Political science graduate of University of Ghana turns mechanic after years of being jobless, now happy, he narrates it all
Every graduate hopes to find employment after spending so many years in school to earn a degree.
After years of unemployment, that goal is quickly fading for many young people, and Abdul Mumin Dabone, a University of Ghana political science graduate, is no exception.
After graduating from the university in 2021, Abdul Mumin encountered difficulties in finding employment.
The graduate began working as a mechanic in March of this year after struggling to find a rewarding position after finishing his required 1-year national service.
Mumin described his life of hustling, saying that he had a few jobs to keep him active even though they were all unfulfilling since he detested being idle.
READ BELOW, MUMIN’S NARRATION:
I am Luqman Abdul Mumin Dabone. A graduate of the University of Ghana with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. I graduated from the University in 2021 and since then, life has been a series of events till I officially started as an automotive mechanic on Monday, 20th March 2023. This is how it all began and I hope you will be inspired to make a change in your life as well.
Life wasn’t easy after National service, and the man wanted to jump on every opportunity we got to make ourselves useful. Luckily, I got a few opportunities to keep me busy though they were all not satisfying.
I hated to be idle and to be at home. Being at home made me too comfortable and lazy to explore more options. But the question has always been, how did you arrive at being a mechanic? I hope this simplifies it.
Two things were considered in making this decision. Learning a skill and chasing my passion.
I found myself in deep thought for days and had sleepless nights. I had a lot going on in my mind especially being an ambitious person I was really obsessed about being successful. The question I kept asking myself during those hard moments of thought was, “Where do I really want to find myself in the next 5 years?”. I really wanted to be brutally honest with myself and not just about making a decision to suit the current trend. It was really hard and I cried sometimes when I felt helpless. As Muslim as I could be, I surrendered everything to Allah and kept praying and hoping for a way out.
I sat down to observe the trend of the successful paths in this generation and all I could hear in my mind was, “Learn a skill, just learn a skill”. It kept resounding in my mind and I felt definitely I could begin from there. Deciding on the skill became the biggest challenge. I tried soft skills and realized I didn’t really have the drive and enthusiasm to learn the IT skills I selected. I did all I could but realized it wasn’t working out. I turned my attention to hard skills and began to think of where exactly I should start. Quickly, I remembered I had a lingering passion for mechanics. In numerous conversations with friends I had mentioned to them that if I ever had a chance to learn a skill, it would be automotive mechanics.
Fast forward, I quit my job as a secretary in a construction company to chase my passion. I sat down with my family and we all agreed on my next career direction. Alhamdulillah!, To date, I haven’t found happiness in anything I have done in my entire life like I find in holding wrenches. I find so much joy every morning when I realize I am doing what I love best. I dance around, I sing, I laugh and share jokes with my colleagues and it’s always a happy moment here.
