Mavin Mootseng

Too proud to work for free? Then enjoy staying unemployed with a degree. After my degree I offered to work for free. None of the big audit firms wanted me, even for free. A small firm paid me N$1,000. That was the start. Ch 8 of The Graduate. Volunteer or wait? One word.

A Namibian graduate just wrote about Chapter 6 of The Graduate from her own life. She kept dating at a distance through school, then found her first adult relationship still harder than expected, not for lack of money or time, but for lack of practice. Worth reading if you waited, or if you’re guiding a teenager who hasn’t started.

Many graduates chose their career from a guess, and they pay for it for 40 years. I guessed. I picked accounting because I thought money was everything. 5 years of study later I was an N$1,000 intern. Ch 7 of The Graduate. Paperback + Kindle below. Chosen or guessed? One word.

A school relationship can cost you a whole year, and sometimes a whole career. It took me 9 years to finish my book, and my relationship at the time was one of the things that stalled it. Ch 6 of The Graduate. Paperback + Kindle below. Love or books first? One word.

Hours mean nothing. A student who understands one chapter beats one who memorised ten. It took me 17 years of school to learn that. Hours of study never worked for me. Short blocks with breaks did. Ch 5 of The Graduate. Paperback + Kindle below. Rereading or testing? One word.

Being loyal to friends who are going nowhere isn't kindness. It's slow self-sabotage. In Grade 8 I joined a gang just to fit in. I only walked away when the pressure to drink started. Ch 4 of The Graduate, paperback + Kindle below. Agree or disagree? One word.

Your child's report card is your report card. Failing kids usually come from busy homes, not bad schools. I started on a N$1,000 internship with a newborn at home. School fees aren't parenting. Ch 3 of The Graduate, paperback + Kindle below. Agree or disagree? One word.

Top of the class and clueless about life? That isn't success. It's well-dressed memorising. I topped my class 3 years running, then barely qualified for UNAM. The marks never taught me who I was. Hook 2/12 from The Graduate (paperback + Kindle below). Pass or understand?

Your degree is a receipt, not a skill. Most graduates paid for paper and called it education. I studied 5 years, forgot over half by graduation, then started on an N$1,000 internship. Hook 1/12 from The Graduate (paperback + Kindle below). Receipt or skill: what did you get?

After 5 years of study, no big firm would hire me. I learned my job on an N$1,000 internship, by doing it. Our first project: kids aged 9-15 in Windhoek take a real go-kart apart and rebuild it. The donation page is now live and verified. Link below. Mechanic 🔧 or driver 🏁?