6 Figures 6 Certs Random Thoughts Thread

[phcitywarrior]

Debt. Man this thing can really mess up someone's mental psyche.

Was in Starbucks and overhead some women talking about how collectively they have $120K+ debt from college and credit cards.



Your fresh out of college with $50K+ in debt. That debt is like a shackle on your life. How can you take the entrepreneurial risks you want when you got a $50K ball and chain tied to your leg.

 

[Frangala]

Debt. Man this thing can really mess up someone's mental psyche.

Was in Starbucks and overhead some women talking about how collectively they have $120K+ debt from college and credit cards.



Your fresh out of college with $50K+ in debt. That debt is like a shackle on your life. How can you take the entrepreneurial risks you want when you got a $50K ball and chain tied to your leg.

Do service job or go to Africa and demonstrate that you are doing a service job. Aren't you Nigerian? Get a BS job at NYSC and have proof and then fax it to your lender or the US Dept of Education. Your debt will get wiped out.

 

[phcitywarrior]

Do service job or go to Africa and demonstrate that you are doing a service job. Aren't you Nigerian? Get a BS job at NYSC and have proof and then fax it to your lender or the US Dept of Education. Your debt will get wiped out.

Ohh, not me. I'm just speaking generally.

I am Nigerian, but I don't have any student debt (well, 2k from a winter class I took right before I graduated but that's nothing).

Debt really has some of my classmates crippled. So many want to start ventures but them Salie Mae checks be hurting.

 

[Frangala]

Ohh, not me. I'm just speaking generally.

I am Nigerian, but I don't have any student debt (well, 2k from a winter class I took right before I graduated but that's nothing).

Debt really has some of my classmates crippled. So many want to start ventures but them Salie Mae checks be hurting.

Yes, that's why I now understand the value of selecting a lucrative career path and not go to school just to go or with no guidance.

 

[phcitywarrior]

Yes, that's why I now understand the value of selecting a lucrative career path and not go to school just to go or with no guidance.

This.

I'm looking at an MBA but even then I'd plan it such a way that within 2, 3 years max of graduating I have all my student loans paid off.

As a Nigerian with strong knowledge of Nigeria, it would be foolish for me to be "trapped" in America because of debt when there are so many power moves being made in the country.

 

[Frangala]

This.

I'm looking at an MBA but even then I'd plan it such a way that within 2, 3 years max of graduating I have all my student loans paid off.

As a Nigerian with strong knowledge of Nigeria, it would be foolish for me to be "trapped" in America because of debt when there are so many power moves being made in the country.

Go to Europe as an international student (do you have a Nigerian passport?). There are loads of scholarship opportunities targeting African students for top European business schools specifically the UK and it is shorter instead of 2 years it's one year and you come out debt-free from an elite institution. My boy from Cameroon did one year at Oxford last year and went back. This is the website he got his scholarship through:

www.opportunitiesforafricans.com

 

[phcitywarrior]

Go to Europe as an international student (do you have a Nigerian passport?). There are loads of scholarship opportunities to top European business schools specifically the UK and it is shorter instead of 2 years it's one year and you come out debt-free from an elite institution. My boy from Cameroon did one year at Oxford last year and went back. This is the website he got his scholarship through:

www.opportunitiesforafricans.com

Yep, I have a Nigerian passport. The US one should coming in by next summer.

I'm biased to US schools though. I feel they have stronger brand recognition. My dad went to Yale, my mentors went to Harvard, Stanford and Goizueta so I'm definitely leaning staying stateside. That being said, opportunity is the biggest factor.

 

[Frangala]

Yep, I have a Nigerian passport. The US one should coming in by next summer.

I'm biased to US schools though. I feel they have stronger brand recognition. My dad went to Yale, my mentors went to Harvard, Stanford and Goizueta so I'm definitely leaning staying stateside. That being said, opportunity is the biggest factor.

Ok. I mean from my perspective as long as you go to a solid school and can tap in into the alumni network you are good. In Europe, there is Oxford Said Businesss School, Edinburgh, HEC Paris, London Business School, INSEAD is the best business school in the world according to world rankings consistently beating out Wharton. It's just living in America with everything leaves you biased. In America, I also feel like you wouldn't get as much networking done in terms of alumni in the African business space. I think most MBAs from the continent tend to attend European schools if they want to go abroad.

