3min read • 6 months ago
https://substack.com/@theubani
To equip young Medical Laboratory Science graduates in Nigeria, particularly those undergoing their one-year internship, with practical knowledge on earning and saving.
Internship, Medical Laboratory Science, savings culture, budgeting, investment literacy, soft skills.
Expository essay
You’re a Medical Laboratory Scientist in your internship year. You're clocking into the lab early, staining slides, running tests, dodging passive-aggressive patient relatives, and literally trying to make it to the next week. As if that is not enough, the monetary reward for all your effort is barely enough to keep up with the constant expenses - and to make matters worse, it often shows up fashionably late. Can you relate?
Internship in Nigeria is a financial reality check. For many, it’s the first time earning a steady (albeit small) income and as such, a crash course in adulting. Between transportation, data, daily feeding, and the occasional craving to enjoy a bit of “soft life,” many interns find themselves living from alert to alert.
Take Chimezie as an instance. As is often the case, he waited thirteen long months after induction before securing an internship slot. When the placement finally came, he was thrilled. So, in the rush and excitement of new beginnings, he pledged to himself to save 40 per cent of his stipend. The first month goes by - nothing. He tells himself it’s fine; after all, the cost of relocation, (sparingly) furnishing a room, and settling in ate deep into the money. He shifts his savings goal to the next month. Then the next. And then the next, until it gets to the 12th month and he realises a whole year has gone by.
This brings to mind a haunting Igbo highlife line from an Nkwere Aborignes Women Club track:
“Okwu ụka si na ọmú nwa, e gbuo ru ya ewu ya. Okwu ụka mucha nwa, e rere ya ewu ya n’ahia. Okwu ụka nwa tụrụ chi ya uka, ụwa ọ dị gị ọlịa?”
A gabby woman who kept boasting that childbirth would earn her a goat slaughtered in celebration, only to end up selling her goat to cover delivery bills. For many interns, that’s exactly how it feels. A year that was supposed to be about building experience and laying a financial foundation turns into a cycle of unexpected bills, borrowing, and postponed plans. If one does not exercise adequate caution, it is easy to end up not just with zero savings, but neck-deep in debt. However, some interns and young people have managed to navigate this demanding year with a surprising level of financial control. How did they do it? What are they doing differently? What skills do you need to buy a car with your internship money - or, realistically, what must you start doing to stop it from vanishing mid-month?