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Picture this: You’re excited at the idea of getting a salary and joining the 9-5 gang — or at least leaving house chores behind — so you decide to get an internship.
Get ready because you’ll likely experience the following stages.
Rejection
Wait, shouldn’t internships be easier to get? What are all these rejection emails in your inbox then?
The “for-the-experience” offers aka no salary
Yes, we know internships are for the experience. But try explaining to the bus conductor taking you from Ikeja to Ajah that there’s more to life than money.
The internships with the most ridiculous requirements
These ones deserve a special place in Ajah traffic. You want an intern who can speak seven languages? Just tell us you want to employ our Lord and personal saviour.
The ones with the sketchy job descriptions
You don’t need anyone to tell you that these ones want to either steal your kidney or collect the remaining ₦2k in your account.
You finally get the internship, but you actually have to work
Did you think internships were only for taking corporate wear selfies and filling a spot on your LinkedIn profile?
Getting your first internship definitely ranks as one of the most important events in your life. Suddenly, you’re a proud member of the end-of-the-month credit-alert-expectant WhatsApp group.
An internship is much more than just earning a salary though, so we’ve compiled the expo you need to crush your internship, just because we’re your guys and all that.
Dress the part
Oh, you thought Mark Nsukka bread was your boss? Please find out if there’s a dress code and prepare accordingly.
Be prepared to do more than your job description
You might be great at doing more than one thing, so you become the one everyone calls upon for any and everything.
Intentionality is everything
An internship is a learning opportunity, so you need to seek out opportunities to learn. Don’t sit down waiting for someone to teach you because it might never happen.
Bring the right energy
Don’t let the new pressure of adulting get you discouraged. Bringing the right energy to work is almost as important as actually doing the work.
Build a network
Good professional relationships don’t just fall on people, so use the internship as an opportunity. Offer to help that sales guy on your team or talk to the marketing lady during lunch.
Don’t take on too much at a time
Learn to pace yourself, so you don’t take on too many tasks at once and then fail to deliver on any.
Have fun
You’re already on your way to building a fulfilling career, so make sure to enjoy yourself along the way as well.
Pro tip: It’ll also help you interact better and actually become lasting friends with your colleagues. Remember that bit about networking?
Ready to start a fulfilling career? We’ve got you covered.
The Youth of Enterprise (YOE) Internship Programme, sponsored by EnterpriseNGR, intends to help young Nigerians build employability skills to land great career opportunities and provide them with real workplace experience. You’ll actually get paid to do important work, not spend the whole time buying amala for senior colleagues.
SIGN UP FOR FREE to join the YOE Internship Programme to get the professional competence you need to kick-start your career.
Say you could get a paid internship opportunity at a reputable company, what would you do? Would you make the most of it or let your enemies put sand in your Garri?
As a social media manager, you’re the reason why people know about a brand. You go out of your way to create schedules and engaging /creative content that keep people coming back to the page.
Some are funny and know how to read the room, but some cough A*sos cough don’t.
Anyways, here are some of the struggles of the not-so-glamorous life of a social media manager.
1. You feel like you’ve made it in life when people are retweeting, sharing or liking all your posts.
Every week, Zikoko asks anonymous people to give us a window into their relationship with the Naira. Some will be struggle-ish, others will be bougie–but all the time, it’ll be revealing.
The subject of this week’s story just hit 18. He’s also at his first 9-5 ever, as an intern. When he’s not in Nigeria as an intern or on holiday, he’s a student in the UK.
When was the first time that you wanted money and your parents were like, what for?
I think it was that time I wanted money for a website I was working on – I’d already spent £350. I spoke to a company that was supposed to do it, and they quoted $5000.
Then my parents asked, “How do you intend to get the money back? Have you thought about it? What sources of revenue will bring it back?” I couldn’t figure this out.
It made me start asking myself what the point of making something people could use, but still not have a way to sustain it.
Especially since it was something that would have running costs after.
Did you get the money eventually?
