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Graduate Salaries in Kenya : A Review
Rank: New-farer Joined: 7/14/2011 Posts: 27 Location: Mombasa
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addidaskawembe wrote:@new investor, I will give you an honest assessment out of my 18+ years experience in recruitment and management.
Most companies recruit attitude and then train the skills on the job, it’s no longer about degree’s & papers only.
Companies are looking for people who are innovative and are ready to take initiative without being reminded, people who are solution driven and can think out of the box.
Good recruiters can detect this during interviews from how your CV looks, what you have done during and after your university days.
Our current university products are mostly lazy, cannot take initiative, all they think of is earning big salaries and working for big companies simply because they have papers.
I have even seen people rushing to arm themselves with Masters e.g. MBA’s so that they can bargain higher salaries and earn more yet they cannot deliver anything.
Do your own research and you will confirm that most of our so called graduates cannot even express themselves in both oral and written, their writing skill is highly wanting with too much SMS style colloquia.
I can give you numerous examples of mid level college products I have personally recruited who have outshone the so called graduates, no wonder now days graduates are offered much less than they think they are worth.
By the way university education is supposed to equip graduates to become EMPLOYERS not EMPLOYEES.
That is the new problem now, people rushing to get 'papers'. They get the out of peer pressure and in the end after the masters degree someone doesnt know what they shall do with the cert but to negotiate for more salary instead of looking at a line of work that will help them apply what they have acquired. With the wrong motivation that results to some getting this masters then you get the problem of not only communication skills but nothing to right home about regarding their ideas or analytical skills. Theirs is at best equal to an undergraduate or even high school graduate. More should be done to ensure that the 'papers' are earned not through fees but by effort. Part of the blame is also the institutions which are now businesses instead of first being gateways to education. We have campuses of Universities everywhere with some of the institutions not being bothered about the standard of the teaching staff hence the students arent helped by their own effort or by their lecturers
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Rank: Member Joined: 3/24/2010 Posts: 677 Location: Nairobi
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I love the way people are talking about recruitment like it is such a straight forward thing in Kenya. How come no is mentioning the tribalism and nepotism involved in job searches. The godfathers and the great godfathers. There are so many people hired in so many jobs that they are not even qualified for, forget the salary but because they know a certain big shot. I think when discussing anything job related this has to be considered.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 6/8/2007 Posts: 675
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I concur @addidaskawembe, a lot of graduates in Kenya are so focused on the money that they fail to make themselves worth the money. And in this case we're not talking about more papers, but skill and attitude. Some of these Masters students ask for big salaries but leave a lot to be desired! Form is temporary, class is permanent
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/21/2006 Posts: 422 Location: Nairobi
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...... all pipo who work or in businesses want money whether degreed or not and generally the more money you can get the better....... If you can ask for more and more and keep getting.....why not..it feels good.
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/26/2011 Posts: 759
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... I have a friend who is a medical doctor in Kenya he graduated 4 yrs ago,he told me that the government pays him 65k a month and so he is forced to work in a number of other private hospitals inorder to make a living, I am a believer in free market principles but it doesn't make sense to pay a doctor 65k and an MP 650K it just doesn't sit well with me!
... What can we do? Kenyans should stand up for themselve, with inflation of over 18% and the government loosing money through corruption and defence of the rich and powerful, Kenyans should start a movement.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/22/2011 Posts: 193 Location: nairobi
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It's a matter of demand and supply.....
After graduation; you do the job that you get first then build your career from that point, Be it the 10k job or the 50K job
Moving from the entry level position to the next position depends on the skills you have learnt, the opportunities, your immediate manager and luck.
After five years of experience; gaining skills and the papers that's when you stand a chance to negotiate salaries, choose options etc.
This is for an almost normal curve (without any influence from Godfathers etc)though there are people who start high, there are others who get stuck at the entry level positions and others who will move from level 1 to level four.
At the lower levels; supply is more than the demand. in the upper levels; demand is higher than the supply.
