill or a degree (Read 184 times)

if the two are available then you won't have any financial issues at all because if your degree does not give you a job then your skill will give you one so is just as if any of the two will put food on your table. I love skills that have to do with construction, fashion, and many more because these are things that people need. at the same time, I don't blame the Igbos for saying school is a waste of time since they believe in trading rather than going to school. look at what is happening globally with the issue of unemployment. but does that have served their master well during trade will be settled and they will start making money? and does that only rely on their degree will be wandering around looking for jobs and at the end of the day they will be known. seriously business open does for a lot of people. going to school is not bad but the government has made it lose its value and now people feel school is useless just because it can not offer them anything. and left to me both school and skill can be acquired so that anyone that is available to feed you then you make use of it.

I have gone through some of the comments or should I say replies and in one way or the other we are all correct but I still bring my opinion that having the two is not just good but beneficial to an individual.

In respective of the kind of skill or degree we can still make a living if only we know how to play our cards properly and if course Nigeria has its own wahala, we should at least have the two of them

Both are essential in our life but we wey be 9ja believe for skills pass degree especially with the Igbo's their men believe say going to school na waste of resources instead they want to use that money to invest into business before 5 years you will gain your Degree they would become boss of their own and starts making money while you that holds your Degree will start looking for job in their offices. I know say many people go say school na scam but school as the name implies brings you more closer to lots of opportunities and teaches you how to interacts with clients and people around locality be it internationally sometimes it gives you more connections abroad and can interact with the white when their is a business corporation.

I think with this our dying economy we don't know if school is important because there are graduates everywhere and in every year by years we have millions of graduates in the labor market sources for job and works, those who goes to school hardly makes a living making life too difficult for them to survive that is why we always have this slogan that school is scam. Of curse school will be scam if we don't have a good governance in the system, school is not scam when we have a good and functioning economy where every graduates do have work after leaving school.

Why make people choose when you can actually acquire the two and make yourself more advance in terms of securing a job, because the system now only a degree doesn't cut it although that too still depends on the particular degree that you are having but majority of Nigerians know this and have started evolving themselves to make life a little bit easier the labour market. There are many Nigerian and not only Nigeria too, many people actually have the both because the society at large have changed a lot and securing and developing yourself in the highest way is the only possible solution to be different from the rest people in the market.

Talking about skill or digree no doubt skill most times is what is required for a job to be done  so employers most times wants to know how skillfull you can be over a job  but  it still doesn't take the place of a digree I think on top of a digree one needs to add a skill in other to gain relevance

These days, a degree is not really a guarantee for anyone to have a job or like the job they are in. Having a skill before having obtained a degree helps anyone navigate the financial hurdles involved in schooling, attending lectures, buying handouts and working on projects.
So tell me why after having the degree, one shouldn't improve on such skills to earn better, without even waiting for a job.

If one has no skills and have obtained a degree, it is good to learn a skill while waiting for a job, who knows maybe one might just find what makes them a millionaire without stress.

E just dey very unfortunate say we dey in a country wey e be say any small thing dem go say make you go bring your certificate like is it certificate that's doing the job? or the individual, this is why I like the western countries because not that they don't value certificate o but they are very much concerned about what you can offer or what you know about a particular skill before they can hire you and even if they see that you ain't too familiar with that particular skill, they always take people for training all the time in other to keep their brain active on the kind of job they're doing but in our country, they act as though if you don't have a certificate then no job or work for you and we act as if we know too much but when a problem occur they'll still go and look for expertrates abroad and sometimes these expertrates wey them dey go call for abroad na people wey no even get certificate but due to say Dem dey trained for some technical work e come be like say them too Sabi.

E dey very important for us to know say ability of an individual matters a lot rather than the person's certification because even now sef people dey buy certificates even when them no get any knowledge for the area wey dem dey certify dem for and some companies and firms wey e be say Dem for employ people wey Sabi work but due to say Dem wan use dia close relatives Dem for de position go take because of say person no get certificate deny de person the work wen e be say na person wey get experience then come carry their brothers Dem wey no Sabi anything but due to say Dem get the certificate Dem Cary Dem put for office wey Dem no get any single idea.

