HE IS STUDYING SOCIOLOGY BUT ASHAMED OF IT

Good day sir. I start by showing my appreciation for the gift you have given to this generation of youths. It is very uncommon to find a young man with achievements as yours who not only cares about positively impacting on the younger generation but
also teams up with other young achievers to inspire undergraduates. I’m highly grateful I found this platform as I have benefitted immensely from all posts I have
read on this career portal.

I must state that I am quite new to JarusHub and I found it by accident. I bookmarked it after reading a few posts and have followed it religiously ever since.

To my issue, I am a 200 level student in one of the top 3 Federal Universities in Nigeria. I applied to study Economics as my love for this discipline is indeed  profound. Need I mention that I was a commercial student in high school and a high-flying student at that? A number of my teachers and even my guidance counselor advised that I opt for Accounting as they tracked my academic record and did a little bit of mentoring too.

I already made up my mind right from S.S 2 to become both an Accountant and Economist by studying Economics at undergraduate and post graduate levels and taking a professional exam in either of the two prominent and popular accounting bodies (though I admit that high school economics is different from the main thing). I got into the university the same year I completed my secondary education(having 6 distinctions and 3 credits in my SSCE).

However, I gained admission to study Sociology which though I find interesting, I do not fancy much. I initially did not want to accept the admission (thank God I didn’t attempt that given the abysmal performance of students who sat for the exam after I
did) because I would automatically forget about sitting for another JAMB examination (which I have already done). My subtle dislike for sociology makes me ashamed to even tell people I’m running an undergraduate degree in it.

Although I heard and read about the possibility of changing to my desired course of study on completion of 200 level, I have received varying reactions from people and authorities I sought advice from. Sir, I’d like to know your thoughts on this and if it actually falls through(hopefully should by God’s grace), I would want you to recommend procedures on how I can do better at mathematics as I have very sketchy knowledge of further mathematics. I also have a lot of admiration for your excellent use of English and humbly request for tips I can use for better writing as well as be granted the privilege to be mentored by you.

P.S I’m currently on a C.G.P.A of 4.32/5.0 and I strongly believe it needs to be improved too.

I want my identity to remain anonymous.

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Dear Anonymous,

Thanks for finding our activities on JarusHub helpful.

I have a feeling you’re a brilliant guy. Having 6 distinctions in SSCE and 4.32 CGPA in 200 level in a top federal university cannot be fluke.

There is nothing wrong in Sociology. There is nothing to be ashamed about in it. I realized that early enough in life, when at the end of first term SSS 1 in secondary school, I crossed over from being a Science student to a commercial one despite the wide gossips from friends and mates that how can Suraj, who was one of the best students in his JSS class be a commercial student. Commercial class, I guess they thought, was for the academically challenged. I didn’t care. I knew what I wanted.

So no problem with studying Sociology. Truth is, few companies care about your first degree in Nigeria, except of course for very specialized courses.

You may not be able to become an economist without studying economics, but you can still become an Accountant. All you need do is write ICAN or ACCA exams, and pronto, you become an accountant. That easy.

The good thing is, the big 4 professional accounting firms, PwC, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Deloitte, don’t care about your first degree. I know people that studied courses as far off as Agriculture Science and are accountants today.

Even without diverting to accounting, who says you can’t get decent job with your Sociology degree. Most job openings say Economics or any other Social Science courses, so Sociology is still in the bucket. In any case, I have a friend, who is also a regular reader of this portal, who studied Sociology in Ife, made a First Class and  has been in one of the biggest telecommunication companies in Nigeria since he finished university. He does well now.

For someone like you that is not so good in Mathematics, you will do better in Sociology than Economics, but I still think the mathematics we talk about in Economics is a little overrated. No big deal at undergraduate level, just make up you mind, the Math doesn’t go beyond calculus, and not even at very advanced level. I still think you will be able to make at least a second class upper in Economics.

So weigh your chances, if you think you can push that 4.32 into first class (>4.50) and maintain it, you may want to stay in Sociology, but if there is opportunity of crossing to economics, it is no doubt a more marketable course than Sociology. I don’t see you making below 2.1 there either.

For  math, be not afraid, there is nothing that cannot be surmounted. I know many people that are only average, or even below average in Math, and made 2.1 in economics. If opportunity presents itself, cross to economics, if not, Sociology isn’t bad either.

Going back to write UME because you want to study economics, for me, is out of it. For accounting, whether you study economics or sociology, becoming an accountant is pretty simple: just write ICAN or ACCA, and you can start ICAN ATS from school if you have the capacity to combine.

That’s my candid advice.

Jarus