My two Zimcents.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 11/2/2006 Posts: 1,206 Location: Nairobi
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Querry....so on point.I think your remarks should end this discussion. Guys will complain and complain but nothing will change.Another option is to start a business and pay yourself the salary you want.Start off at 200k even! Formally employed people often live their employers' dream & forget about their own.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 12/23/2010 Posts: 1,229
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bird_man wrote:
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Another option is to start a business and pay yourself the salary you want.Start off at 200k even!
 people should get over that sense of entitlement - no one "owes" you...
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Rank: Elder Joined: 10/9/2008 Posts: 5,389
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Now that alot has been said here about graduates from Kenyan universities, how's the quality of those from foreign universities?
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Rank: Elder You have been a member since:: 10/11/2006 Posts: 2,304
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accelriskconsult wrote:Gordon Gekko wrote:In my small sphere of work, I get better value from technicians out of polytechnics, better accounts staff from CPA graduates. I have been hugely disappointed by the so called graduates seconded to me. I think there is a confusion about what to expect from University graduates. There is such a thing as pure book keeping for which you require a technician (KATC) rather than a professional (CPA) or a draftsman rather than an architect. A B.com accounting graduate can only be referred to as an accountant after passing a professional accounting exam and practising for not less than 2 years. Once you move away from book keeping and start considering financial management or management accounting, try the technician and you get into trouble instantly. At the grad/CPA/ACCA/CFA level, you have to understand that you are training someone to become a manager/key decision maker in 3 - 5 yrs. If your CPA candidate started at KATC level because (s)he did not qualify to directly sit the CPA exam, chances are that all you can train them to become is junior level management- can never see the big picture and is always caught in the nitty gritty of every day life. I think we all need to (i)define what we expect from graduates (ii) improve recruitment practices - most of the time this is where Company's, recruiters fail (iii) Be willing to train and not expect instant solutions - this is called investing The kind of graduate we end up with says a lot about who we are as recruiters. May be, we should start by looking at ourselves and laying the blame squarely at our door steps. LIKE. Conventional thinkers waste time building shelters when they are unnecessary and then have no shelters when they need them the most. Socionomists do the opposite.
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Rank: Member Joined: 7/9/2011 Posts: 730 Location: Nairobi
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jaggernaut wrote:Now that alot has been said here about graduates from Kenyan universities, how's the quality of those from foreign universities? I am not an employer but i generally have low regard for people who have first degree in abroad mostly because they couldnt make it into Kenyan unis. But generally work ethic and discipline is alot better in western unis than our public colleges I am wondering out of all Wazuans on this thread, how many of you are graduates. Everywhere i ve worked i always noticed an unspoken tension between Diploma guys and graduates. The former feel they know as much as (if not more) than graduates but earn less, while graduates generally have a superiority complex our goals are best achieved indirectly
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 4/16/2010 Posts: 906 Location: Nairobi
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I think the tension here is between wazuan graduates and wazuan employers.
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Rank: Member Joined: 11/26/2007 Posts: 118
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Fellow Wazuans, I am suprised that all of you have turned my question about how to shame low paying big companies like Equity, Kcb, UBA, etc into a discussion of how people get their salaries. This thought was born out of a realistion that as a graduate earning Kes, 15,000 I depend on my husband for my fare and lunch and sometimes (Like when he's away), I almost miss work. One time our business was down , I decided to pay rent and of course shopping for my grand parents and within 2 days I had no money. I tried to put myself in shoes of some of my single friends, and especially, the guys. Who gives them fare when they run out? Isn't this what encourages night robbers, terrorism etc coz people have to make ends meet? Before I got married, my parents encouraged me to take the job and continued supporting me with rent, food etc What about those whose parents are unable to asist them? Is it normal for a graduate to be living on his parents/ spouse? So, back to my NAME and SHAME forum. If you can only afford to pay a low salary, doesn't it also mean that a form four graduate, can do the job? Why do you want to hire a graduate to do simple tasks yet they are qualified for complex tasks? Give Away FREE Reports and Affiliate Tools.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 12/23/2010 Posts: 1,229
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new investor wrote:Fellow Wazuans,
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If you can only afford to pay a low salary, doesn't it also mean that a form four graduate, can do the job?
