By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu
Last week, an undergraduate student studying Microbiology
walked up to me with her friend.
'Ma, I need your advice,' she said. 'What should I major
in within Microbiology?'
I told her, 'ENT - Ear, Nose and Throat.'
She looked confused. 'Why?'
I answered plainly. 'Look around you. Everyone has
earpieces in their ears from morning till night. Loud music, calls, TikTok. In
the next few years, many youths will start having hearing and ear problems. If
you major in ENT now, by that time you will be one of the experts everyone will
be looking for. You will cash out.'
Her friend then asked, 'What about Gynecology?'
I smiled and said, 'By the time you finish school, 99% of
women may not even want to carry pregnancy. Technology is moving fast. They
might perfect robots to carry babies. Maybe you should study ‘Robot Medicine’
if there’s such a thing.'
She frowned. So I explained, 'Women today are already
choosing surrogates and having just one or two children to keep their shape.
Imagine what the world will look like 20 years from now.
Then I looked at both of them and said, 'Wait, let me
give you more examples so you understand what I mean by 'work smart.'
The world is changing fast. Look at the problems
coming:
First, Mental Health: Social media pressure, unemployment,
loneliness. In 10 years anxiety and depression will be the #1 issue for youths.
If you go into Clinical Psychology or Mental Health Microbiology, people will
pay anything for peace of mind.
Second, Cyber Security: Everything is online now -
banking, school, even church. In 10 years fraud, hacking and AI scams will blow
up. Cyber Security and Digital Forensics experts will be in every company.
Third, Environmental Health. Pollution, flooding,
contaminated water. New diseases will come from climate change. If you major
in
Environmental Microbiology or Public Health, governments
and NGOs will be looking for you.
Then I dropped my final words:
Stop working hard. Start working smart.
Study the problems people will have tomorrow, and
position yourself to solve them today.
ENT and Women’s Health are not going away. They are
evolving into fertility, IVF, audiology, and reproductive
technology.
And the same with every other field. The future belongs
to problem solvers.
That’s how you stay relevant. That’s how you win.
#WorkSmart #CareerAdvice #FutureOfWork #Students
#NightengaleBenOnyeukwu #Microbiology #ENT #MentalHealth #CyberSecurity`