No. That was the end of the website. It’s interesting, school always encourages you to feel like you can do anything you want – and it’s true. But there’s a balance of opportunity cost. You can do this, but are you going to have the time? Are you going to be able to look at it properly? And most importantly, are you going to get it back?
That’s when I started tracking how much I made from commissions, how much I spent on equipment, and on financing the projects I was working on.
How old were you when you asked for the money?
16. I’d had other expenses before. Like there was this app that I needed to pay 100 dollars to keep on the app store. And they paid for that.
What are the things you do that fetch you money?
Graphic design and photography. I started designing when I was 14 – self-taught. Then album covers for friends in 2015. I charged like ₦5000 for each –
– Mad thing, but you just mentioned the naira for the first time.
Hahaha.
Okay, back to the things that fetch you money.
I didn’t earn a lot, because Nigerians didn’t see the value in it at the time. The question is, was I not finding the people who were willing to pay? Was I not good enough at the time? Or were people not just ready to give money to a 16-year-old?
Anyway, by the end of 2017, I was charging £100 per logo and £30 for posters.
What are some interesting things you’ve heard about money from your friends?
A couple of things. I’ve heard someone say she has to marry a rich husband. I think that was half a joke though. Hopefully. Then there are the ones that say, “It doesn’t really matter for now, my parents can cover stuff. Why am I bothered?”
Why now though?
I feel like I have a privilege I want to take advantage of. I don’t need to pay rent and I still get financial support from my parents, big time. At this point, I’m still making massive loss in a sense, because my expenses are way more than I’m making on my own.
I still have that advantage for the next two or three years. The way I see it, I’m making a time investment now, buying equipment now that I can, and setting things up properly. By the time I’m no longer under my parents’ care, the investments I’m making now, would make it easier for me.
If you come out of uni and you don’t have a job or means of income, it puts you at a disadvantage, because now you’re thinking about taking your life into your own hands. I feel like that’s what puts a lot of people into system jobs – it’s not really what you want to do, but it’s what’s available to you.
I want to avoid that period where I’m like, what the hell do I do?
That makes sense.
Truth is, there are friends in my circle that will probably get big ass grants from their parents as soon as they finish school. I might get that too, but the way my parents are, it’s not going to be something I’ll get easily. Also, there’s that part where I just want to make something of myself. My grandparents weren’t rich – in fact, they were on the verge of being poor. But my parents managed to make something of themselves. So I’m like, why do I have to wait for my parents when I can just improve on what they’ve already started?
That’s an interesting way to look at it.
I also think generational wealth can be a massive ego dump on kids. It can make kids feel like they’re better than other people. It’s one thing to be better off than other people, it’s another thing to think you’re better. It can be dangerous when you start to feel like the latter.
Okay, let’s talk about your monthly income.
I only just started getting a set monthly income – I’m currently in my first 9-5 as an intern.
People tend to have fixed expenses. But for me, my allowance from my parents is mostly meant to be lunch money. So, food is 60k. Then I spend 10k per week on cabs. I use cabs when my folks’ car is unavailable – that sounds bougie AF. Then I have a bunch of subscriptions: about 24k in total.
Do you feel like you should be earning more money?
Yes! I undercharge big time. One thing you can’t change is perception. If I was 25, doing the things I’m doing now, I’ll probably be able to charge a thousand pounds for a logo. When you’re working with a 25-year-old, you know they have bills to pay, and you won’t want to do them a disservice. Also, I don’t have that much work experience, so people don’t trust me very much even after seeing my portfolio. It’s like people aren’t sure if it’s a fluke or a valid representation of skillset.
If I was producing this type of work at 25, I’d be earning way more.
How much do you imagine you’d earn if you were 25 today?
That’s a good question. I’ve never thought about that. Assuming I stop working 9-5, and some things I’m trying to put it in place is set up the way I want them to be, I’ll be able to make about £3000 a month. I dunno if I’ll be working in Nigeria, but if I work here, probably a mill a month. Now that I’ve said this, I would probably have to check back when I’m 25 to see if I was just chatting kid shit or not.
