7 Years Jobless with a Degree, Until I Broke Whatever Was Blocking Me

 

 

I remember the day I graduated like it was yesterday. My mother ululated until she lost her voice. My father slaughtered a goat back home in Siaya. “Engineer wetu atatuinua,” they kept saying proudly. I was the firstborn. A degree holder. A future.

But nobody prepared me for the 7 years of pure humiliation that followed.

I applied for jobs everywhere, parastatals, NGOs, even small companies in Industrial Area. I printed CVs until I could smell toner in my sleep. I did interviews, unpaid internships, volunteer work… but nothing ever came through.

Every time I’d reach the final stage of a job, I’d be told, “We’ve gone with someone more experienced,” or worse, they’d ghost me.

Friends I studied with got absorbed into big firms. I watched them buy cars, take vacations, move to better houses. I, on the other hand, moved back to my parents’ home with nothing but a degree and shame. to read more click here