Who is a content marketer?

Google will likely answer this question in a number of ways, but in summary, a content marketer is a storyteller. You remember that one kid in school who’d narrate movies and season films during break time to a crowd of attentive listeners? That’s kinda like what a content marketer does.

They identify, create and distribute engaging content to attract a target audience and get them to interact with the products or services that a business offers. Content marketers employ various processes like market research, content strategy, copywriting and search engine optimization to convert prospects into customers.

Is that similar to being a copywriter or digital marketer?

A little, but they’re not exactly the same thing. 

Copywriting is more direct and is written to persuade, sell or trigger immediate action. But content marketing involves content that provides long-term value and is a gradual attempt to build relationships with the target audience and generate leads for the business. A content marketer knows when to apply copywriting, but their entire content strategy isn’t designed to only produce short-term results.

Content marketing is also sometimes considered to be digital marketing, but while they work hand-in-hand, there are slight differences in the sense that while all content marketing is digital marketing, not all digital marketing can be said to be content marketing.

Wait. I’ll explain

In content marketing, providing information to build trust is a major component of marketing. In digital marketing, online promotion is the main strategy. This involves pay-per-click advertising, like some of those (slightly annoying) unskippable ads on YouTube and other social media marketing efforts. 

In summary, many of the strategies in digital marketing don’t include informational content, which is central to content marketing. 

What skills do you need?

Writing is a key skill in content marketing. Remember, you’re telling a story, so you’ll need to know the most compelling and engaging way to tell it. 

Not like this, but you get the picture

Search engine optimization is also necessary to help you push the content you create higher in search engine results pages. Other must-have skills include content strategy and management, social media content creation, analytics and social listening.

A degree in marketing is beneficial, but not a strict requirement. You can always take content marketing courses and explore freelance or entry-level content marking opportunities to build your skill and experience.

RELATED: How to Get Into Product Marketing as a Newbie

Where can a content marketer work?

The entire business industry has come to the point where they know excellent content equals brand awareness. So, content marketing has a place in almost every industry, especially tech, media, health and FMCGs.

How much do they make?

Content marketers are in reasonably-high demand these days, and while earning power depends on experience and the company or industry you work with, you can still make good money. On average, a newbie can earn around ₦100-200k/month, and a more experienced marketer can earn about ₦400-500k/month. 

In conclusion

If you hope to build a career in content marketing, note that strong storytelling and strategy need to be part of your skill set. For newbies just starting out, consider seeking out marketing communities and consciously network with other professionals to grow professionally and increase your earning potential.

NEXT READ: What Do You Need to Become a Musician in Nigeria?

Let’s take it to the beginning. What do you imagine led you to marketing?

Curiosity.

Let me explain: I studied chemistry in university, and it was a fallback course — I’d wanted to study medicine. 

During a long day at the lab in my second year, a friend complained about how much work she had to do for managing her clients’ social media accounts. Naturally, I was confused. It’d never occurred to me that people were paid to handle social media accounts.

But I also got incredibly curious and asked her to tell me more about it. By the end of our conversation, I was very fascinated by what she told me. I had one question in my mind: “Why can’t I do this as a job too?”

Did you have an answer?

The closest thing to an answer was the realisation that while I liked social media and could find my way around most platforms, I didn’t have the skills I needed to use them for work. Now, I knew I had a chance to change this and was convinced that I’d unlock something out of it. 

When I returned to my hostel, I got down to business and started doing heavy research on social media management. This effectively kicked off the learning phase in 2017.

Energy! How did you approach the learning phase?

I didn’t overthink it. I took any course that was available and free. The first course I signed up for was the Shaw Academy digital marketing course. Then others followed. 

The knowledge acquisition phase was relatively easy, thanks to my curiosity and interest. 

However, a lot of it was unstructured. Nevertheless, I was intentional about taking courses that give certificates upon completion — I thought they were proof of knowledge until  I realised I’d learn and scale faster if I had proof of work.

Thankfully, my sister had an event management company, and her business became my playing ground. 

Tell me more about that

My sister got her clients through word of mouth, and she was good with that. Her business’s social media presence, on the other hand, was dead.

I decided to change that. 

In practice, this meant I worked with her to bring her services online. I created accounts for her business on all platforms and managed and grew them. 

Although the work was pro bono, it did something for me: if I learned something new, I tested it with the business’s accounts as part of my various experiments and see what stuck. Also, my work here landed me my first marketing job. I got a social media marketing internship at an agency. 

I’m curious. How did you decide it was time to try something different?

My curiosity got bigger the more I learned about social media marketing. Also, I believed I’d gotten good enough to make some money out of everything I’d learned — the amount didn’t even matter.

Fair enough. What specific steps did you take to land the internship?

I scoured social media platforms. I’d go on Instagram and search for #Socialmediajobs and similar hashtags to find open roles. A random search led me to the digital agency that eventually hired me.

I worked at the agency for three months, and one of my biggest lessons from the experience was that it’s okay to be a little selfish about your growth. 

The agency wasn’t very structured. I learned a lot about how to use social media when I worked there, but it didn’t take long before I felt I needed something more challenging. I went for it and quit. 

A few weeks later, I got another internship at a digital agency called Webcoupers. This was my boot camp. 

How so?

Webcoupers had more structure and worked with bigger clients. As a result, there was a lot to do, and I was there to take it all in. For example, I was primarily a social media intern, but I did everything connected to digital marketing — from email marketing to influencer marketing and creative ad development. 

Additionally, this was the first time I saw what a career in any area of digital marketing could look like, and I liked what I saw. When I left the agency six months later, I knew I was all in. I’d even started freelancing on the side and making extra money. 

Now, the next step was figuring out how to put myself out there. 