I hope you do know that having a degree in school doesn't guarantee you of any job even with a networking but with a skill, if you market your self very well, you will get one or two gigs and with more good feedbacks, you will sell yourself more faster than a person with a degree. However, I think you should work more to get a degree and then get a skill along with it, you will having two bird with one hand and you will enjoy the beauty of life in every place you found yourself. A chemical Engineer can have a modeling skills and software programing as part of his skills, this will help you sell out more and I'm speaking from experience because it's what I do.

The country is global hay where job opportunities are going down and down because even statistically, there has been a shortage of jobs over the last 8-9 years and we are having more and more graduates every year in addition to the ones we have had before and the competition is getting stringer and stronger because today graduates are looking even more younger than the previous generations which is making jobs tighter. Try and get yourself a skill.

Op me I wonder what you understand by skill, is it that you no know say for university skill disciplines dey there or abi as them call am professional courses you no come understand am abi? You see courses in the university like engineering courses such as architecture, civil engineer, electrical and electronic engineering, medicine, nursing, pharmacist etc all these can also be classified as skill based jobs gotten from the university but they are referred to as professional disciplines.

There's no competition at all in this matter, any of the area way you are opportune to find yourself just do your best to be the best there to keep you outstanding. For what I know, no how way craft skill man go earn money pass person wey be graduate get certificate wey their two the work for the same company. But based on how we country just get as it be, it go good say you get one better skill immediately you finish secondary school before battling to gain admission into university to obtain university degree. E get why ooh.

Na true you talk person need to get the two skills and degree, because he help very well because without education many people will not succeed because if you are not educated no one will see your value, if you are rich and you are not educated you will not get plan you will be spending money anyway that is why some people will be buying things that they didn't need, because they have money to spend they don't know the benefits and they don't know how to use it that is why even you have money you should pray you should get money that will be useful to you.

Skill is a great thing in the country because how our naija dey, no job, and I think that is why some people don't like continuing school because they believe that if they finish, they won't get a great job, so they engage in skills, but I will advise someone to go to school because opportunity comes only once. if you are educated and you are doing skills that one will be good and you will no your right anytime,  if a job comes now and you are not educated you just engage in skills that means you lose the opportunity but if you are educated you can get the job and he will change your features that is why it is good to go for the both.

Op it's a very nice topic, but to choose one out of  the two is not a great Idea or advice. Because both skill acquisition and degree are Important, people are benefitting with their  degree and also people are benefitting from skills they acquire and there are people who are benefitting from both of them. The best way is having degree and also supporting it with skill acquisition, it can boost you your qualifications more .

Although degree is not meant for everyone but for those who knows the value and intend to be professional and enlightened in knowledge . Even at  school they teach you entrepreneurship how to acquire skills and not to depend on your Educational qualification alone. So best is acquiring both of them degree and skill it will help, example some one who is skillful in furniture making and posses degree in fine applied arts do you think he will be on the same level with one possessing degree or skill alone.

In conclusion having both especially in this country will be very essential and beneficial to possess both degree and skill.

They're not mutually exclusive. You can have both if you want. A skill is important and so is a degree.
You said a degree is a broad category of knowledge and that is a good thing. It broadens your mind. It makes you think outside of the box. Your time in a higher institution makes you adaptive and helps you improvise. You'll be able to research properly.
In a skill you just focus on what you're learning and nothing more. So outside of that field, you don't know much.
That's why I am of the school of thought that people should have both, especially people from our country. We all know the situation in Nigeria and it doesn't hurt to have degrees and also have skills. You never know which would be beneficial to you.


Are you for real? How did you come across these conclusions? What proof do you have to show that graduates of polytechnic do better than university graduates? And you think a skill doesn't require a learning period? You don't learn the skill, you know how to do it?
You believe acquiring knowledge is a waste of time, I don't even know why I'm taking this seriously.

Degree is just a name but Skil really matters by the time you are wasting your time going to be in library and Auditor to read voluminously books,the person with Skil is already exhibiting the talent to make money like in China even the children or primary school are doing practical what is the extend of degree without practical that's why most of the graduate from polytechnic are better in Skil than university because degree without practical is just like tea without sugar.