Why do you want to hire a graduate to do simple tasks yet they are qualified for complex tasks? Asked the other way...why does a graduate apply for a job that requires him to do simple tasks yet s/he is trained for complex tasks? If you're not satisfied...dont apply...or resign..or look for a better paying job...its how life works. P.S. I am yet to meet an employee who is paid "enough".
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Rank: Member Joined: 2/20/2007 Posts: 767
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@new vestor, I empathise with your situation but I tell you employers have a harder time getting good employees than vice versa. Please don't complain about your 15k. Apply a common tool called a budget rather than your adhoc spending above. You seem more priviledged than most with parents who can assist rather than vice versa. Consider your job as entry level, build on your skills and knowledge, be honest and diligent and in 5 yrs revisit this post and see hom far you will have gone. I repeat, there is a great shortage of honest, diligent, intelligent, forward looking, qualified personel in Kenya and an employer who lands one of these will not let them go easily. They must find it difficult....... those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. -G. Massey.
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Rank: Member Joined: 11/26/2007 Posts: 118
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@ tom boy... if I had to pay rent in Ngara ( close to town) It would be a minimum of 9k for a single room... Fare to and from Ngara (off peak) is 50/= daily making around 1k Daily food budget (280 *30)= 8400 2pkts Milk 70 1/2 kg Meat 180 Cabage/spinach 20 Tomatoes 10 Lunch 100 ( Minimum in town)= 2500 Shopping = 5k Electricity and water bills = 1k TOTAL MONTHLY REQUIREMENT = 26,900Anyway where is one meant to get the deficit? Theft, robbery, terrorism etc Anyway fellow wazuans, if you have no response to my question about the site, please stop spamming my post.........Give Away FREE Reports and Affiliate Tools.
Earn commissions from sales of Our Do-It-Yourself List Building Resources.
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Rank: Member Joined: 11/26/2007 Posts: 118
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NAME AND SHAME LOW PAYING COMPANIES
Fellow Wazuans, I got all types of responses on my earlier Topic on Graduate Salaries. Now, I am creating a site to NAME AND SHAME companies that pay their graduate employees very low salaries while posting very high profits and engaging in all manner on CHARITABLE projects so as to look GOOD to the masses. My humble request to you all is that this is a project in pipeline, If you are not contributing to the project, kindly do not express other opinions that are of no assistance in this post. You are welcome to start your own post and state whatever you think is right and why you think so.
Thank youGive Away FREE Reports and Affiliate Tools.
Earn commissions from sales of Our Do-It-Yourself List Building Resources.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 12/23/2010 Posts: 1,229
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You cannot stop people from expressing their opinions
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Rank: Member Joined: 2/20/2007 Posts: 767
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new investor wrote:@ tom boy... if I had to pay rent in Ngara ( close to town) It would be a minimum of 9k for a single room...
Fare to and from Ngara (off peak) is 50/= daily making around 1k
Daily food budget (280 *30)= 8400
2pkts Milk 70
1/2 kg Meat 180
Cabage/spinach 20
Tomatoes 10
Lunch 100 ( Minimum in town)= 2500
Shopping = 5k
Electricity and water bills = 1k
TOTAL MONTHLY REQUIREMENT = 26,900
Anyway where is one meant to get the deficit?
Theft, robbery, terrorism etc
Anyway fellow wazuans, if you have no response to my question about the site, please stop spamming my post......... sigh.... you need prayers.. They must find it difficult....... those who have taken authority as the truth, rather than truth as the authority. -G. Massey.
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/14/2011 Posts: 132 Location: Darasani
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How ignorant i was to think that once i graduate life will be simpler. ~ Inabidi nianze kujipanga. All you can do is all you can do; but all you can do is enough!
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