Sweet. On what path did this lead you?

After Webcoupers, I focused on school for a bit — I was in my final year and working on my project — before starting a full-time role at CKDigital, another digital marketing agency. I was hired as a social media specialist and my starting salary was ₦‎70k.

I don’t know how best to explain it, but it was a really big deal because it showed me I’d open up a clear route to growth and all I needed to do now was to keep honing my skills. In only two years, I’d gone from not knowing what to do with my chemistry degree to finding what I was good at and excited about. 

It was reassuring. Wasn’t it?

Yeah. Almost unbelievable, too. But I consistently did my part as well: I threw myself into the work and talked about my processes. You hardly get it wrong with these combinations. 

What happened after?

I worked there for three months. By the time I finished my final year project in December 2018, another wave of discontent had set in. Like that, I started searching for another role and found a digital content associate role with SheLeadsAfrica. I resumed work in January 2019. 

How was this different from your previous roles?

My role transcended just growing social media accounts. Now I was doing more thinking about how to use content to drive value for the business and its community. Fundamentally, this was my transition from social media marketing to content marketing.

I only worked here for about three months, though. 

Let me guess: You found another opportunity

I did. I knew I wanted to work there from the moment I read the job description. I was convinced that I was the one they were looking for. 

I guess I was right because I got the job. In April 2019, I started working at Carbon as a digital content marketer. 

And it keeps getting better 

Haha. I joined the business seven days before a massive rebrand. The company was changing its name from Paylater to Carbon. I was given a heads-up during the hiring process, but now that I was in, I had to get down to work immediately and make sure that the rebrand went on as planned. 

On my first day, we didn’t have any marketing materials we needed for the rebrand, so there was a lot to do in my first week. The whole week was pretty much identifying the gaps that existed and moving quickly to plug them.

What was your biggest takeaway from this experience?

If I took anything away from my first week, it was that the best way to navigate being a marketer is putting your head down and doing the work. To put this in context, I didn’t have the luxury of time to understand the product or Carbon’s customers before owning the marketing aspects of the rebrand. But two things helped me pull it off: asking questions and taking feedback — and I explored these because I was determined to do the work no matter what it took. 

I stan

You see, being open-minded and excited about work makes a lot of difference. I was just happy to be there, and it influenced the way I approached my work during my almost two-year stint there. 

Fast forward to 2020, Covid-19 happened, ushering the start of remote work. At the time, I was living with a friend who had just started freelancing with Toptal. Then she started talking about working for this foreign client and earning in USD. I was like, “Huh. I can do this as a marketer and want this for myself, too.”

I imagine that spurred you into action

Absolutely. Interestingly, I was in a few talking stages with Nigerian companies, but now that my sights were set elsewhere, I wasn’t committed to the process anymore. 

As with everything else I’d done up until that time, I kicked things off with research. But when it came to applying for jobs I was qualified for, I wasn’t prepared for how difficult the process was. 

What do you mean?

In the beginning, I was automatically getting rejected because I lived in Nigeria. If I made it past the first or second stage, I’d get axed in the third stage.

I was even close to getting one until the company ghosted me. I’d done and aced the interview. The same for the assessment tests. The only thing left was an offer, and they never got back to me. 

Do you remember how that felt?

It hurt, but the show had to go on. That said, it was tiring researching, applying and interviewing all the time. So, I had to figure out how to refine my process and keep iterating, which meant paying attention to what was working and what wasn’t.

What did this look like in practice?

I was asking the companies that rejected me for feedback, and I used whatever information I got to optimise my resume and portfolio. 

Also, I became very specific about the companies I was sending applications to. One of my earliest mistakes was applying to any “remote” company — some companies say remote, but they mean remote US or remote EU and won’t hire anyone who isn’t from these regions. 

I stuck to doing my part and putting myself in the faces of people who might consider hiring me. Eight months after I sent my first application, I got an offer from Wizeline — a software company headquartered in Mexico — to join their team as a content marketing manager. 

I should add — applying for roles is a job in itself; you get better the more you do it. I know this from experience. 

Back to Wizeline. 

Working with the company opened up a path to relocating to Mexico. 

I’m really curious about how this happened

EndSARS happened. On the 21st of October, 2020 — a day after the shootings — I was on the phone with a friend in Canada, and I told her that I needed to take a break from Nigeria. We spent the whole morning looking at digital nomad visas and found Mexico on the list. 

I wasn’t sure that the company would be willing to relocate me, but my friend urged me to ask. And when I eventually mentioned it to my manager, it was a joke. But she took it up with the People team and next thing, they were scheduling immigration calls, discussing the process and filing the documents. A few months later, I got a new offer to work for Wizeline Mexico. 

I took a pay cut, though. 

Why?

When I was in Nigeria, I was earning in USD. However, the move to Mexico meant the business would pay me in the local currency, which was still a lot stronger than the Naira — just not as strong as the USD. Nevertheless, it was still a good deal.

I moved to Mexico in May 2021. A year later, I relocated to the UK via the Global Talent visa route. 

Wait a minute. How?

In December 2021, I went on holiday to the UK and spent some time with some friends. I realised on this visit that while I loved Mexico,  there were a couple of things it couldn’t give me. On top of that list is a community and access to very specific things I needed. For context, I lived in Guadalajara and had to go to Mexico City to find Nigerian meals or a hairdresser who knew what to do with my hair. 

When I considered all of this, London seemed like a good next move. 

But how did you get the global talent endorsement?

When I got back to Mexico, I started working on my application and compiling my documents. It felt like a culmination of my entire career — I had to talk about my career and the impact I’d made in and out of work: from the work I’d done, the events I’d spoken at to the people I’d mentored. Everything mattered.

