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. .