Reasons why you must pursue a masters degree

Many people wonder if it is really worth it to pursue a Masters degree after their first degree. And to be honest there are several views on the topic.
For most people the major motive behind going for masters is the bigger paycheck and better job security., Yet are there other reasons you should pursue a masters degree apart from the financial benefits?
Below are 7 reasons:

1. In-depth knowledge:
While your first degree might be due to norm or parental pressure, deciding to pursue a masters degree in any course of study is sure to give you an in-depth knowledge in that field. You will be able to speak with authority and even improve on the way things are done in that field of study.

2. Job Opportunities:
While this may look like an obvious benefit, many do not understand that this is a great advantage. As a masters degree holder in any course of study, you are automatically qualified to serve as a consultant in that field. this means that you have the freedom to choose from a wide range of job offers, unlike bachelor degree holders.

3. Free Education
Most times scholarship opportunities and work study programs exists for those who want to pursue a masters degree, so most times you do not have to spend as much as you actually think. also some programs organize a stipend for masters degree students.

4. It Offers the opportunity to Change Careers
Some may not be happy with the degree they have from their bachelors. Therefore the masters degree gives you an opportunity to make a change to a more suitable course, one you prefer and enjoy.

5. Respectability

The respect you get from people also make pursuing a masters degree worthwhile. When someone says i have a PhD in this field, it marks him out as an intellectual and an authority. people will tend to seek his opinion on matters relating to that field.

Ways to Save Money and Be Rich after You graduate

There’s no one among us who does not like to have more money. If you sometimes wonder about how the rich and successful have so much of it though, you need to read on. We have compiled a list of hacks that you can apply in your daily life to save money the way wealthy people do.

1. Be careful about small expenses

All of us are usually careful about making big investments and huge purchases. However, we tend to spend recklessly on seemingly small expenses.
But of course, these small expenses can amass to a big amount.
As Suze Orman rightly pointed out, “Look everywhere you can to cut a little bit from your expenses. It will all add up to a meaningful sum.”

2. Focus on the future

It is very easy to spend money for getting something that we like but at the end of the day, you will end up spending everything no matter how well you earn. Shift your focus to the future instead of getting satisfaction in the present.

“You can be young without money, but you can’t be old without it.” – Tennessee Williams

3. Don’t buy unnecessary things to make an impression on people

Although we all like to have good feedback from our peers and friends regarding the things we own, we need to set a limit for us. You should buy things that you need but don’t just buy those to impress others. Otherwise the sky isn’t the limit for buying things!
“Stop buying things you don’t need, to impress people you don’t even like.” – Suze Orman

4. Put things in black and white

There are so many expenditures in today’s world that you would end up without any savings if you don’t plan and budget your money; the inflows and the outflows. Wealthy people know where their money comes from and where it goes.
An Excel sheet can really help you in this regard.
“A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.”- John C. Maxwell

5. Work hard

Unlike the common perception that wealthy people just have fun and enjoy their life, the reality is that they work harder than the common person, at least in the most productive age. So try to increase your income, and when it gets increased, save a larger portion of it than ever before.
“I like business and the truth is I save way more than I spend. I invest. I plan for the future. I have a special eye for opportunities and work harder than anyone might expect.” – Sofia Vergara

6. Save a huge portion of your income

Again, we think that wealthy people are always splurging and spending on things. No, they are not. That is why they remain wealthy.
They always save a portion of their income. So save a large proportion of what you get. This will ensure that you do not run out of money at any point in time.
“Save one-third, live on one-third and give away one-third.” – Angelina Jolie

7. Make the most of sales and bargains

Just like us, the rich love to get the highest value of money. They always try to look for getting more value through finding great deals, bargains and discounts.
“Why should you pay more for something that someone else is paying less for?” – Sarah Michelle Gellar

8. Invest your savings wisely

We usually ignore the small amounts but such tiny amounts can add up to a substantial sum. If you have more, it is even better. To top it, if you invest the money properly, you will be amazed at the result yourself.
“A penny here, and a dollar there, placed at interest, goes on accumulating, and in this way the desired result is attained. It requires some training, perhaps, to accomplish this economy, but when once used to it, you will find there is more satisfaction in rational saving than in irrational spending.”  – P. T. Barnum

9. Practice the Millionaire’s Formula

A common man’s way of thinking is usually that he saves after meeting the necessary expenditures. A wealthy person’s style is the opposite: we like to call this the Millionaire’s Formula.
Here’s how it goes: upon receiving your income, put a certain percentage towards giving back to the community, and also a certain percentage for your investments for your financial goals. Only spend what is left.
“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.” – Warren Buffet

10. Close leakages

The wealthy don’t ever pay any unnecessary charges. They remain very careful about the fees and charges that can be avoided.
“Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” – Benjamin Franklin

Follow these simple, practical tips in your life and you will be able to see the difference yourself. Happy savings!