The difference between someone who gets the endorsement and someone who doesn’t is in how well they can prove the work they’ve done. But also, you can’t prove something that doesn’t exist. Over the years, I’d done everything I needed to get the Visa, so I got it. 

In May 2022, I moved to the UK. 

Phew. What was happening on the work front?

I’ve worked at two jobs since the move to the UK. Between June 2022 and May 2023, I did content marketing for an insurtech company. But I started to feel like I wanted to work in an industry that was more aligned with my interests.  So I left my role and found a new one. Since July, I’ve been managing content marketing at PhotoRoom — an AI-powered photo editing software company.

You’ve had quite a journey. What’s one thing that prepared you the most? 

Once I got a handle on the technical side of content marketing and decided I was in it for the long haul, I made it my life’s work to build a global career. I stopped seeing my work through a local lens — I didn’t want my work to be great by Nigerian standards; I wanted it to be great, period. This framing changed everything and helped me refine how I thought about my work. 

I won’t lie; taking available opportunities and getting the best out of them have also been pivotal to my growth. It’s why one of my core interests is helping people find these opportunities through a community I launched — Smarketers Hub.

I’m listening

When I started my marketing career, there weren’t as many communities then as there are now. So before I worked in organisations where I had senior leaders to guide me, I had to figure out a lot of things alone. 

It doesn’t have to be that way for everyone else. 

The idea to start a community came in 2018, and it launched for the first time in 2020 and the second time in 2022. A small team manages the community, but the job to be done is to help marketers upskill and position themselves for great opportunities.

You’ve gone from figuring things out on your own to helping others figure things out

It’s quite something, isn’t it?

It is. Last question, What do you find most exciting about your career in digital marketing 

My career has been wildly unpredictable. It’s so exciting because it keeps me open-minded about every moment. Also, there’s much to do and explore, so there’s always some new growth milestone to hit, especially if you’re as curious as I am. 

It makes sense because my curiosity led me down here in the first place. 

Hustleprint stories drop every two weeks on Tuesdays at 12 p.m. WAT, and Hustleprint guides will drop in the interim weeks. 

So you can follow each drop, Hustleprint will be published in our money newsletter.

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Mo’Believe’s hustle story took us through how he built a music career and launched two albums as an independent artist. Now we know how he did it. If you also want to make a career out of your musical talent, this guide is for you.

Firstly, know your sound

You’re probably considering a music career because you have a knack for singing or songwriting. That’s great, but to make a career out of it, it’s important to figure out what music genre you excel at. Is it rap, alté or afrobeats?

This may involve a lot of trial and error, but it’s a crucial step in discovering your sound and building a brand as a musician.

Hone your skills

You know how people who have a natural talent for, say, art or solving mathematical problems still go to school to learn better techniques and turn their talent into marketable skills? That’s how it is for musicians too.

Perfecting your craft requires consistent practice and an open approach to constructive criticism. You can do this through regular voice training, writing songs as your creative spirit directs, and getting people to listen to your work and share their thoughts. Apart from external validation, perfecting your craft will boost your confidence in your skills as a musician, and that confidence is key for the next step.

Put yourself out there

The music industry in Nigeria is already saturated with artists hoping to blow, but you’re trying to enter the same industry and get people to know your name. How do you put yourself out there?

• The choice of a producer is an important one: You can’t really call yourself a musician if you haven’t released a track, and that’s where music production comes in. Like Mo’Believe noted, music is made up of two important parts: songwriting and production. The production needs to convey the talent you already possess in a way that thrills the audience. The Nigerian audience tends to gravitate towards danceable music, but there’s still an audience for meaningful lyric-powerful music if that’s more your speed.

• Brand and market yourself: If you don’t do it, who will? Social media is an advantage because everyone is already there. Share your work on social media, and interact with your fans/anyone who shows appreciation for your work. You could even have a mailing list where you share updates with your audience so they feel invested in your journey.

• Don’t be shy to perform for free: Remember, the goal is putting yourself out there. New musicians aren’t always able to command as much performance fees as their well-known counterparts, but performance gives visibility. And visibility eventually leads to profitability.

You’ll need funds

Music is a career that’ll hold onto your resources like superglue. You’ll need money to record songs, network with others in the music industry, and promote your songs from time to time. So, for a musician just starting out in the industry, having a side gig or glucose guardian will be beneficial, something else that funds your music career before it becomes profitable.

So, how do you make money?

Musicians in Nigeria make money in a number of ways:

• Music performances: This is pretty straightforward. Individuals or organisations may approach you to perform at their events for a fee. Upcoming musicians may also send proposals offering to perform at certain events for visibility or a small fee. Payment is usually determined by how much influence the musician wields.

• Revenue from streaming music: While payments from streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music or Deezer are quite small, it tends to build up based on how many streams are accumulated on your song. For example, Spotify pays between $0.003 to $0.005 per stream.

• Music shows or tours: Once you’ve gathered a reasonable fanbase, you can organise shows or tours and sell tickets.

• Partnerships and endorsements: This is usually an option for the more well-known ones, but musicians also make money from brand deals and endorsement payments.

• Record labels: Getting signed to a record label may be the goal for many young musicians, but you should take care to avoid falling into dubious record deals that leave the artist with little to no earnings. Before joining a record label, it’s best to do your research, preferably with a good entertainment lawyer.

The takeaway

Building a music career requires a lot of effort, passion and consistency. There’s no one way to “blow”, but consistency is definitely one of the ways.

NEXT READ: Fancy a Career in Social Media Influencing? Here’s What You Should Know

Let’s start easy. What do you imagine led you down this path?

I’ve always wanted to work in the entertainment industry. One minute, I was a 12-year-old kid watching Kennis Music’s Primetime Africa show on TV; the next I was rapping in secondary school. I rapped because that’s what the cool kids did. 

