With the incessant strike action carried out by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, it has become imperative for students to seek new and better ways of upskilling and staying relevant in line with ongoing trends and new demands from recruiters.
A typical ASUU strike may last for a few weeks to several months and in some cases a full-blown academic year.
It is not uncommon for ASUU strike to happen at least once during an academic year.
While the university lecturers may be demanding what is due to them, the main victims of the constant strikes are students of public universities in Nigeria.
First, they are left idling away for several months during the long periods of strike thereby adding an extra burden to their parents at home.
Another negative effect of ASUU strike is having students’ projected graduation period automatically extended thereby disrupting the plans they may have to secure jobs or go for their Master’s Degree within a specified period.
Many students are very sad during ASUU strikes due to idleness and often do not know what to do with the spare time they have in their hands.
This is why we have put together 10 productive things a student can do during ASUU strike that will be beneficial to them.
Yes ASUU strike is a pain but it can also be a blessing.
Here are 10 things you can do during ASUU strike that will leave you better off both financially and otherwise.
1. Learn Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing is one of the most lucrative and high-in-demand skills on the internet today. It involves helping Companies, digital creators, and entrepreneurs sell their products and earning generous commissions while at it.
Thankfully, you don’t have to move from place to place trying to sell these products as you can do it right from your mobile phone or laptop.
There are students in Nigeria who earn between N15,000 weekly to over N1 Million monthly by combining affiliate marketing with their full-time studies.
This young man started his affiliate marketing journey while studying Chemistry at the University of Ibadan and today he’s an accomplished young person travelling to various parts of Africa from the income he makes from his affiliate marketing journey. If you are interested in Affiliate marketing and would love to learn directly from him, check out his training here. It costs N30,000 but it’s worth it.
2. Become a Virtual Assistant
Learning to become a virtual assistant by offering several services to clients online can earn you some good flexing money while you’re waiting for ASUU to call off the strike.
A virtual assistant usually helps clients with things such as checking and replying to emails, arranging meetings, booking flights and planning their schedules. In some cases, you might help your client do some shopping online.
If you don’t know how to start rendering virtual assistance services, this link has more details.
3. Apply to remote jobs
If you already have skills such as graphics/UI/UX design, programming or even writing, you can brush up your skill sets and begin applying for remote jobs. This article details how to get your first remote job even if you are a newbie. You can also check out a list of remote jobs here.
4. Write IELTS
If you are the type that wants to go abroad or japa via the study route, you know that IELTS is one of the requirements for some universities abroad.
ASUU strike is a good time to study and take the IELTS exams. If you would like to have a high score in your IELTS exams, this material can help.
5. Apply for foreign Scholarships
Apart from the exposure, you will get, one good thing about going to school abroad is that there are no ASUU strikes.
Your projected year of graduation is certain so far you do not fail certain courses in your program.
However, not a lot of people have rich parents who can sponsor them to go to school abroad. Thankfully there are lots of scholarship programs you can apply to that offer partial or full scholarships. Make sure to check the scholarship session of Lavhi to see the various scholarships on offer.
6. Create a YouTube channel
You might not know it but having a YouTube channel is one of the best-kept secrets in the world. A Youtube channel where you share your skills and knowledge or just talk about anything that interests you can help to build your brand, position you as an expert in your field and make you good money. Nigerian Youtubers like Tayo Aina, Fisayo Fosudo, Sisi Yemmie and Miss Techie have found great success on Youtube. If you’re thinking of creating a successful Youtube channel and need a guide, check out this premium Youtube training by Dr Malik.
7. Start an Online store
Who says you can’t start an online store and make money for yourself during the ASUU strike. There are several tools you can use to create a free online store and sell items like clothes, shoes, bags and accessories. Some of my favourite platforms to create a free online store in Nigeria include Paystack, Flutterave and Selar.
8. Learn a Digital skill
Skills like Data Analytics, Product Management, Project Management, and Software Engineering are highly in demand in the job market today. If you are proficient in any of these areas, most companies will not even ask for your Degree before hiring you. This could be a good time to acquire some digital skills that will put you at a place of advantage in the future. Just pick an area, go online and enrol for a program.
There are lots of free online programs you can join to learn many of these skills. Platforms like ALX & Entry Level are a good place to start. Even Google is a great place to find great resources to learn any of these skills.
9. Learn an offline skill
While online/digital skills are hot, you may still have a passion for the arts and crafts. ASUU strike is a good time to learn things like Cooking, Interior Design, Phone repairing, Agriculture, Playing the Piano and lots more.
10. Travel to a new place
This is also a good time to travel to a new place and develop a growth mindset! Go visit your cousins, friends and relatives in other cities and countries apart from yours. Travel is a good avenue to learn about other people and different cultures. You can take advantage of the ASUU strike to go somewhere new.
I hope you found this article useful? What are you doing this ASUU strike? What other things do you think students can do during ASUU strike?
Affiliate Disclosure: Note that this article contains affiliate links and I may be offered a small commission if you chose to buy anything using any of the links on this article.