How much do you think it would cost to fund age 25?
Like, if I had to pay for everything myself? Per month…? Wait. How much is rent?
Let’s start with where you live, how much do you think it costs?
I have no fucking clue. How much is rent? Wow, there’s so much you have to think about when you’re old. Filling your car up with petrol. Electricity bills. Food. Faaji. I don’t know how much that costs! I can’t even start to think about it.
You see, this is one of my fears because the money I’m making now doesn’t mean much. Someone actually working might spend it on petrol in a month.
By the “money I’m making,” are you talking about the 165k?
Okay… This is so confusing because I know that the average earning for an entry-level person in Nigeria is between ₦50k and ₦200k per month. This has me fucked up because I feel like rent for a house where I live will be more than that. Unless I’m delusional. How much does a bank teller earn?
About 50 to ₦80k.
Yeah! That’s actually what I’m actually referring to. I’m so confused as to how someone would earn ₦30k from a full-time job and not be dead.
That’s minimum wage, and I know a couple of people who earn less.
How does a person even survive? Where would you live in Lagos? You can barely live on a bank teller’s wage in Lagos. How would you do this on a minimum wage…? That’s quite scary! How do you hack this?
What do you think?
You can squat…?
That’s the thing – growing up the way I did, you don’t get a full insight into the way Nigeria really is. It’s almost unfair to us, because without understanding exactly what’s going on around you, how do you even begin to help? A lot of people my age say that Lagos is actually a great place.
In your circle
But there are people living in a manner that seems impossible on paper. When we don’t see that, you start to ask, who’s done us the injustice; is it our parents? Probably. Because when you don’t see that, how are you supposed to even appreciate what you have? How do you even begin to think of how to help the country as a whole or the people on the other end of that shit?
Going to work every day made me realise that low-income earners are packed into some areas, and no one cares about them. I saw people bathing outside, not because they chose it, but because the communal shower space is open, visible from the street. It’s like slum living.
It is slum living.
Everyone has privileges, but when did you first realise yours?
Between the time I was 8 and 10, and probably from a couple of places. My parents had people working in the house, and I think from that point, I noticed some differences. We’d travel, but the domestic workers didn’t. I wouldn’t say that’s when it became apparent. At that time, it was just like, that’s life.
But then, the true realisation came in this period of my life. It was last year I started to realise that one of the reasons Nigeria is the way it is, is because a lot of the things we use are imported ideas. Remnants of colonisation. If you ask me, the reason Nigeria looked and felt better just after white people left is that the information was just passed down.
After that – and this is theory – more and more people started migrating to cities. When people come from less developed places, they pick up what’s left of what was taught. Enforcement isn’t as strict, and people start to get away with more and more, the level of how well stuff works just degrades. And more people come in and pick up the remnants and bad habits.
Another thing as well is, we’re not very innovative. We haven’t thought for ourselves how to make stuff work for us. And the only way these people can learn how stuff should even begin to work properly is from exposure. And you can only really gain exposure by going to places where things work the way they’re supposed to.
My new point of realisation was that, not only are people not financially empowered, they are also – for lack of a better word – not mentally empowered. Because there really isn’t much thinking going on.
How are you supposed to think about what you can’t conceive? What does a person working in the market think about on a day to day basis? It’s hard to think about much when you’re in hardship, because all you can think about is, “Where is my next meal coming from? How much have I made today?”
Coming to the point where I realised that thinking about innovation is not evenly spread among Nigerians is the point where I realised my privilege properly.
Okay, okay. Let’s talk about other stuff. What’s something you really want but you can’t afford?
A car. I actually really want a car. I’m currently borrowing my mum’s car, but I want to borrow as little as possible. I want everything to be clear, like “this is my own person as an adult.”
You’re in a hurry to adult.
That’s what my parents say. There’s the thing about ‘waiting to be matured’ that people say. I don’t get it. It’s not as if we’re getting stupider as a species. Why do I have to be babied? I don’t believe you can truly accept responsibility until you’re given responsibility. Raising kids without giving them responsibilities is kind of dumbing them down.