 

[phcitywarrior]

Ok. I mean from my perspective as long as you go to a solid school and can tap in into the alumni network you are good. In Europe, there is Oxford Said Businesss School, Edinburgh, HEC Paris, London Business School, INSEAD is the best business school in the world according to world rankings consistently beating out Wharton. It's just living in America with everything leaves you biased.

Even still, US business schools have the pipeline to the biggest companies in the world. Most of the Fortune 500 are US based.

And INSEAD isn't quite as nice as it's purported. Their "real" employment rates aren't as high as the claim (they offer students research positions to make it seem like they got full time offers).

The US Business school networks are far stronger from what I've seen personally than that of Europe. Especially within Nigeria. MBAs from the States are way more valued than from the UK, especially when accompanied with 3-4 years of work experience at a top firm.

But like you said, it's really all about getting into the right networks. Real recognize real, whether from HEC or HBS.

 

[Frangala]

Even still, US business schools have the pipeline to the biggest companies in the world. Most of the Fortune 500 are US based.

And INSEAD isn't quite as nice as it's purported. Their "real" employment rates aren't as high as the claim (they offer students research positions to make it seem like they got full time offers).

The US Business school networks are far stronger from what I've seen personally than that of Europe. Especially within Nigeria. MBAs from the States are way more valued than from the UK, especially when accompanied with 3-4 years of work experience at a top firm.

But like you said, it's really all about getting into the right networks. Real recognize real, whether from HEC or HBS.

I didn't know INSEAD was cooking up the books lol but yea I just feel like networking for Africa outside of Africa is in Europe. I mean I'm in the PE space so I look at it from that perspective.

 

[phcitywarrior]

I didn't know INSEAD was cooking up the books lol but yea I just feel like networking for Africa outside of Africa is in Europe. I mean I'm in the PE space so I look at it from that perspective.

But aren't you from DRC? I feel with Francophone Africa the tilt is to go to either France or Belgium naturally. For Nigerians UK or the US.

 

[Frangala]

But aren't you from DRC? I feel with Francophone Africa the tilt is to go to either France or Belgium naturally. For Nigerians UK or the US.

Yea but I was born here went back after school in 2014 to Africa (DRC and Nigeria) to work.

It doesn't matter really, if you have schooled abroad you have privilege and opportunities/doors are more open to you UNLESS there are some employers that try to pay you according to the salary standards of the host country which is fine unless you have some financial responsibilities in the US. That's a major barrier that people who go back but still have a foot in the US complain is salary because these companies usually prefer local talent but the pool isn't wide enough but will still pay you like a local instead of an expat.

 

[phcitywarrior]

Yea but I was born here went back after school in 2014 to Africa (DRC and Nigeria) to work.

It doesn't matter really, if you have schooled abroad you have privilege and opportunities/doors are more open to you UNLESS there are some employers that try to pay you according to the salary standards of the host country which is fine unless you have some financial responsibilities in the US. That's a major barrier that people who go back but still have a foot in the US complain is salary because these companies usually prefer local talent but the pool isn't wide enough but will still pay you like a local instead of an expat.

I've heard at the undergrad level it's the same salary as the local talent but at a Master's and above you get the same salary as one in the West and such.

What's DRC like as far as opportunities? How was working in Nigeria?

 

[Frangala]

I've heard at the undergrad level it's the same salary as the local talent but at a Master's and above you get the same salary as one in the West and such.

What's DRC like as far as opportunities? How was working in Nigeria?

DRC is as frontier as it gets, the whole Central African region is as frontier as it gets, it's very unstable but it has the largest potential (yes surpassing Nigeria) on the whole continent given its size, natural resources etc... but the stability isn't there yet. Nigeria is good, if you are in the consumer goods industry you are going to make money given its demographics with some good infrastructure it would be great. Lagos is fun, there is a lot of stuff to do and you get to meet a lot of good entrepreneurial people that's what it has over the other regions on the continent and a lot of multinationals that you find in the Western world are based in Lagos which is not the case in DRC except for mining companies. In Lagos, you have not only the multinationals (Nestle, Coca Cola, GE, etc...) you also have financial services institutions like investment banks, private equity firms in addition to consulting services firms like Bain and McKinsey.

 

[brownsugah]

I will be starting 2018 by going into upskill training at my job (banking), from associate to specialist. I’m nervous because it’s something new but I’m also excited to make more money of course.