In Nigeria, what are the courses with high job opportunities in Nigeria? Nigeria, as a developing nation, has seen an increase in economic activity since its independence in 1960. However, some sectors in recent years have declined in growth due to low economic activity, recession, and a high rate of unemployment.
Despite Nigeria producing thousands of graduates every year from its higher learning institutions, which include polytechnics, colleges of Education, and universities, the country has seen a slow decline in the number of graduates that are employed every day.
In recent years, students who have just finished their secondary level education have been burdened with the question of which course or field of study they should take to avoid the issue of unemployment that affects the country.
Nigeria’s employment of its graduates in recent years has reduced down to its lowest, but some sectors and fields of study are still employing thousands of graduates every year, compared to other fields of study.
Metrics and recent standards have been used to judge certain courses in Nigeria in terms of their job opportunities based on a number of factors, such as graduates’ access to jobs after graduation and their access to job opportunities outside the country.
This article will explore and show various courses with high job opportunities in Nigeria after graduation across various fields, like Art, Business, and Science, making it easy for any student in a different field to know the best course with potential job opportunities
Are you a commercial, Art, or Science student? Below are the courses with high job opportunities in Nigeria.
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Courses with High Job Opportunities in Nigeria
1. Medicine and Surgery
At the top of the list of courses with high job opportunities in Nigeria stand medicine and surgery. Medicine and surgery are among the courses with high job opportunities in Nigeria due to the low availability of graduates produced by these courses and the demand for the profession.
There is almost a full guarantee for any graduate of medicine and surgery for employment either by a private or public hospital, with some administering home services and still being able to make additional income.
Health is one factor that is highly valued by Nigeria, and that is where medicine and surgery come in. Graduates of this course are equipped to become a health practitioner in terms of being a doctor or surgeon, depending on specialisation.
Nigerian health practitioners of medicine and surgery in Nigeria are so low compared to other sectors, based on statistics, which show that only 1 doctor is available for 10,000 Nigerians, showing a constraint on the field.
Despite the high rise of Artificial Intelligence in every sector, demand for graduates in medicine and Surgery is still high across the world.
2. Nursing
Closely related to medicine and surgery is Nursing. Nursing is a health profession which is found to works hand in hand with medicine and surgery; it entails the promotion of health across every stage of life. Nursing is so important to the medicine and surgery field that its work or emphasis can’t be overemphasised. They work hand in hand with the surgeons and Doctors for faster operation and response.
Nurses can be seen across every hospital in Nigeria, but the statistics still show, and it is evident in most Nigerian hospitals, that there are not enough to meet the demand of people seeking health care in hospitals across the country.
Nursing is a course with high job opportunities; like medicine and surgery graduates or practitioners, you can get to work in private or government hospitals without much hassle as soon as you are registered and your certificate is certified and accredited by the Nursing Association of Nigeria.
3. Public Health
The public health course has to equip students and teach them the best way to promote the well-being of society as a whole, and also manage or prevent outbreaks of disease. Public health is a newly introduced course in Nigeria, which has not been up for a decade in most Nigerian universities.
This is a thriving field; it is now the best time to even study or take it as a field of study. Due to Nigeria’s increasing population, this also comes with its own challenges, like health challenges and disease outbreaks. Public health practitioners can get to work in hospitals and with organisations such as the government and other non-governmental organisations, like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other nonprofit organisations.
The job opportunities are endless for public health specialists. Graduates with the certificate get to work with the above-mentioned agency after graduation, plus the recognition and need of practitioners of this field across the globe.
4. CyberSecurity
We are, of course, in the Computer age, but with each age comes its challenges. Cyber crimes have never been on the rise like this before, ranging from data breaches to breaches in bank digital systems, resulting in loss of financial resources.
To address the issue of cybercrime, a term cybersecurity was developed to address address this issue. Practitioners of these courses are commonly known as cybersecurity experts. Cybersecurity is studied in most Nigerian institutions. The course is one of the newly introduced courses in the Nigerian course syllabus to meet the demand of the world for cybersecurity experts.
Cybersecurity courses carry a lot of job opportunities, even far too many. A graduate of this course in Nigeria can get to work with various institutions like banks, government institutions, and Network providers, and they can even work remotely. The benefits are so numerous.
5. Pharmacy
Nigeria’s demand for pharmacy has never been on the rise like before. The societal need for better treatment against disease has been what has contributed to the increase in pharmacists, that is, the practitioners of pharmacy. Pharmacy is a field of health science that involves the discovery, production, testing, and dispensing of drugs and medications. Pharmacy duties also extend to monitoring medications administered by either the nurse or doctor in hospitals.
Pharmacy as a course is a course with high job opportunities. Practitioners and holders of the certificate can get to work for pharmaceutical companies, the government, a hospital, or even set up their own clinic if they wish to be independent or feel burdened by working for someone.
A pharmacist doesn’t need to be burdened by the need to be employed, as with the certificate obtained during the duration of study, you can set up a pharmacy shop or drug store. Medicine is brought every day in large numbers by Nigerians across the country.
6. Petroleum Engineering
Nigeria has been the number one petroleum country in Africa and needs experts regarding the discovery, development, and extraction of oil and gas from the ground.
Since the discovery of oil in 1958 and the oil boom of the late 70s and 80s. The country’s Petroleum production has increased every year, which is concurrent with the high demand for petroleum across the globe.
Petroleum engineering as a course to study in Nigeria is coursing with the potential of higher job opportunities with even higher salaries than most other fields in Nigeria due to inflows of funds in the sector, generated internally and from the exported petroleum outside the country.
A graduate of this course or holder of the certificate can get to work with oil drilling companies in Nigeria like Havilah Energy, Aradel Holdings PLC, Mobil, and Dangote PLC. Job opportunities are also offered by the government through NNPC, but this is limited compared to oil companies willing to employ graduates of the course in Nigeria.
7. Education
Education is one of the courses that you can study in Nigeria and be presented with lots of job opportunities. Though the course will not guarantee a higher pay of income compared to other courses at the beginning of your career, it is guaranteed that you will be presented with job opportunities after your graduation.
Graduates of this course can be from every endeavour in the field, but based on their education. Like, for example, graduates of Mathematics Education, English Education, Economics Education, and a lot more.
Various job opportunities available for this course are found mostly in private and public schools established by the government, or you get to establish yourself with the authority of the government.
Graduates with an education certificate, especially in science fields like mathematics, chemistry, physics, and Biology, are in high demand yearly as a result of Students who are deficient in such areas and want to catch up to take external examinations like JAMB, WAEC, GCE, NABTEB, and internal examinations in university.
The beauty of an education course is that you can earn additional income aside from working for a public or private institution by setting up a tutorial class and charging a significant amount of money for a fee, and, thanks to the digital age, you can teach online or set up a YouTube channel to showcase your ability.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned course is outlined based on statistics and their demand in the Nigerian Labour market. The question might lie in your heart. What about other courses offered in Nigerian learning institutions that do not have any job opportunities? Of course, most of those courses employ thousands of Nigerian graduates yearly, but not up to the mentioned above course.
Doing any course that is not listed above. That is not the yardstick to measure success, nor a guarantee that you won’t succeed in the course you are currently studying. If you are capable financially, you can resit for the JAMB exam and be offered to study the mentioned above course, but if you don’t have those financial resources, don’t be sad or worried. You can refine your course, and you will make the best of the course you are currently studying.