A few years later, I was now in the university. For a short period, the plan was to manage an artist I met. 

But you’re not an artist manager now, are you?

I’m not. In my third year in uni, I started putting out my rhymes, and people liked them. However, I didn’t pay much attention to the hype. In my final year, I wrote a school project for someone, but I didn’t get paid in cash. 

Oh?

He introduced me to a studio and an artist — who is very big now — as payment for the work I did for him. We wrote and recorded a song together, and I liked the results. I was thinking, “Maybe I should do music.” 

But it wasn’t a burning passion. 

When did this change?

I’m poor with dates, so I can’t put a particular timeline to it. But the conviction to chase a music career to the deep ends became stronger after putting out my first body of work in 2017. 

Sounds huge. How did you pull that off?

It happened in stages. The first, most significant realisation was that I’m a stronger singer than  rapper, and this only happened because the people around me made see that.

Music is made up of two important parts: songwriting and production. I could write songs, but I couldn’t produce them by myself. So the first person I needed on my team was a producer, and a friend introduced me to Olumba. 

The original plan was to make one song and see what it sounded like. It turned out that Olumba and I had so much creative synergy that we just kept going. And that’s how I figured out my sound, which I call Urban Folklore. The core of it is the storytelling. 

I’ll say that those early collaborations with Olumba helped me discover my sound. He was like, “You sound better when you sing in Yoruba. You should do more of it.”

And a star was born

Haha. After recording a bunch of songs, we had an idea to make a project about Lagos, telling the stories we forget to remember about the city because we’re too caught up in the hustle. We made as many songs as we could to tell these stories — I don’t remember how many there were — but we streamlined them into the eight that made the album. We called the project Ariwo Eko.

This was in the Soundcloud era, so we didn’t need a robust distribution plan. There wasn’t a strategy to make money either — it was about getting my voice and Olumba’s production heard. 

What was your idea of success  at the time?

I wanted to make something my friends would listen to and play for other people. This happened on a much bigger scale than I expected, so I was good. Outside of my circle, the reception to the release was also mind-blowing. I got tons of opportunities that I didn’t even think about.

Tell me about some of them 

Remember I said that there wasn’t a clear path to monetisation when I put out the album? But a few months after it went out, my work had made enough rounds that I started getting invited to perform at shows. At least 95% of my early income came from the shows I performed. They were small, intimate shows — an office hangout here, a book reading there — but they paid enough to cover basic needs. Also, it was reassuring because it proved that I was onto something. 

While I performed at a few big shows too, I didn’t get paid for them. I did them for promotion and visibility. 

The conviction was strong now. 

In your opinion, what’s the first thing anyone needs to know about being an indie artist? 

First — and I can’t talk about this enough— know for a fact that you want to do it. Music is a jealous profession and takes pretty much all your resources. It demands everything, so you need to ask and answer an important question: do you want to do it or not?

Also, advice a friend gave me a few years ago changed my perspective on how to navigate this life and make the best use of resources. They said, “You don’t make a masterpiece out of a masterpiece, you make a masterpiece from the pieces you’re surrounded by.” 

In practice, this means that you can always get quality output, even with limited resources. The trick is being humble enough to find somebody as hungry as you that’d do something for you at a price you can afford. If you’re waiting for ₦7m to shoot a video, you might be wasting your time. As ridiculous as it sounds, you’ll find someone that’ll do it for ₦70k. 

Ah, I see. 

It’s also about finding smart ways to figure out how to put yourself and your work out there. Even if I spend ₦7m on a music video, there’s no guarantee that I’ll get half the airplay the biggest artists in Nigeria will get. But I can always put short clips on Instagram to increase my reach and grow the community of people that listen to my music. 

It’s also about asking your people for help. If you can’t afford to shoot a video with models, you can try putting your friends in it. In my experience, you’d be shocked at the lengths people will go for you.

A lot of the things I’ve done in the past few years have been tied to how well I could get the people I know to help. This was how I built my team— most of them were people I already knew and had relationships with. 

Fair enough. Is there a moment you consider your first significant milestone?

In 2018, I uploaded a short video a friend had recorded while I was rehearsing for a show. Guess who saw it and reached out?

Who?

Mr. Eazi. The next thing I know, I got into the emPawa program. The deal was to send them a song, and the company would pay for its video and marketing. For an up-and-coming act that couldn’t afford the quality of video and promotion, I got with the program, this was a big deal and blessing.

Love it. How did you decide what song to promote though?

I chose the song that people liked the most on my first album. I figured if more people found this song and liked it, they’d have a reason to listen to the whole album. 

Smart. What happened after?

When you have a foot in the door, the next thing to focus on is increasing your reach. It never stops.

In what specific ways did you increase your reach?

Live performances are my strongest suit, so I was intentional about getting as many shows as I could; paid and unpaid. If you offered me ₦5‎0 to come and sing for you, I’d do it. 

I also leaned heavily into social media, putting out as much content as I could. It was about building a community of people who love my music, and it was proven that I could find new fans on social media.

It seems like you had to do it yourself. Did you ever consider going the label route?

This might be a flaw, but I’m very big on DIY. I mean, at some point, the plan was to build my talent to an undeniable level so the labels would come knocking. But now, my energy is going towards winging it. In my case, it means preaching to my little community and going to spaces I’ll find people that’ll like my music.

I like to think I’m not doing badly at it. I’ve got two albums out of this model. 

Lit. Tell me about the second album. 

It’s called Odu, and it came out in 2022. I decided that I could use some help in getting the best out of this body of work without necessarily being signed to a record label, so I looked out for distribution and licensing deals.