Surely we know say work scarse for d country but that doesn’t mean that we should disregard the degree because the knowledge acquired during this process is valuable and very useful in our daily lives and also opens us to many possibilities. On the other hand, acquiring a skill has its own benefits as one can easily create an employment opportunity for himself and wouldn’t necessarily have to wait for any white collar job.

Having both is really important as it broadens your skills and possibilities of employment. In this our country people with degrees and other school qualifications are more respected in the society than self employed people with developed skills no matter the difference in their earnings but i am not trying to condemn skill acquisition because e de very helpful to our youths nowadays and e be like say na im be the sure way now.

Op as you said, employers de look for people with specific skills so them might go for people with developed skills but hope say you no forget say degree also na specific skill dem specialize on just be say their own na formal education, na one course person de study and dem go give you certificate for just one course even though along the road you had to study plenty courses.

Both have their respective advantages and if it is possible to acquire them both we should not hesitate to because they are both important.

The truth be say no one dey important pass the other that is to say that both skill and education are important but where e dey sweet pass na when pesin get  skill and education with this two you no fit dey cry of hunger because if u no dey employed somewhere with ya education  definitely u go dey  do one or two with your skill and again skill dey relative, e get some kind skill u go get to see work go be problem that's to say there are skill and there are also skill. What am saying in summary is that no one is better than the other the both are important in various ways. The advice is anyone who wants to go for a skill should go for the one he/she can make out something from while on it or at the end of it and if you going to study anything in school, the pesin should endeavor to for self employed course or study something that won't take pesin long to get a job or something more.

Actually the two are very important because in as much as we feel that industries and construction site are changing which requires more different skills that's how they will also need more graduate or rather degree holders because in the industry or construction sites there are things they called Isometric drawing on the engineering field that has so many calculations and is mostly an engineer with a degree holder that can be able breakdown those diagrams for the skill workers to understand what they are supposed to do so there is no way we can exclude the importance of being a degree holder.

But although in times of the possibility of getting a job through skills is far more easier than getting a job through your degree because is very obvious that every sectors needs skills workers that specialized on different field so perhaps that's why in most industries and construction sites if the skill workers are 1000 persons the people employs through there degree could possibly not to be up to 100 persons because there work doesn't use to be much so that's just the few different I see on the both.

I think before person go apply for a particular work, the person go first know wetting e wan go apply for. Because talking about skill and education you no spesify am. Now for example dem put notice say computer operator needed and person wey be educated person go apply, no mean say e no Sabi am, e fit just be say h/she don learn am before but no too focus on am but if e start, e go pick up and na advantage to the management because if an educated person dey work for you there e get some things wey e go do wey you no expect Because e go take your business to another level. Except say na hairstylist wey required better skill. But any how e be, e good make educated person work with you because them get important thing wey Some people no get. Because you no fit compear educated person with skill and uneducated person with skill. So anybody wey wan employ and see say the educated person no too get that skill Make e employ am teach am the work, you go see say e go do better pass the test people because e fit promote your Mark via social media and and also teach you Digital marketing. Because most educated person get knowledge but need to attach to someone do develop their market strategy and if you employ them you are good to go.

E get one of my female friend wey get work for hair dressing salon, the place they get more attractions more than before all because the young lady dey promotion her madam business with her mobile phone. Any person wey dem plate hair s
She go snap am post for Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and people don dey know about the shop like never before. And no be say skill workers no dey there but dem no dey educated to that extent of social media. So my point be say educated persons get a big role to play for any organisation wey dem dey. Because skill no be only handwork but Digital marketing is another skill too.

To survive in Nigeria, you need a combination of both skill and degree as both are not in conflict or competition. Nothing stops one from getting both. I have even made the decision that my children will acquire both degree and relevant skills and they will do that side by side or at any given opportunity. If you have been paying attention, you will notice that a lot of parents are already training their children in that direction. At least I know a lot of parents that enrolled their children into coding schools for kids in addition to their normal schools. The ads are regular on social media and their adverts are always in radios and televisions. People are now aware that our universities are more of theories with no practical hence, the reason people are going extra miles to get practical skills outside in addition to their academic theories.

So it is wise we understand the times and trend and position ourselves and children accordingly. Now is the time of "show me what you can do". The days of grammar and paper are gone.