What are old people’s assumptions about 18-year-olds and money that piss you off?
Because I spend a lot, people assume that I’m not saving for the future or something. I’m not stashing money now so I can get things that’ll help me stash money later. Another fucking assumption is that I dunno how much it means to be an adult. Because… apart from rent and shit… Wait.
Hahahaha.
Okay in retrospect, it’s actually true. I dunno. But a lot of people feel all the money I get goes to enjoyment.
Let’s talk about enjoyment. What’s a good day out?
Probably spending 10 to 15k on one meal. Fuckkk. That’s my guilty pleasure. Not much else. I don’t actually spend much on wayward enjoyment.
Financial happiness. On a scale of 1-10.
Right now? I’m very fucking happy. I think I’ve finally reached a point I wanted to get to. At this point, I can say that if my allowance was taken out, I won’t be affected. I’ll still be able to run as my own person.
The constant struggle to be your own person.
Pretty much.
What’s something you wanted me to ask that I didn’t ask?
The only thing missing is how much my parents spend on me, which I honestly dunno. Like, kids are just one big ass investment. But it’s probably pushing £50k a year.
How much of a chunk do you think that takes out of their finances?
I wouldn’t even know to be honest. Oh wait, I just checked the listing of the house when they bought it.
How much did it cost them?
₦150 million.
This story was edited for clarity.
Check back every Monday at 9 am (WAT) for a peek into the Naira Life of everyday people. But, if you want to get the next story before everyone else, with extra sauce and ‘deleted scenes’, subscribe below. It only takes a minute.
Every week, we ask anonymous people to give us a window into their relationship with the Naira – some will be struggle-ish, others boujee–but all the time, it’ll be revealing.
If you’re looking for a person who’s genuinely enthusiastic about work, the subject of this Naira Life story speaks to this.
This particular episode was pulled off in partnership with Fairmoney. They’re promising that you can get up to ₦150k in 10 minutes. Mad ting.
Age: 25
Occupation: Product Marketing
Current Income: ₦210,000/month (net)
Rent: Nil
Tell me about the very first money you made.
Let me think–it was at my Church’s Media Team. I was a P.A. to the Director of Productions.
Oh no! Wait, I also made money in school–I sold Cheese Balls and biscuits.
The first time I tracked my profit, I realised I actually made ₦5-₦7k. I went to a private University where leaving school was a problem, so I ended up having to send school workers to help me buy more goods. This was my 2nd year and I guess that counts as my true first hustle. I did this for at least 2 years.
The Church money was in my 3rd year, and that was ₦30k.
Were you getting pocket money?
I didn’t exactly grow up in a proper mummy-daddy family. So for some reason, there wasn’t any structure around pocket money. Money just came when it came. Whenever I was broke, I just go, “can I call my aunty to tell her I’m broke again?”
What other hustles did you have?
Before I served, I worked at an Ad agency as a front desk officer–₦50k, plus tax. I remember when 40-something thousand naira entered my account, and I was like, what is this tax thing for sef?
Omo, I was a big girl that time o. It was close to work, so I never spent money on transport. There was this guy who was toasting me, so he was always giving me free rides.
That period was actually the first time I bought stuff online–one rubbish skirt that cost ₦6k.
Then NYSC?
I was tired of being at home in Lagos with my folks–too much control and curfews–so I was glad I got out of Lagos. My allowee was ₦19,800, then ₦10k from my Place Of Primary Assignment (PPA).
But I had one extra hustle there: My PPA was at the Government House Church, so there was an extra gig–as a church greeter. I kid you not.
“You’re welcome to Church!” every time the governor was arriving. Different colourful clothes and all that, every Sunday.
Then I took another weekend gig that had very little to do with money. I always had this dream that I’d have some form of impact wherever I serve. And because I like kids too, I started teaching some children on weekends. I asked for ₦2k. Do you know their father still owed me? Nonsense.