 After finishing the album, I prepared a deck and sent it out to record labels, licensing houses and distribution companies. I got several offers and streamlined my options to the one I think was the best for me. 

What did you look out for?

Creative control was the most important. Then the revenue-sharing plans and the willingness of the other party to push the project. 

By the way, I got a licensing deal with emPawa. 

How does this work?

I’m leasing the company the rights to my music for a few years. During this period, we split whatever revenue the record makes. Once the licensing period is over, the rights return to me. Essentially, I’m giving them a product, and their job is to unlock as many opportunities as they can with it. 

I have the talent and they have the resources to push it and get the best out of it in a way I can’t at the moment. While all the money won’t be mine, it still works. At the end of the day, 100% of ₦100 is ₦100. But ₦10% of ₦1m is ₦100k. This is a useful framework to think about things like this. 

I’m wondering how you made the deal happen

To be honest, the existing relationship I had with the company helped push things forward. But if I learned anything from the process, it’s that no one is doing you a favour. It’s a business, and everyone is trying to make money.

I hear you. Apart from the business side of things, how do you stay true to your sound in the middle of changing audience preferences and trends? 

Every artist considers the consumer when making a song. But I have a principle not to lose elements of myself or my music to chase a hit song. To keep me grounded, I try to make the kind of music that I’ll like to listen to. No compromises here. 

That said, I think about patterns and trends, too. And I’ve dabbled in more mainstream music as well. But for the most part, I tell the stories that are true to me, even if I combine them with elements of other genres. 

You’ve spent a few years in the game now, what do you imagine will happen next?

In the short term, the focus is on growth, and I understand that the foolproof way to unlock this is by being consistent. Then I can increase my audience and really blow. 

I don’t think I’ve touched the kind of money I should be making yet, so there’s much to look forward to. The goal is to build a sustainable career as an entertainer. 

I don’t have all the answers. But I know what’s got me here: it’s doing what I need to do to get better and learning as I go. I don’t think this ever fails. 

Hustleprint stories drop every two weeks on Wednesdays at 12 p.m. WAT, and Hustleprint guides will drop in the interim weeks. 

So you can follow each drop, Hustleprint will be published in our money newsletter.

Toyosi Godwin’s hustle story gave insights into how he built a community on Twitter and unlocked an income stream through social media influencing. If you’re curious about what building a career as a social media influencer involves, this guide will help you.

Image: Pexels

First off, what does a social media influencer do?

It’s pretty self-explanatory. The social media influencer’s job is to influence the decisions of their followers or community, especially purchasing decisions. 

Being an influencer isn’t just a job, though. It’s a lifestyle that hinges on popularity and a committed following. Those are factors necessary to get people to do what you want them to do. 

For example, you probably wouldn’t buy slimming tea from a danfo vendor, mainly because you don’t know or trust the vendor. But if your favourite influencer were to come online and swear by the product, you might have a change of heart. Why? You were influenced.

What does it take to become an influencer?

First, a committed following, and that doesn’t mean just being popular. You may go viral — and even gain followers — every two weeks by tweeting controversial takes, but fame doesn’t equal an ability to influence the decision of others. That’s done by:

• Building trust: People need to feel like they can either relate to or trust that they know you enough to listen to you. 

• Having a niche: What’s that one thing you’re really good at and can talk about forever without getting tired? That’s your niche. This is important, as it helps the influencer to build authority in their field and earn a committed following. If followers know, for example, that you know all there is to know about fashion, they’re more likely to buy a fashion item just because you recommended it.

RELATED: The Grass to Grace #NairaLife of a Social Media Influencer

So, how do you become a successful influencer?

Once you’ve cracked your niche and following, a couple of skills are necessary to maintain your community.

• Storytelling and content creation: It’s important to note that it’s not only about how often you post on social media; quality also matters. How, when, and what are you posting? Are you selling the content in a way that appeals to and evokes some type of action in your audience?

A successful influencer doesn’t just post for the sake of it. You’ll need to pay attention to content strategy, the algorithm of the social media platform in use, and the specific audience.

• Social listening: This involves analysing online conversations and considering how they could affect your brand and audience. The ultimate goal is to understand the underlying sentiment on social media and respond with a marketing strategy that influences that sentiment favourably, ensuring your visibility. 

• Consistency: Followers must know they can trust you to show up regularly. You might want to invest all your money in a telecom company because you’ll always need to be online.

• Search engine optimisation: Before you ask, isn’t it just social media? It’s not. You want considerable views on every content you put out, and a knowledge of SEO will ensure you explore the right keyword and push out content that keeps you at the top of people’s minds.

• Community engagement: A large part of social media influencing is trust, and that’s gotten through engaging with your followers. Don’t just post and go. You’re not Beyoncé.

How do you make money as an influencer?

This is typically done through: 

• Brand endorsements: One common denominator for influencers is that they have many loyal fans who trust them. Brands use this leverage to make their products appealing by paying these influencers to sign on as ambassadors. 

• Affiliate marketing: You know how Instagram skit makers include referral codes in their videos for a particular product or service? That’s affiliate marketing. When people buy the product/service with a referral code, the influencer gets a commission. 

• Sponsored advertisements: This typically involves written or video content by an influencer directly marketing a product or service. In this method, the brand pays the influencer an agreed amount — usually determined by the influencer’s rate card — for the sponsored post.

Usually, the number of followers and social media reach an influencer has determines how much they can charge brands for ads.

Maintain the trajectory

An influencer’s work is never done. Social media algorithms and rules change, so it’s important to stay updated and constantly reinvent yourself to remain visible and relevant. It’s also helpful to follow other influencers to learn from them and possibly form partnerships that help your visibility even more.

