Growing up, I was told: go to school, choose a good career, graduate with a good GPA, and a good job and a successful life would follow.

I believed it, so I studied chemical engineering at the University of South Alabama, then earned a master’s from Prairie View A&M with a 3.7 GPA and passed my engineering exam on my first try.

Yet I still couldn’t find a job — through a recession, countless applications, career fairs, and NSBE, SWE and AIChE conferences, I heard nothing.

I felt ashamed, like I had let my parents down, despite doing everything I was told to do.

Moving back to Nigeria didn’t help: after NYSC and test after test for oil companies, I got only silence, then an unfulfilling entry-level job with long nights and low pay.

That was my turning point — I admitted I wasn’t passionate about engineering and asked a better question: not “What job can my degree get me?” but “Who am I?”

Reading What Color Is Your Parachute? taught me that fulfilling work starts with discovering your interests, values, skills and strengths, then choosing work that aligns with who you are.

I hadn’t failed the formula; the formula hadn’t prepared me to discover myself before choosing a career, or to navigate real life after graduation.

That is why so many young people feel lost today, even with good grades — they were prepared to graduate, not for the real world.

Parents, try this at home: ask your child what they enjoy, what they’re naturally good at, and what problems they care about — write the answers down together, and just listen.

That simple conversation is the beginning of self-awareness, career clarity, confidence and future-ready direction.

That’s why I’m building FutureWise Lab: don’t just prepare your child to graduate, prepare them to navigate the real world — and next week, I’ll share how this led me to coach more than 3,000 students.