When did NYSC finish?
2016. Then I started working at a small media company. I got paid ₦50k. Ah, my mum insulted me sha. Plus my uncle too. They didn’t understand how they’d spend almost 4 million on my education and then I’d settle for ₦50k for a first job.
It wasn’t even funny at all.
But to me ehn, it wasn’t really about money at the time, so I was willing to take it.
I left after three months. The structure, or more accurately, the lack of it, was a problem. I did Social Media management there.
Then I joined another media company. I was working on digital strategy and content management. This was actually where I started taking all the online courses I could find because I realised how much I liked marketing. I studied something completely different by the way.
How much did this new company pay?
I asked for ₦120k, and they basically just said: “you’ll see your salary.” That’s how my salary came and I saw ₦70k. Rookie mistake.
It was a disaster.
Then they stopped paying consistently. Then one day, in the second half of the year, we got laid off. Bruh, I cried all the way home. I didn’t even know where to start. Keep in mind I still had responsibilities with family. So I started job hunting again.
While I was looking for a job, someone told me about a woman who had a blog and needed someone to handle social media.
I was like, oya let’s do this. Why I especially liked this gig was that I had enough room to grab new skills. ₦35k.
I started at another media company in October. But how I ended up as an intern there despite having some decent experience is even more epic.
When I first applied for the gig, I got an email that said stuff like, “Oh apologies, we don’t have full-time positions, because we’ve hired for these positions. But we have internship positions.”
I was willing to take it to be honest, but my mum was like “what exactly is your problem? What internship are you doing with all your past experience again?” She wasn’t having any of it.
But I really felt like this company was pretty much one of the biggest in the media game.
When I resumed, there were no ‘filled out full-time positions’. In fact, no fulltime hires had been made recently. They just wanted someone who could do all the work for less money. The learnings ended up becoming valuable, but I can’t forget that.
I got paid ₦40k at first, then later ₦50k after 3 months.
Crazy.
Also, I still had the side hustle–that woman with her blog–that gave me ₦30k.
My internship was supposed to last 6 months, but by the sixth month, there was no word of the way forward. So when I sent in a notice that I was going to quit, I got a “Oh you’re going to get a raise. We’re going to confirm you, full-staff.” In my head, I was like ohhhh, so you had to wait for me to try to quit first.
I quit anyway.
Something I told my mum before I took the job was that, when I begin to apply for other jobs, it won’t matter much that I interned. What will matter is the work I did, and bruh, did not I not do a lot of work? It stretched me intensely.
Then I joined another company and my net was ₦210k. Even better is that it was also close to home. The thing about this new gig is that it required all my attention when I joined, so I quit my side hustle.
What has changed about your perspective, in all this time?
As much as I say money is not everything, it’s still a major key. Being broke makes me cranky. Even in my relationships, when I tell you I have a problem, I don’t even need to ask you to give me money. You’re just supposed to use your head.
Okay, let’s talk about the money you currently earn.
First of all, I budget a lot. I know where my next salary is going.
I tend to feel bad about it, but I spend a significant amount of my money on hair. My monthly spending tends to change a lot too. For example, my ideal savings should be ₦100k. But then I spend on hair, and that one just disappears. Also, makeup. Usually, each time I’m shopping for makeup, the budget is ₦10k, but I just bought a crazy new brand that’s more expensive–₦26k.
See ehn, I’m not doing again.
Let’s create a scenario of what an average month looks like
looks like.
I’m also big on kolo or piggybank–anyone you call it. I just throw change in there. I’m not a cash person, so every time I withdraw money, I make sure to keep some of it in. I have no idea how much I have in there to be honest.
There’s also the part where I’m obsessed with clothes.
What’s the highest you’ve spent on clothes at once?
I spent ₦50k once. It might not seem like a lot, but that’s a quarter of my salary. No shopping for another four months after that.
How else do you manage your money?
I sit down at home. What am I looking for about? If you want to take me out, come and carry me, please dear. Last weekend, when I wanted to go out so badly, I slept through it. When I’m craving anything that involves going out, I sleep. Sleep works like magic.