NEXT READ: Mechanics Can Also Be Ballers. Here’s How You Can Become One

Let’s start with when you got on Twitter

That was in 2017. 

I was a second-year student of Mass Communication at the University of Benin. Whenever I was in Lagos, I loved listening to Toolz and Gbemi on the radio, and they mentioned Twitter a lot on their shows. It seemed like a lot of fun happened on the platform. More curious than anything else, I opened my first Twitter account. The plan was to use it like an average user would — just tweet my thoughts into the world. 

But something started to happen.

I’m listening 

I wanted to have fun on Twitter, and my tweets were a reflection of that. But I didn’t think people would find me funny and relatable. At least not until my follower count started increasing. I was convinced that something was happening here when I got my first viral tweet in 2018. Then another. 

I imagine you took something from this

I figured that it was a content game. People will gravitate towards you if they find your content valuable. In my case, people wanted to laugh, and they knew they could come to my account for funny content.

Subsequently, my routine was built around tweeting something that had the potential to be well-received, and get some visibility and new followers off it. Additionally, I was figuring out ways to keep my account engaging. It was about community building as much as it was about content creation.

I see

 It still hadn’t occurred to me that I could monetise my account or be contracted to work for brands. I was only doing it because I thought it wouldn’t hurt to be popular on Twitter, and it helped that I didn’t even have to put my face out there. 

What specific tactics did you use to grow your account?

A mix of different experiments. At some point, I was on a follow train. This is how it worked: accounts agreed to follow each other and engage with each others’ content to reach more people. I was also a part of retweet groups.

But ultimately, I realised that the greatest hack is putting out quality content. Everything else was secondary.

When did you first realise what the money-making potential could be?

Sometime in 2018, an influencer on Twitter organised a class on influencer marketing and possible ways to monetise Twitter content. I liked what I heard, and while nothing was guaranteed, it was the first time I saw how I could build a brand on the platform. 

Also, during a conversation with another influencer, I asked them how much they earned on their last campaign and they told me it was ₦‎500k. What struck me the most was that they only had to put out two tweets per week for the six months the campaign ran. 

I was like, “This can’t be about fun and banter anymore.”

What did you do next?

I devised a plan to up my content game. In practice, this was pretty much giving more thought to the kind of tweets I was putting out. As much as it was about volume, it was also about quality. So I’d take as many days as I needed to craft the right tweet or thread. I was also creating a content bank I could use on days I didn’t have something to tweet about. 

It wasn’t the easiest thing to do because I was going through it at the time. For starters, I was a broke university student just trying to figure out his life. 

What were your biggest challenges during this time?

Combining creating Twitter content with my school work took a bit of figuring out. The biggest challenge, though, was the cost of data. 

I had to be online almost every hour to follow the important conversations. But I couldn’t always afford to do this. Nevertheless, social listening was important, so I constantly had to find ways to afford the data I needed to be online. 

I don’t know if I had the conviction that it’d pay off at some point, but it did. 

This was when you started getting paid to promote brands?

Absolutely. In 2019, someone sent me a DM and asked if I’d be interested in putting out a few tweets to promote a brand they were working with. They were also going to pay me ₦50k for it. ‎

I was like, “Wait, what?”

It was a pretty big deal for me. This was in 2019.

It took you two years before you could monetise your content 

Two long years. But once that first gig came, others followed. In December 2019, I got a lot of gigs and made hundreds of thousands of naira in a single month. That signified something — there was no going back. It was now a business. 

I respect the thinking

I realised that I couldn’t build everything about the business on my being funny — I could be hilarious, but I could also be other things. So I started looking into other niches, settling on freelance writing because I was doing it on the side.

I also started talking about my freelance work and creating useful content around it.

This gave me a chance to diversify my income sources. I was using my clout to promote my writing. If a tweet or thread went viral, I’d plug my writing services underneath it. People reach out to you for what they know you can do. So I was working with brands to achieve visibility, working on writing projects with other clients and getting paid for both.

I’m curious, how do you get gigs as an influencer?

Your social media account’s visibility and engagement levels matter a lot;  that’s how you get noticed. If you’re right for a campaign, a brand or marketing agency will reach out and have a conversation with you. If the gig is right for you, you accept it and discuss the terms. 

Word of mouth also goes a long way in getting gigs. I’ve gotten some jobs just because someone who follows me talked about me in a board meeting. 

Must be nice. Walk me through what happens after you accept a gig

The campaign starts and runs in three stages: ideation, execution and review.

 You work with the brand or the agency on the best way to promote their brand. Once this is settled, you get to work, execute and get results. KPIs and deliverables are attached to every campaign, so there are numbers to track and hit. 

After the campaign runs its course, every party involved reviews and measures the success of the campaign. 

How do you decide how much to charge for a campaign?

The standard is having a rate card. As my followers and engagement increase, so does my pricing. Sometimes, I look at how much other influencers in my network charge and tailor my rate card accordingly. 

What challenges or setbacks do you deal with now and how do you navigate through them?

Content drought is probably the most prominent. It’s tough when you’re short of content ideas, but it comes with the territory. That said, the drought never lasts. When it happens, I just relax and continue to show up. 

It also doesn’t matter how good your content is, if the algorithm is not in your favour, everything goes to waste. Nevertheless, I find that this is also temporary. If you keep putting effort into creating, it’ll swing back in your favour.

Fascinating. What’s your favourite thing about what you do? 

Beyond the monetary gains, visibility comes with additional perks.

For example, when I served in 2021, I was posted to a village in Nasarawa state. Only one network had good service there, so I needed a new sim card. But I didn’t know who to turn to. I tweeted about it, and the manager of the telecom company in Lafia found my tweet, reached out and made sure I got set up on the network at no cost.  