Both are important in today's world. You are not guaranteed to get a job with only your degree you need a skill to attach to your degree and boost your chance of getting a job. Most companies like to employ people who have a degree and a skill so that they will be very useful to the company. For instance, companies used to employ an argon welder and a pipeline welder to perform separate tasks in welding but now, companies are looking for someone who can handle the task of an argon welder and a pipeline welder to employ. If you can not handle the tasks of an argon welder and a pipeline welder it will be difficult to get a job in a company.

If una leave this matter for me to select, I go select both at the same time because for my live I see say both of them just day as important as the other. Although, in the event that I'm left with no option than to choose one. Honestly, I fit choose skills over degree oo. Mind you, the skills can be anything you think can bring you value especially as it concerns your financial status. If you are broke and you need to fix yourself to start earning something, get a skill at hand and try to attain mastery in it. And trust me it will be enough for you to fend for yourself.


I agree with you when you did said that getting a degree gives you exposure. It does not only exposes you but also gives you the intelligent quotient to think within and outside the box. And also gives you the ability to think from a diverse perspective then it also allows you to juxtapose your thoughts and make smart judgements out of your thinking. But sometimes, degrees are jot just enough to make you independent and financially buoyant, it is only skills that you acquire within the process of getting the degree that ends up saying you and distinguishing from your colleagues.

The both of them are good and I won’t chose one over the other in this case. I know that the country is facing a lot of challenges in employing individuals that are graduates and having their degree certificates. Most of them go back and settle for the skill they didn’t wanted to do because of lack of work from the government. It should also be known that with a degree, a skill becomes very easy to do and become perfect in it.

With the way things are going in this country my brother na skill I  first go learn oo. And that was exactly when what I did first when I left secondary School and from that my hand work income dey get money wey I use train myself for University and today I am a graduate and currently on my youth service.

Both skill and education are very much important,  in this time we are opportunities comes in different ways which you can't just rely on only one thing. You get certificate to get a government or good private job but in the case where their are no jobs one can't just wait till Jobs comes , atleast from the main time one can of going into skill which can generate good amount of money instead of becoming jobless. You need different sources of income because we are in a difficult time .

Education is very important,but in a country where the educated stands no chance of getting a well paying job after school; a skill is highly required. This skill is to create room for entrepreneurship when no job is coming through. Most times, learning skills require some educational back-up to be able to uphold.


That is why I think our argument should be "SKILL BEFORE A DEGREE OR A DEGREE BEFORE A SKILL.

OP you have never had Degree any form of benefits that is to say you are an anti-degree.
It would had been better if you try your best to balance their relevance differences. However I can tell that there is a relativity between degrees and skills I  relevance offer.
In the technical tertiary institutions, there are obligations for the scholars whom are degree holders to practically, literarily and theorically enhance its disciplinary field of studies skillfully whereas, it is acquired in advancements of professionalism.

Moreover, owning a degree with the technical knowledges of your degrees have the tendencies to secure you with a high profile portfolio comparing to a non degree holder who only practically owns a skill. Although at this end of the world, most of the degree holders can't boost to defend its level of degrees due to unseriousness while in school or maybe I should say even the academic in an overview ain't also serious to do its job to teaching these scholars cordially to the aim of going through schools.
There has been a whole turned down of pros and cons in the sector of our education today.
While looking at a mere skill based is considered where an individual is more proefficient in learning the skills with all manner of focuses that tends to give him an advantage over a degree holder at the field of practical designations.

I no know how I want take start this argument because all of them he dey important but for now wey things e no dey all right e be like say we go take skill first before we go settle the matter for future. Even di skill sef we need knowledge so degree e good but certificate e no dey help matter. People don graduate tay Tay some don turn to billionaires without using their certificate so skill ni be konkon for now. Skillful workers are the best both in abroad and home.

If I'm not mistaking we've debated about skill and education before, the common mistake wey people dey make them dey choose one and condemn the other like choosing skill then forgetting about education, I don't blame people with this idea because naso we see the country and sometimes the price of school fees dey discourage people wey get the aim to go school so they decided to learn hand work, I never know why some people dey discriminate education for naija but some educated people still get job but it's very rare, even with job or no job education is power and the skill you mentioned na dey help plenty people for this country, the part you mentioned about skill and job I never hear anything like that, if I may ask which kind skill wey employee need wey graduate no fit offer  and mostly computer skill wey you fit learn for school and attending online class. With better skill you no need to wait for employment cause you fit start with any little capital na why people dey choose skill but for me I go like the both and na wetin people dey do, if doubting ask people around they will tell you they're graduates.

