Of a truth, the time Students and Graduates of nowadays spend punching their mobile phones and tablets are by far wasteful than useful towards their academic and career paths. A student having an examination to write is busy seen swinging from one social network to another on their gadgets, paying less attention to hard work which is the bedrock of success. Same goes to many graduates with aptitude tests and job interviews in view. Get exposed to these top 7 lessons every student/graduate should learn to survive.
Being a student can be very challenging, especially in Nigerian public schools.
The average Nigerian undergraduate has to contend with inadequate facilities, autocratic academic staff, inadequate learning materials, endless interruption of academic sessions, arbitrary fees and poor finances which eventually affect the chances of getting a paying job later.
With the advent of social media and affordable internet enabled phones, students and young graduates (especially unemployed) have another thing to contend with–web addiction. It is no lie that many students, and even job seekers, spend more time peering into and punching their mobile devices than they do listening lectures, preparing for tests or searching for job opportunities.
However, it must be noted that students with access to technology ought to see their gadgets as opportunities, rather than the distractions they turn out to be for most. For one, having a connection to the internet should mean more sources of study materials, opportunity to meet and interact with like minds from other parts of the world, as well as learn and share outside the classroom.
Today we are going to talk about 7 things a serious student should be doing. All these points are in a way related to the use of portable, internet-enabled devices:
1.
Start your personal website or blog –these days, owning a blog is simple as ABC. With your device, all you need is an app– WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, Instagram, etc., and you’re up and running. Find out something that interests you and start writing about it regularly– daily, weekly or monthly. Owning a website is not much more difficult. , once you get a domain name registered, it’s all set. Owning a functional blog or website boosts your profile, even when it’s time to look for a job.
2.
Read something new every day –one excuse most students give for not reading is that they don’t like holding books or can’t find books. With your device, you can just hit Google and quickly read up something – Google has something about almost everything. Just give yourself 5 minutes to surf the web for learning purposes, it could be something related to your profession/job/studies (like an Engineering magazine for an Engineering student) or just some random idea. You’ll learn a lot.
3.
Bookmark relevant websites –when you find random but useful materials online, the best thing is to immediately bookmark it. This may not be useful right away, but will eventually come in handy. You could call it an online library. Also, when you find useful text/article, you can simply email it to yourself and read it later.
4.
Build a professional profile online and offline –in this internet age, your visibility online determines your prospects a lot. So use services like LinkedIn and About.me to create a professional resume. You should type up a CV (and passport, scanned/photographed certificates) and store on your mobile for easy access when you need to apply somewhere, even if you’re not actively on the job hunt.
5.
Volunteer, offline and online –there are a lot of causes you could start or join. For one, you could start a volunteer group dedicated to keeping your school/community clean. You could volunteer at a school, hospital etc. The good thing about this is that it gives you a kind of working experience and your psyche benefits from doing good
6.
Clean up your social media accounts –employers now hunt on social media and it would be a minus for you if they find incriminating material on your social media. If your youthful exuberance has led you to post untoward materials on your social accounts, clean them up. You can also restrict your account or hide those particular posts you think may be negative. You should start posting only productive materials on your social media. As a student, you can use your social media to ask questions, meet mentors and learn by following the right accounts/people
7.
Interact with staff and students– you have a lot to learn from your lecturers, colleagues, and fellow students that the classroom will not give you. Take time to be teachable and relatable by reaching out once in a while. Networking is of importance whether you are a student or a job seeker or worker.
Last but not the least is for you to put down your phone! Yes, limit the time you waste on your phone and redirect that time to study, thinking, planning and mapping your future.
Phones and other small devices are very effective at wasting your time. So you must cut them off a little to create time for productive activities, mental and physical.
Being a student can be very challenging, especially in Nigerian public schools.
The average Nigerian undergraduate has to contend with inadequate facilities, autocratic academic staff, inadequate learning materials, endless interruption of academic sessions, arbitrary fees and poor finances which eventually affect the chances of getting a paying job later.
With the advent of social media and affordable internet enabled phones, students and young graduates (especially unemployed) have another thing to contend with–web addiction. It is no lie that many students, and even job seekers, spend more time peering into and punching their mobile devices than they do listening lectures, preparing for tests or searching for job opportunities.
However, it must be noted that students with access to technology ought to see their gadgets as opportunities, rather than the distractions they turn out to be for most. For one, having a connection to the internet should mean more sources of study materials, opportunity to meet and interact with like minds from other parts of the world, as well as learn and share outside the classroom.
Today we are going to talk about 7 things a serious student should be doing. All these points are in a way related to the use of portable, internet-enabled devices:
1.
Start your personal website or blog –these days, owning a blog is simple as ABC. With your device, all you need is an app– WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, Instagram, etc., and you’re up and running. Find out something that interests you and start writing about it regularly– daily, weekly or monthly. Owning a website is not much more difficult. , once you get a domain name registered, it’s all set. Owning a functional blog or website boosts your profile, even when it’s time to look for a job.
2.
Read something new every day –one excuse most students give for not reading is that they don’t like holding books or can’t find books. With your device, you can just hit Google and quickly read up something – Google has something about almost everything. Just give yourself 5 minutes to surf the web for learning purposes, it could be something related to your profession/job/studies (like an Engineering magazine for an Engineering student) or just some random idea. You’ll learn a lot.
3.
Bookmark relevant websites –when you find random but useful materials online, the best thing is to immediately bookmark it. This may not be useful right away, but will eventually come in handy. You could call it an online library. Also, when you find useful text/article, you can simply email it to yourself and read it later.
4.
Build a professional profile online and offline –in this internet age, your visibility online determines your prospects a lot. So use services like LinkedIn and About.me to create a professional resume. You should type up a CV (and passport, scanned/photographed certificates) and store on your mobile for easy access when you need to apply somewhere, even if you’re not actively on the job hunt.
5.
Volunteer, offline and online –there are a lot of causes you could start or join. For one, you could start a volunteer group dedicated to keeping your school/community clean. You could volunteer at a school, hospital etc. The good thing about this is that it gives you a kind of working experience and your psyche benefits from doing good
6.
Clean up your social media accounts –employers now hunt on social media and it would be a minus for you if they find incriminating material on your social media. If your youthful exuberance has led you to post untoward materials on your social accounts, clean them up. You can also restrict your account or hide those particular posts you think may be negative. You should start posting only productive materials on your social media. As a student, you can use your social media to ask questions, meet mentors and learn by following the right accounts/people
7.
Interact with staff and students– you have a lot to learn from your lecturers, colleagues, and fellow students that the classroom will not give you. Take time to be teachable and relatable by reaching out once in a while. Networking is of importance whether you are a student or a job seeker or worker.
Last but not the least is for you to put down your phone! Yes, limit the time you waste on your phone and redirect that time to study, thinking, planning and mapping your future.
Phones and other small devices are very effective at wasting your time. So you must cut them off a little to create time for productive activities, mental and physical.