Random events like this mean a lot. The community I’ve built has been the most rewarding part of this journey.

Speaking of community, how do you engage with your audience and build meaningful relationships on the platform?

My hot take is that if your followers haven’t started calling you by your real name, you need to work more. I try as much as possible to let my audience feel like they know me and can trust me. And the trick here is to constantly engage them.

Love it. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned in the past few years?

It’s important to follow the social media platform rules. I can’t talk about this enough. The barrier to entry is relatively low, but it comes with its drawbacks, too. I can’t imagine the thought of losing my Twitter account — I’ll probably start and grow a new one, but it’s a lot of work. 

The goal now is to reinvent myself as much as I can and diversify my sources of income. I do some work outside of Twitter already, which is important. The next thing on my list is to experiment and invest in more content formats, then build strong communities on other social media platforms, especially Instagram. 

At the end of it all, making a living on social media all comes down to the strength of your community. 

Also Read: How Fisayo Fosudo Went From Graphic Designer to Top Visual Storyteller

Hustleprint stories drop every two weeks on Wednesdays at 12 p.m. WAT, and Hustleprint guides will drop in the interim weeks. 

So you can follow each drop, Hustleprint will be published in our money newsletter.

Follow the newsletter

Ismail Tobi’s hustle story took us through his journey to becoming a mechanic while studying for a civil engineering degree. If you’ve ever been curious about what it takes to become a mechanic in Nigeria, this guide will help you.

Image: Freepik

Who is a mechanic?

When you think of a “mechanic” in Nigeria, you think of someone who repairs and maintains cars. That’s correct, but that just describes an automotive or car  mechanic. These mechanics are responsible for diagnostic testing and inspection of cars and small trucks. You might even find a car mechanic who specialises in a particular car brand or a specific area of auto service, like the chassis system.

Mechanics, in general, are skilled workers who use specialised tools to build, maintain or repair machinery like vehicle engines, motorcycles and even refrigerators.

What are the requirements for becoming a mechanic?

Training is an important requirement for mechanics, as it’s a very skill-centric profession. You can train to become a mechanic through two routes: studying a mechanical/automotive engineering degree in school or going through an apprenticeship system.

If the goal is to become a car mechanic, a mechanical engineering degree may not be the best bet, as they focus more on research and development of new designs for all types of machinery, not just cars. 

Automotive engineering is a mechanical engineering speciality, and it focuses on all things related to the automobile industry, including testing and maintenance — the typical duties of a car mechanic. Several Nigerian universities offer automotive engineering courses, including Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), University of Lagos (UNILAG), Bayero University, Kano and many more.

To go through the apprenticeship route, you’d need to undergo training at a mechanic’s workshop for a stipulated period of time This option is used more in Nigeria, as it allows the trainee to get practical hands-on experience. 

Where can I learn to become a mechanic?

Some automotive workshops in Nigeria that offer training include AutoMedics, AutoFix, Smiles Autos, and D.T AutoCafe. There are also several specialised institutes that offer mechanic training, like the Bola Ige Mechatronics Institute.

Like Tobi, you can also reach out to a nearby mechanic workshop and confirm that they offer training services. Be careful to seek out one who knows what they’re doing, though.

You don’t want this

How long does it take to become a mechanic?

Studying at the university usually involves a 4-5 year study period. In many cases, degree holders also have to go through internship periods at workshops to get practical experience. For mechanic apprentices, training duration usually depends on the workshop, but it typically takes a 2-5 year training period.

What is the average mechanic’s salary?

Many mechanics in Nigeria prefer to run their workshops, so their income is determined by their client base and frequency of jobs. These factors also come to play in mechanics who are employed to work in other people’s workshops, but an average mechanic can earn between ₦80k – ₦200k per month.

What skills are needed to succeed as a mechanic?

There are many mechanics in Nigeria; how do you stand out? An important step is staying in tune with new moves in your chosen industry. Are there new technologies you need to be aware of? How do you tell the difference between substandard and quality vehicle parts? These are some of the questions a mechanic needs to consider if they hope to stay successful at their craft.

NEXT READ: A Complete Guide to Becoming a Pilot in Nigeria

Let’s take it back to the beginning. Was becoming a mechanic always the plan?

No, I don’t think so. But I’ve always been good with my hands. Before I turned 10 years, my parents already trusted me to fix little things around the house — from changing electric bulbs to troubleshooting the generator’s minor faults. 

But I also loved engines. If a mechanic came around to fix my parents’ cars, I always stayed with them, curious to know what they were doing. It’s interesting how much I picked up from this process. 

I wasn’t sure what to use the body of knowledge for, though. The plan was to become a civil engineer. 

Where did the interest come from?

My dad is a civil engineer. I used to go to the field with him, and it looked like something I’d be good at.  Fast forward to 2009, I got into the University of Lagos to study Civil Engineering. After a year, I was like, “Wetin be this?”

What happened?

I’d failed a few courses, and I knew that I was going to have an extra year. To be honest, I was always an average student, but the university kicked my ass in a way I didn’t think was possible. Naturally, I started falling out of love with civil engineering. 

But one thing didn’t change — I still loved engines, and I loved cars. It helped that I had a car and made frequent trips to the mechanic workshop. Every time I was there, I was always eager to study what the mechanic was doing. 

In my second or third year in the university, I decided to act on this interest. I wanted to be more intentional about learning how cars work and how to fix them.

What did this plan look like?

I had a good relationship with my mechanic. So I asked him to take me in as one of his interns. He was hesitant at first because I was in the university, but he agreed to it when he saw that I was relentless. For the next few months, I was sharing my time between his workshop and the campus. 

While this was going on, I was constantly thinking about how to take this learning curve to the next level. Thankfully, I found a structured learning opportunity.

