Moving on from the PFA

 Dec 2011 to Dec 2015 were very stable periods of my life. In this time, i started work in the financial services sector at the pension funds administrator and i made good strides in every aspect of my life.

One area where I performed poorly was in my education. I was still working with a HND up till that point, and in Nigeria - which is so skewed towards degrees and academic qualifications - as opposed to skills and merit, which employers in Canada reckon more with, I was guaranteed never to rise in my career. I had switched jobs at least four times, and I never landed a team lead role. I was just rotating from technical role to technical role with more pay, but no job recognition. So I decided to get a Bsc.

Almost all universities in Nigeria never want to have anything to do with a HND. The best they would come up with is to tell you to enrol for a Pgd or worst case, go back to 200L just to get a poorly rated Nigerian degree. Luckily, someone pointed me in the right direction that I could enrol for a top up UK degree with my HND. I followed thru with the admission process and was given six modules to get a UK degree. The school fees was cheap, and the mode of studies delivery suited my 9-to-5 job, so I could work while studying. My dad couldnt even help me pay for 1 module (meanwhile he had the money). I am grateful and can boldly say that i financed that UK degree from my pocket.

In Nigeria, a smart student may not show up for lectures, or not participate in class, but cram the course material few weeks to the exam, and slam his way to an A in the exam. I know because I did the same thing in the Java programming course in my final year. So, I had no idea what i was getting into with that UK education. With the UK education system, without active participation and contribution in class, you can never make an A no matter how sound you are. The hectic nature of my job at the pension funds administrator, lagos traffic and how worn-out it leaves you daily, and my thinking that the education would be a slam-dunk thing ensured that i only had time for my coursework and assignment submission few weeks to submission. So course after course, I kept failing. I failed all six courses and eventually finished the degree with a 3rd class. I have only cried twice in a far as I remember. One, when I got my certificate mailed from the school and saw my 3rd class grade, and when my mum died. I never imagined in my life that I would finish any academic program that poorly. It was a terrible new low for me. At that point, I ceased to see 3rd class graduates as lowlifers. I came down from my high horse and started to relate better with people's journeys, and the obstacles they overcame, rather than the grades they finished with.

Asides that low, I enjoyed my time at the PFA, made money and got experience from the major side gig. To re-iterate, side gigs help you hone your craft, puts money in your pocket, and helps you to network too. They say that people miss opportunities because it comes dressed in work cloths, and that is true. Two of my colleagues were running a Masters in Tech program during my time at the PFA. As part of their course work, they were given a programming assignment in PHP, which they sought my assistance with, and I obliged them. I did that help for them pro-bono, however, it opened bigger doors than I can imagine (which even my colleagues have no idea of, till today). I then met with lots of their other classmates, helped them with their assignments too and made some more pennies.
One of the classmates who I helped then passed my contacts to another friend who needed another help with his UK Bsc assignment. I charged him moderately and did an excellent job, that he almost made an A. He was so impressed with the work. When we eventually met, we discussed as friends about life, investment, education, career etc. He then introduced me to a real estate investment which I did, that I still enjoy up to this day, even when I am in Canada.

Again, people miss opportunities because it comes dressed in work cloths.

After my mum died in 2015, and because I had started to lose concentration and started to make mistakes at work (deploying code without proper testing, which wasnt entirely my fault), I started being open to other job options. I was looking to get married in a short while as my girlfriend was returning from Msc in the UK too, so I needed more money.
One of my father's friends, who is also my mentor requested that I sent him my CV, which I did. Around July 2015, I got a call to come to Abuja for an interview at a new public-private-partnership in the finance/real estate space. I honored the interview invite, had the conversation, and I was given an offer. The offer was too good to be true then, that I did not discuss with my manager (the best boss who I wrote about), but fired an email straight to HR that "I QUIT!". And so I quit the PFA job in December 2015 for the PPP job (job number 5/6? I have lost count..lol).

What would I have done different?

With regards to the UK Bsc, I should have left my parents' house and rented an apartment close to my office, and gave more attention to my studies. I have been running another UK MBA since 2018, and I fear that the same fate would befall this degree.
With regards to side gigs, those were one of the best decisions then. I wouldnt do them now because I am more selfish with my time. I invest my time in my regular 9-to-5, and self development thru certifications these days.
With regards to leaving the PFA job for the PPP job,..fantastic decision!