Yaoundé: Let me set the record straight before I delve into this: I have a Masters degree which I earned from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. I graduated in 2023 and two years later, I think I can safely assess what impact my masters degree has had on my career so far. I’ll be honest to say that my masters has had little effect on my career. Does it mean a Masters degree is useless, absolutely not. However, I will be honest and admit that when I went in for a masters degree, my expectations were pretty high about my job prospects post-graduation. How deadly wrong I was! I assumed that once I had graduated, I would earn a salary in the 500,000 to 700,000 CFA pay scale.

According to Cameroon News Agency, this was certainly the case 30 or 40 years ago when Masters degree holders were few and far between. The population in Cameroon was relatively smaller too, and it meant that those with Masters degrees could easily land jobs with international organizations or get promoted quickly within th
e ranks of whatever corporate body they worked for.

Fast-forward to today and there’s a school on almost every street corner in Cameroon, dishing out masters degrees galore. Most of those aged 20 to 40 have a bachelor’s degree or a masters degree. This has led to an oversaturation of highly educated individuals in the job market, diminishing the value of a masters degree in securing high-paying jobs or rapid promotions.