Habits That Will Stop You From Achieving Sucess

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“I would be so successful if someone just gave me a shot!”

Many people out there have mindsets and attitudes that set them up for failure. When confronted with possible reasons for failure, or a lack of personal success, they often end up just making excuses. Here are 10 particular bad habits that keep those people from achieving success.

1. Loafing

They’ll write that novel just as soon as they’re done with their favorite show. Oh, but now they’re hungry. They’ll get started after a snack. Oh, but now that snack has made them sleepy–a little nap couldn’t hurt, right?
One of the hardest, and the most obvious, parts of achieving success is the actual work. Procrastinating, making excuses or tricking themselves into loafing is just going to cement the fact that nothing will ever get done. It might not sound pretty, or even too easy, but the easiest way to get to success is to just jump in and get going (which is exactly how I got started).

2. Blaming

It’s not their fault they’re not successful. The industry is bad, they don’t have the money, etc. When it comes down to it, however, who is the one responsible for their success? Themselves.
This is the day and age where people are launching successful start-ups in a few months, getting published online and finding their way to success one way or another. Some things might be out of their control, but blaming others is just going to waste the energy and time they need to get going.

3. Sour grapes

Being envious of the success of others is almost as bad as blaming them. All the time and energy they could be putting into their own goals is going towards a person who more than likely has done nothing but show them that the goal is attainable. They don’t have to be applauding their success, but being envious and sour about it is a waste of time–let it roll off the shoulders and dig down towards accomplishing goals.

4. Minimizing others success

Again, they don’t have to be cheering and raving about the success of others, but minimizing their accomplishments looks bad on them and on their own goals. If they attained success, would they want others rolling their eyes and treating it like it is not a big deal in the slightest? I highly doubt it. “So they climbed Mount Everest, big whoop. Plenty of people have done it before.” Have they?

5. Talking

They’re going to do this, they’re going to do that–the proof is in the pudding, ultimately. Talking about their goals and what they’re going to accomplish is all well and good, but talking time is better spent actually doing. Talking about goals has actually been shown to make you less likely to reach them, so zip up those chattering lips and dive in.

6. Making assumptions

You know what they say about the word ‘assume’, it makes an (inappropriate word I’ll leave out of this article) out of ‘u’ and ‘me’ . Unsuccessful people are the best at making assumptions without considering other outlets or opportunities. Missed chance after missed chance can put anyone behind, or completely ruin something that they poured a lot of hard work into. People are often surprised at what happens if they take a chance instead of listening to that little pessimist inside their heads. ‘Never assume’ is good advice and it is a mindset they should get out of as quickly as possible.

7. Procrastinating

This one is obvious, isn’t it? It’s about the same as loafing, but even worse because it applies to multiple areas of our lives. That big project? Eh, its not due for a week. Dreams? Eh, going to be taking a class to learn how to write in a few months, I’m just relaxing until then.
Procrastination is not the friend of successful people. Many of them had to learn how to either make procrastination work for them or to barrel through it and press on, even with the proverbial sloth demanding you park it on the couch.

8. Naysaying

“It will never work. It is impossible, I just can’t …” That is about when it is time to take a good look at what they’re doing. There are a plethora of people out there that once thought the same thing: they can’t get a man into space, they can’t find a way for a human to fly, they can’t cure a disease. Well, people did what was once considered impossible. If they can defy the entire world, why can’t they defy the internal pessimist and get there? Don’t say that it is impossible. In the world we live in today, it seems like impossible is becoming a word that gets weaker every day.

9. Consuming

Fast food, energy drinks, trash TV–their brain is sobbing at the thought. With all the time spent taking in things that are not good for their brain or body, how can anyone expect it to happily balance out and produce the stuff they need to achieve success? Output should be greater than input; though they don’t have to take the starving artist spiel literally. The point is, production is where the value is, not the absorption.

