5 Career advices that you shouldn’t pay attention to.

Plenty of the career advice that we hear repeatedly actually isn't true. Here are five of the most popular career advices that you shouldn't listen to.

1. A University degree will get you a job. Many students have been told that if they get a university degree, they will easily find a job afterward. Unfortunately, it's no longer that way. Degrees no longer open doors the way they used to, and too many new graduates are remaining unemployed for months or even years, as employers prefer more experienced candidates. You can remedy this situation by getting a degree yes, but also getting skills that will make you be employable in a wide variety of industries. Acquiring certain skills, like communication skills, problem solving, analytical thinking and creativity will make you open to job opportunities from virtually any field.

2. Do what you love and the money will follow. In reality, not all passions match up with the realities of the job market. If you're passionate about poetry, you're going to find very limited job opportunities for poetry. In fact, the people who get to do what they love for a job are the lucky few; they're not the majority. A better way is to find a balance between your passions- what you love, your talents-what you are good at, and what the world needs- the job market demand- for your intended profession.

3. Start your own business if you can’t find a job. Starting your own business is not as easy as just having a skill and selling it. You have to have something that people want to buy from you more than they want to buy it from your competitors. You also have to be able to market yourself, deal with financial
uncertainty, have some savings as a launch pad, and overcome plenty of other challenges. Similarly, studies have shown that nearly nine out of ten businesses in Kenya collapse within the first year, so, you really have to be prepared when launching your own business. A remedy for this situation is to know what you want from the start. If you want to go into business, go into it because you believe that you have a solution to a problem in the market, or there is a need for your product or service in the market. Never go into business because you couldn’t get a job- it’s the wrong thing to do, because the energy and will needed to launch a successful business will just wear you down if you don’t have the passion for it.

4. Your degree in university will lead to your career. Students often come out of school thinking that their degree or major will lead them to their life-long career path directly, but it's very often not the case--especially for degrees in the arts. You might have a sociology degree but end up selling ads, or a music degree but end up as a receptionist. On the other hand, degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, and math are more likely to end up pointing you toward a more defined career path. A better way is to arm yourself with transferable skills that can be applied in a wide range of industries, so that you increase your chances of getting employed. For instance, skills in marketing, sales, data analysis, problem solving, communication, and basic IT, creativity and analytical thinking are transferable across a wide range of industries.

5. If you are unsure what you want to do, get a Postgraduate degree. Postgraduate school makes sense when you want to follow a career path that requires an advanced degree. But it's a bad use of time and money if you're hoping it will somehow point you down a career path, or if you're going because you're not sure what else to do. Many people who go to postgraduate school for lack of a better option come out a few years later having wasted both time and money, and not any better positioned than they were before they enrolled. In fact, it can make you less competitive; by keeping you from getting the much needed work experience.

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