These underrated jobs can lead to financial independence
What does a job mean to you? For some people, it must involve rushing out of the house in the morning to go to it. For some others, work is simply anything that pays the bill.
Some jobs are undervalued but that does not remove its lucrative nature from it. Some others include opportunities that hide in plain sight.
1. SCRAP BUSINESS:
Scraps are metal wastes that are reprocessed into other useful metals.
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You probably have seen some of those young men, mostly from the northern part of Nigeria going about your neighbourhood collecting scraps.
Those boys are not wasting their time. They are probably earning more money than a regular job could be paying you.
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Here is the thing, whether here in Nigeria or for export, scraps pay. In Nigeria here, recycling companies pay as much as 35-40,000 per ton on scraps. That is between 350 and 400,000 naira per 10 tons if you can afford to gather as much, every month.
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And then if you decide to export them, that is, if you gather tons of it, that is huge earner of foreign exchange.
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The global scrap recycling market is expected to hit 400 billion dollars by 2020. In the global market, a ton of scrap goes for about $200.
If you convert to Nigeria’s parallel market exchange rate, that is about 72,000 naira. 10 tons will then give you about 720,000 naira. That is pretty much better than sitting at home and waiting for dream job.
2. FLOWER FARMING:
Oyibo people call this one, horticulture. Horticulture is described as the science and art of growing plants.
Flowers are a thing across cities in Nigeria and the business is estimated at 105 billion dollars globally.
From conservationists to landscaping, flower farming is a big business. While the market is in the city, as a farmer, you can start small in a city suburb where you access to land, and water comes at little to no cost.
Fresh flowers cost as much as 20 – 50,000 naira per bouquet in Nigeria and farmers can make as much as 400,000 naira per month.
3. PHOTOGRAPHY:
You may think that smartphones have destroyed photography. But the reverse is the case. The more photography seemed ubiquitous, the more the need for outstanding skills in photography are needed.
In cities across Nigeria, photographers continue to be in high demand especially for special events and ceremonies.
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Some photographers have taken the profession to a whole new level but even as an amateur photographer, you can earn as much as 50,000 per event. In Lagos for instance, average photographers earn as much as 100,000 per event.
With about 55,000 naira, you can get an optical zoom compact camera that will make you look like a pro. If you are just stepping into the city of Lagos for instance, fresh from school, this wouldn’t be a bad place to start.
4. FREELANCE WRITING:
In a digital economy defined by quantity and quality of content, freelance writing has become a sought-after lucrative job.
Freeclance writers generally research stories, write them and contribute to newspapers, magazines and blogs. For so many people in the media, they could not think of a better way to kickstart their career. Some become so good at it that they earn so much money and never commit to taking a day job.
Some of the greatest works you read from major media organisations are produced by freelance writers.
As a freelancer, no one would accuse of moonlighting, meaning you can write for several platforms at the same time.
As a freelancer, you can earn as much as 100,000 a month depending on how serious you are. Generally, committed freelancers earn as much as 2 million naira per annum.
You can start by being a guest contributor to popular platforms and then begin to pitch your stories to interested platforms.