10. Quitting

“Well, I tried.” Sure, they tried once. That horse is shaking its head and trotting off to find someone who will get back on it. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with cutting losses sometimes. After all, no experience is ever truly wasted, but quitting is the mortal enemy to successful people. If they believe in something, they want to find that success, there is no road map. You may very well have to carve your own path through treacherous jungle. If they give up the first time a mosquito bites, then they’ve doomed themselves already.
Success, in large part, is about the human being in the arena. People cheer for them, their struggle and victory, but the person who watches idly and scoffs, having never tried has also never really lived.

Mindsets are not set in stone. It is never too late to get started and change perspective. After all, achieving success is completely up to them; they are the one making excuses and holding themselves back. Decide when it is time to stand up and get back into that arena.

FOR ASPIRANTS; CUT THE EXCITEMENT AND KNOW THESE THINGS

There I was on the couch watching Chelsea FC take out Leicester city FC, sipping up a banana flavor yogurt and off course, doing what every 21^st century human does with technology (gadgets); “chatting on facebook”. I was in such a great mood I decided to have some nice little chat with several aspirants. There was this economics aspirant (am sure she’s reading) who called me and kept telling me how excited she was about her screening coming up. I understood though, she couldn’t help her excitement, perfectly understandable, but I kept wondering if she was equally as prepared as her excitement level seem. So I tried screening her myself. As a prospective economics student that she was I asked her what the major tools for economic analysis were, she kept quiet as I waited, and told me she didn’t know. I was shocked. I was shocked big-time. I asked her what a “budget” was and again she didn’t know. I just spent the rest of the day wondering what she thought she was coming to KSU to do. The more I thought I started generalizing, “with all this relative excitement, what do these aspirants think they are coming to KSU to do?”

Let’s get some things perfectly clear, no staff in KSU (academic or non-academic) is going to sit with you during your screening and ask you “what is the name of the v.c” kind off questions and recommend your name for admission based on those kinds of questions. No, it’s not done. So if you are sitting somewhere thinking that’s what you’re going to meet, sorry to disappoint you but that’s most likely not what you’re going to get. So what are you getting excited about, because if you’re all excited like it’s the 25^th of December I hope for your sake you’re equally prepared.

Quite simply, it’s a test, which will be conducted orally in an interactive manner. So like the former computer based test, it’s still a test. A quick insight, shall we;

·         The advantage of this format is that questions are most likely going to be based around your course of study unlike before when candidates had to read wide to pass.

·         Come your screening date it won’t matter who you know in and around the institution. The people screening you most likely won’t know or give damn about you.

·         The only key to your success based on the advantage listed first (the test revolves around your course of study) is how prepared you are.

Below, is exactly what you need to do to be fully prepared:

-          Know the basics (very very important): how would you expect to gain admission as a geography aspiring candidate if you don’t know what percentage of the earth is covered by water, or as a math aspiring candidate if you don’t know what regression line analysis means in statistic. There is no course in the institution that does have its basics (like mass communication starting from communication, or sociology being about the environment and so on) which you should have prior knowledge about either through your secondary school or through………..

-          Doing proper research about your course of study: no matter how sound you think you are in the knowledge of your (prospective) course of study you still have to keep researching. Knowledge as they say is never enough, never ending so no matter how much you think you know there’s still a billion other things you don’t know so keep studying and researching until what you know is sufficient to see you through.

-          Dot all I’s and cross all T’s: like I said in the point above, you have to find the loopholes in your knowledge of your course of study fix them in time for your screening. Fact is, it’s just a couple of hours, but it’s the most important “couple of minutes” of your life, for now (except you’re getting ready to marry soon or something) and you have to prepare adequately for it.

-          Work on yourself: your physical appearance, your diction, your style of talking, your mode of talking, your tone of talking, the way you relate and so on. You have to work on these things, make sure they’re in sync. You have to be charismatic enough to face anybody, and speak confidently to sway anybody during your screening. Balance is also very key to, don’t appear too confident, don’t laugh too much, or at least don’t laugh when it absolutely not necessary. Don’t just frown your face like ginger bread. Be yourself but work on yourself.

-          Browse through your secondary school stuffs over and over and over………and over again: yep. Absolutely necessary too. Keep yourself fresh.

-          Know thy God: this does not need much explanation, you know what I mean.

Do all this and yes, you are good to go. Do all this and yes, you are prepared. Cut the excitement now and do these things.

Am out!!!!

J.L.O