Let’s talk about your airtime spending.
I was in a long distance relationship with someone Abroad, we used to text and do video calls. Then I took a break. Then I started talking to someone back here. That meant that I started buying airtime to talk on the phone because the Internet can’t be trusted. I’ll buy ₦1k airtime, and next thing I’ll hear after talking a little is “your account balance is low.”
Mad ting.
One of the guys I’m currently reviewing said we need to take a break from going out. Because every time we go out, it’s like “let’s go and eat here,” “let’s go and chill there,” and then you end up spending money. One guy took me to this restaurant that’s so damn expensive. When they brought the bill like this–₦40k. And what did I even eat?
Local relationships are expensive. You want to go to nice places but they’re all overpriced. Abroad, good pizza is cheap, but here everything is expensive.
Long distance relationships or just being single saves you money.
Okay back to income: How much do you feel like you should be taking home monthly?
Like ₦400k. Because my work stretches me mentally a lot. I have sleepless nights just trying to crack it. If the things I come up with to add value to the company, I should be paid. My work takes all my time. I have no work/life balance. If I spend so much time on my work, I should be paid more.
How much do you think you should be earning in 5 years?
I see myself being Marketing Director in a top company. Or a marketing consultant. I should be earning like ₦3 million a month when I think of where I’m headed and the amount of knowledge I’ll have by then. This figure is of course based on the current value of the naira.
What is something you want right now but can’t afford?
A car. I need it now-now. I’m done with these Uber drivers. I’m tired–the ones that smell, the ones that talk to me one kain, the ones that annoy me.
The car I want is ₦10 million, but the one I’ll manage is ₦2 million. Two separate things.
When do you think you’ll retire?
I intend to run a primary and secondary school in my 50s, when I’m done with the corporate world. But if you’re asking when I’m going to stop working, the answer is never, because I really can’t be idle.
How much do you know about your pension?
13k gets put in my pension account every month? To be honest I’m not sure. It’s just one of those things I do because they said we should do it. But I don’t feel strongly about it, because I feel like if I have my own money, I won’t need it. But they say things might just go wrong and then you suddenly need it.
Last thing you bought that required serious planning?
My phone. It cost ₦306k. My Airpods, on the other hand, didn’t require serious planning because I bought it once–it did require serious thinking.
Most annoying miscellaneous.
As much as I didn’t want to do it and didn’t budget for it, it was school fees for one of my siblings. It was some ridiculous reason that would mean he didn’t resume on time, so I paid ₦40k.
Do you have any investments?
My baby brother’s business. Investment is something you get out right? Uhm, no I don’t. Because it’s more of giving than actual investing. This is why I want to start my own. I also want to invest in someone’s business soon. Someone I know is starting a food business.
Rate your financial happiness over 10?
Something like a 6.5. My current income just gets me the basics, but there are so many things I need that I don’t have. Like my car, I want my car now.
There’s still so much more I want to do, but I can’t do now. I won’t say I’m unhappy, but I need more to be able to do more things than I can do now.
What’s something you’d have loved me to ask you but I didn’t?
I was hoping you’d ask how much I’ve ever earned in my entire life?
That’s interesting, tell me.
Add all the money I’ve earned since then–the 50k gigs, side hustles, the end of year bonuses and returns on small investments here and there. I’ll put the money at maybe ₦15 million?
What’s next?
I’m starting a side hustle soon, it’s more about finding personal purpose than finding money. I feel the need to touch lives to directly and I want to do it with business.
The funding for this? It will have to come from my savings.
It’s time to put all that kolo money to work.
Two things:
The people at Fairmoney aren’t playing around with this spray-the-cash movement. You shouldn’t be playing either. Check it out now-now.
Check back every Monday at 9 am (WAT) for a peek into the Naira Life of everyday people.
But, if you want to get the next story before everyone else (plus some stuff I might have edited out), just hit me up here. It takes only one minute.
