The Future of Employment is Evolving, and so should YOU.

Growing up, going to school, and acquiring degrees, we all had one dream

To get the big job at the big company, wear corporate suits, sit in rooms with AC, and climb up the corporate ladder.

We admired our parents or relatives who had corporate 8 - 5 jobs. It was the Ugandan dream. Even socially, we had respect for the people we knew who stayed in one company for 20+ years. Like my dad, he was in the army for a while, got promoted, and I thought of him as a successful man.

That kind of career path was and still is honorable. It means stability, belonging, success, and more.

Even today, after graduation, there’s a sense of pride when someone asks where you work and you get to say, “I’m at URA” or “I work at Ecobank.” You feel accomplished. Your parents are proud. It looks and feels like you’ve made it.

That was the dream I carried for most of my career, until life had other plans.

Like many young people, I’ve hopped from job to job in search of that “dream” position. The one that would check all the boxes: good pay, a reputable company, benefits, stability, and of course, parental approval.

But what happens when that “dream job” doesn’t come?

What happens when the opportunities seem few and the competition fierce? When you keep getting rejection emails, or worse, no responses at all? When the prestigious company your family hoped you’d work for never calls back?

The future of employment has completely changed.

Over 8 months ago, I lost my job. And like anyone would, I went back to job hunting, let's not even go into how hard that is. 

But this time, with the help of mentors, I was advised to be more intentional. So that meant I wasn’t rushing to just take anything. I wanted a legitimate role in a registered company, with fair pay and maybe health insurance (you know, all the nice benefits). The more I filtered and refined my search, the fewer options seemed to exist. It became painfully clear how tough the job market had become.

In a conversation with a friend, they asked, “But what can you do now?”

I listed about 6 or 7 skills, things I’d done across my career, from Communications to Podcasting and Content Creation.

He looked at me and said, “Why don’t you offer that as a service?”

That simple question has haunted me for a while. It took me a moment to adjust and embrace it because I wanted formal employment, I wanted to belong, to be part of the bigger companies we grew up seeing on TV, but at the same I’ve gradually come to embrace what it could look like for me.

Fast-forward three or four months in, and I must say, so far not bad, one day at a time, I’m proud of how far I’ve come.

If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s this:

We need to stop waiting for the old world of work to return. It’s not. The security of a single employer for decades is no longer the only (or best) route (well, at least in this economy). We’re in a new era. One driven by skills, adaptability, and innovation.

I've seen my peers go back to upgrade to a master's even before doing any real work in the world, and not to judge, but in my opinion, I think instead of wasting loads of money doing endless courses, start looking for gaps in society and find ways to solve them.

Take a look at the future of your industry. Explore AI and Tech. Study experts, what are they building, predicting, and talking about?

Don’t get trapped in the traditions of 20 years ago. We’re a different generation. The future belongs to you, and it’s being written now.

Curve into it. Shape it.