Career Teen

Some people think I’m too young to be making my first million. I don’t.

Around when this video was going viral in Nigeria, I had just finished writing UTME and was home for a short two-week break. I didn’t get to go back to school for the next five months.

It was late March, 2020. I was bored out of my mind at home while my family observed lockdown restrictions. Out of options and spurred by the 'lockdown learning' craze, I decided to learn a digital skill and start building my CV.

By April, I’d volunteered with PSIFON (sai-fon) a not-for-profit org in my city as a writer for their new tech and entrepreneurship blog, as well as started a three month internship as a social media manager with a breakfast delivery business in my city.

As I’m sure you expected, I soon found myself with loads of work but very little (read: absolutely no) financial ROI. While creating visuals for a social post one night, I realised that although I was set for a promotion in less than a month, I didn’t really want the career reality I was heading towards — working long hours on a job I didn’t actually enjoy.

Around this time, schools began shifting into online learning. Suddenly, I had classes to attend and assignments to submit. I left my internship to focus on getting ready for finals and the promotion to content team lead I’d just received at my volunteer workplace.

I was back in school, but there had been a shift. I wasn’t immersed in social drama or activities — I was way more interested in gaining control of my life through my finances. I enjoyed working at PSIFON and I realised that I wanted to find other work I enjoyed — and be paid for it.

This is a journal of my journey from the end of that internship till today. The road to controlling my career has grown my mental and emotional health, helped me discover (and accept) my limits, weaknesses, love languages and loads more.

My journey continues everyday and while I’ll do a lot of talking about my life, I’ll also share industry tips for freelancers, marketers, writers and business professionals.

Welcome to Career Teen, and see you soon!