20s To 30s What Is Life Like.…

 As you grow older the 20s can seem like a distant memory. That period from 20s to 30s is full of rough and smooth waves and before you know it, you are past it. 

This is a period when everything was such a big deal from emotions to people’s opinions to interests to dreams and a lot more. After crossing to the 20s you are not as impressionable as your cousins in high school but there are things your peers do that you want to do too. It was a big deal hanging out on Fridays, inviting someone to your room to watch a movie at university. And once you have your first job you want to live the life, look like a corporate. However all that is good the first time you are doing it, after that it becomes routine. I realised I wanted a career, a side source of income; farming is the thing now, ventures that are sustainable and will help me in the long run. I know a friend or two who have gone back to their parents’ house, it is cool having your own place and society doesn’t tease you about it but not having to pay Shs.200,000 in rent monthly, gives you financial options.       

By the time you reach 30 you will have realised you are not invincible and the world’s possibilities are not infinite. I was attending a GNLD training at Uganda Matyrs P.S,everybody was joining back in 2009 and 2010.  Our team leader said, “Most people at 30 are frustrated with life,” at that time it felt like 30 was a stage in life other people have to deal with. I knew of other guys working hard while still at university, I had classmates who were balancing school and work. In spite of not having something, I knew tomorrow would bring up something else but, that was then, right now I curse the ground when an opportunity passes, I won’t recover like I used to. I can relate to with what our team leader was saying.  

Life is a long pursuit of knowledge, once you get to your mid 20s you have a clue about life, but not much ; you are a conversation away from being found wanting (of knowledge). Fortunately some people know that life is about putting your best food forward. I remember one of my rugby coaches telling me about presentation, if you present yourself well you will score some marks, if you don’t somebody else less deserving will steal your opportunity.  

Talk of sports the energy you have in your early 20s keeps disappearing, you’ll be heavier and slower towards 30. If you don’t do something, go to the gym or go jogging you won’t be able to chase an opponent on a soccer pitch. Heck, I’m faster than this s.6 vacist on my rugby team; I can bet 30 will hit him hard in that area. I worked hard for the Western 7s circuit we hosted at Kakyeka but boys most of whom are in their mid-20s showed my team what fitness is, making the tackles was hard I felt like dropping out of the game. I need to go back to the pitch though because without fitness I can’t go about my chores efficiently.   

This is a period you’re not yet too old to learn something new, fortunately. Time flies and the years pass by but if you can survive and learn a few lessons from it, there is a happier and meaningful life after 30.   

Doing A Job You Are Not Qualified For

It's a very common scenario to find many young professionals in jobs they didn't study for. It has ceased to be just about competence there are more factors involved. The question is always whether you should look for a job, just a job or embark on a career quest. With the challenge of finding a job, embarking on a career might seem as an ideal and unrealistic venture for most degrees. 

I have always had a passion to write but I did a course in BBA, I wasn't able to enroll for Mass Communication due to the qualifications and later finances. I strayed into a newspaper and for some time I thought of making it a career but I didn't. Many in the field will tell you an education in journalism is not a vital requirement to succeed in the profession. Many people in the field come with other qualifications while Mass Communications graduates practice in other fields like marketing. 

In other work situations people tend towards the part of their work that they are natural at. I have had colleagues who are always taking up tasks that involve some IT knowledge in projects they are involved in, even though that's not their field of qualification. Occasionally some say they should have gone for an IT course. However in the end learning something out of your area of interest makes you all round and gives you more exposure. 

One challenge however would be the limited amount of growth as you advance in your line of work, how do you gain a promotion yet your other colleagues have masters in that same field, competence can only go so far in some contexts. 

As somebody employed in a field you're not qualified every shortcoming you have you will naturally to blame it on your lack of appropriate training. 

Experience in any profession will always expose you to many things and interestingly school doesn’t prepare you for everything. 

On one geography field trip our guide described university education as eating soup with a fork, you take what you get. So at no one point will you be prepared. 

For Kiiza a journalist but a graduate in Finance, it's all about determination 

“Personally I have a belief that as long as you are determined, experience is enough to do any kind of job just like the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. However doing a job you are not qualified for leaves you at times questioning yourself if actually you are doing it right, whether you are in the right place and at a time when you get a complaint from your boss, you think maybe that's the reason. 

She adds that however it's not a must to do the kind of job “you went to school for.” 

It's a lot of patience required to pass up jobs hoping to get into your career, however if you're not that particular there are ways to survive.

Once in an office the standard requirements to do your job don’t change unless it’s a job that requires specific skills like medicine or law. A few of the requirements are good communication skills, being a team player, being eager to learn and learning quick ,if you sort out those few it won’t matter what you majored in. .