Skills and degrees de very important, as the world be today if you specialize for one skill and you get certificate to back am up, you go get a better chance of work than person wey get only skill, so di combination de better. Education de very important, e suppose be di foundation for everybody, e go help somebody to de enlightened and to see things from a broader view, but education alone no be guarantee for wealth, person suppose get di mindset of making money to de wealthy. Because you fit see Igbo men wey no go school but dem de very successful for business, also skills fit to guarantee person wealth because no be everybody fit to perform dem work, therefore dem money de sure.

So in conclusion education na important foundation for everybody, but no be only am be di road to success, who no get di opportunity to go school fit to learn better skill, in di end both of dem de important to succeed and increase our income.

Op be like say you don too see Nigeria finish naim make you write this kind of post. I been dey expect something like, skill and degree vs degree aguement before, but this one wey you come dey against degree my brother you dey wrong but not totally wrong.

The aguement of skill and degree which one beta pass, no suppose be aguement at all if you o say our country get good reffinary and good company wey go help reduce unemployment. Small OND degree dey earn half a million for multinationals. So na that kind thing you wan use compare skill wey no fit pay you reach 300 a month. My brother even if my statistics dey wrong, for real life you no go fit compare person wey use degree get work and person wey na just skill e get take get work unless you you mix the two against one. Na there real aguement dey.

My brother wetin you dy talk no dy far from the truth, but you also need to know say e depends, like what kind of skills are you talking about? See a skill like coding fit stand shoulder to shoulder with any degree,  even masters, but you also need to know say masters degree in medicine or the surgical department fit compete with any skill in the world, but we as a person e dy normal say we dy mostly go for wetin we get passion for, no be everything be money, most people go for wetin dem get passion for, so take note.

Well, for this one I no go agree with you. That wan be becos both skills and degree dey very important for the country wey we dey so. As Dem dey talk am for we country, person supposed get pass two source of income wey e fit dey survive put for this hard economy. Normally, the rate of unemployment for we country dey very high as work no dey, government no dey provide job for the youths. Person go suffer go school for how many years come out as a graduate with certificate wey no get use. The thing dey pain so many of our brothers and sisters well well for body.

For job market today, employers dey find people Dem wey get experience for many aspects. If as a graduate, you no get skills wey dey based on watin you study for school, e fit hard you as these employers Dem dey always find experienced people. This na why e dey advicible for parents to carry Dem children go learn work at a very young at, as this wan go later come in handy for future.

Without skills, you fit no get work. without degree, you fit get work but you no go fit grow go higher ranks. Both skills and degree dey work together as one. And for person wey wan reach correct position for work, e supposed get both.

You no suppose select one out of the two, get the both of them. If you get your BA or MSC and also a skill alongside it, that is great, i know say as our society dey now, to find job dey hard and people rely on the skills wey dem don garner, but that one no make us leave education, go check the number of people wey dey take Jamb every year, you go understand say we still value education, which is great.

Getting a degree go also give you better exposure and even help you to understand the skills wey you wan learn, for example e go hard for you to see person wey get tech or computer skills wey no be graduate, so make we embrace both getting a degree and a skill too.

Plenty reasons why skill dey important pass degree na say di job market dey always change. Wit new technologies and methodologies wey dey develop every time, many of di skills wey people bin dey consider important before fit no dey relevant again. As result, employers dey look for candidates wey fit quick quick learn and adapt to new skills, instead of people wey get degree for specific field.

Again, degree dey often refer to broad category of knowledge, while skills dey refer to specific ability or expertise. Employers dey find people wey get specific skills wey go fit meet di exact needs of their company, instead of general knowledge wey fit no dey useful.

For conclusion, even though degree still fit dey important for many people wey dey find job, e no be everything when e reach to get job or move forward for career. Employers dey look more and more for people wey get specific skills wey go fit apply directly for the job and fit help the company succeed. For today job market, e dey important pass ever to focus on develop skills wey dey demand, so you go fit increase your chance to get job and move forward for your career.