Lilo has something heavy (and hilarious) to get off her chest. Let’s talk careers, passions, and the generational mess we’ve found ourselves in. Because honestly, it’s not just South Africa — this thing is global. From Lagos to Joburg to New York, young people are picking careers that either don’t make sense, don’t pay, or are already so overpopulated that they’ve basically turned into waiting rooms instead of opportunities.
Let’s start with us — Gen Z. Compared to Millennials (who I must admit are a little sharper than us), we’re fumbling. And don’t get me started on the generation after us… they’re not doing much better. We live in a world where certain jobs are urgently needed, yet most of us are flooding into faculties that don’t have space for us anymore. For example: Law. Everybody wants to be a lawyer. Nigerians especially love the barrister outfits — scroll through graduation photos and it’s robes everywhere. But isn’t this career already overflowing? And let’s be honest: a lot of those students aren’t choosing law out of passion, but because their parents shoved them into it.
And that’s the African mentality still alive today: if you want respect and money, you must be a doctor, an engineer, or a lawyer. Period. As if being a farmer, welder, or plumber is useless. Yet those so-called “dirty jobs” are the backbone of the economy. Personally, I salute men who do them, because let’s be real — 80% of women (myself included) wouldn’t go near that kind of work. Meanwhile, toxic feminists scream equality while ignoring that someone has to climb into the sewers and fix the pipes. Fantasy, fantasy.
But here’s where I check myself. I underestimated doctors. I thought, “Everyone is becoming a doctor, so what’s the point?” But the truth is, South Africa (and the world) is desperate for more healthcare workers. Still, don’t expect me to join that battlefield. The sight of blood? I would faint on the patient before the surgery even started. And engineers? Same story. Critical, but overcrowded with students whose parents forced them
there.
And yet, the real problem is this: the jobs that are most urgently needed — healthcare, engineering, ICT, skilled trades, maintenance — are the very ones so many of us don’t enjoy. How do you survive three or four years in university studying something you hate, just because the economy needs it? It’s not easy. But if we don’t do it, then what? Countries end up hiring outsiders, importing skills, or handing everything to AI. And that comes at a huge cost.
This is where the debate gets juicy: should we follow what we love, knowing it may not pay or help the economy much? Or should we sacrifice passion for the careers that are scarce, lucrative, and desperately needed — even if we don’t enjoy them? Or is there some middle ground, like doing your passion but keeping a scarce-skill job as a side hustle?
So I throw it to you, readers of TheDreamersPause: what’s the solution? Do we chase love, money, or the economy? Let’s debate — because this crisis isn’t just mine, it’s all of ours.
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