I used to follow a super helpful weekly radio show about cars. The presenter owned an auto workshop called Automedics, and he always came off as an expert. Then I started thinking about interning at his workshop. On a whim, I sent him a cold email, asking if I could intern with him.

He rejected me outrightly.

Ouch

I wasn’t going to give up that easily. A few days later, I went to his office to plead my case. He was sympathetic, but he said he couldn’t take me in at the time. I was crushed — but at least I tried. Then something unexpected happened. 

One of my mum’s friends had a canteen near the workshop, so I went there for lunch. When I told her the reason I was in the area, she grabbed my hands and took me back to the workshop. As it turned out, my mum’s friends knew the guy. She didn’t even have to say much before the man said, “Okay, start on Monday.”

LMAO. Look at you being a nepo baby

Haha. I spent about two years at the workshop and got so good at fixing cars. The workshop didn’t pay interns, but after a few months, the workshop manager started giving me a stipend every weekend. 

What do you think made the difference?

I was incredibly invested in what I was learning and wanted to take in everything — from cars’ bodywork to the engine to the electrical systems. 

Also, the incremental knowledge I’d been gaining about automobile systems since I was young came into full bloom when I was at the workshop. And I never stopped trying to learn. My companions were a book called Introduction to Automotive Engineering and Youtube videos from mechanics like EricTheCarGuy and Scotty Kilmer.

My bosses could tell that I was in this for the long haul, and they respected that by giving me as many responsibilities as they could. I was only too happy to take them on. By the time I left the workshop in 2014, I’d already started getting my clients. 

By the way, I was still in university. My parents and I made a deal — they’d let me pursue a career as a mechanic and I’d stay in school until I got my degree, however long it took. I finally graduated in 2016.

Whoop Whoop. But how did you build your client base when you left the workshop?

My community of friends helped me build my first customer base. At first, they trusted me to fix their cars. Then they started referring their parents to me. And it grew from there. Till today, my biggest acquisition channel is through word of mouth. It’s undefeated. 

I feel you. What happened after?

Every mechanic needs a workshop, and the next step was getting my space. But I couldn’t afford it yet. So I talked to a mechanic I’d referred a couple of customers to and asked if I could share his space with him. Luckily, he agreed to it, and I was there for a year until the government took control of the land and chased us out. 

Omo

Without a workshop, I struggled to get new clients. The thing about being a mechanic is that the customer’s perception of you is the difference between getting a job or being passed over for it. And this is built with the little things like a workshop and the quality of cars in it. 

How did you manage without a workshop then?

I worked on the roadside for a bit. That meant I had to finish up every job I got within a day. When I saw that it wasn’t working or inspiring customers’ confidence, I decided to work with my plan B. One of my aunts had a big compound, so I moved my workshop to a corner there.

But you were still looking for a new space?

I was. Fortunately, someone pointed me in the direction of a dump site. When I saw the space, I knew it was what I wanted. I sent an application to the authorities that were in charge of the piece of land, and it was approved. Subsequently, I cleared the place out and started setting it up. This was in 2017, and I’ve been here since, slowly building the business. 

You’ve done this for about 10 years now. How do you establish relationships with customers and ensure you keep a loyal customer base?

The best way I’ve sold myself and retained customers is through the quality of work I do. Transparency is a close second. The end goal is to build trust and a great relationship with most of your customers. However, that comes with its own risk, too. 

I’m listening 

The cost of having a close relationship with your customers is that some of them may take your services for granted. The worst thing someone can do to your business is owe you money, and people tend to do that when they have the opportunity. Man, I’ve seen a lot — from fake transfers to payment defaults. 

I take everything as character development. Besides, the job is very rewarding when everything goes right.

I imagine your process has evolved to mitigate this risk

Absolutely. It’s a business, and I’ve learned to run it like one. It starts with little things like developing terms and conditions and doing proper invoicing. As I said, it’s a lot about perception. If people think they can get away with your money, they’ll try to. 

Is there anything else that makes running this business difficult?

Substandard parts are the bane of my existence. Parts suppliers will always try to run you down, and the sad thing is that there’s no foolproof way to tell an inferior part apart from a genuine one. You find out after installing it in the car and putting it to the test. Unfortunately, customers don’t care that you are a victim, too — if the car part you replace doesn’t work, they expect you to replace it at no cost to them.

 I get it, really. But it makes it incredibly difficult to run this business. For context, I’ve lost close to ₦‎4m this year, and about 80% of it is a consequence of purchasing substandard car parts. 

A workaround to this is importing all the parts you need into the country, but that’s more expensive, and not everyone can afford to do it. Sometimes, I even buy parts in bulk because it’s cheaper that way, but the risk here is theft. My store has been burgled a few times. 

That’s tough 

There’s no best practice for fighting these risks. You just learn from each experience and figure out how best to iterate your processes. I’m still in business and that shows that I’m doing a few things right. 

Speaking of doing things right, what area of expertise do you possess that sets you apart from the competition?

I also fix electric vehicles — the Teslas and all. It’s still a new market in Nigeria, and I’m in it already. So I like to think that I’m relatively early here, and it’s playing out great already. I worked on setting up charging stations for the electric buses the Oando Clean Energy and Lagos state government recently bought. That’s growth in my books.

There will be more opportunities in the electric vehicle market soon, and I like that I’m positioning myself for it already. It’s going to be a good source of revenue. 

I bet you’re right. How do you keep yourself up to date with the latest trends in the auto repair industry?

It’s not difficult to be plugged into the latest happenings in the space. Before a new car or technology is released, it’ll be teased and talked about for months, which gives me enough time to find out everything I need to know about it. It also helps that most of my friends are in the car and auto community, and we talk about these things every time we meet. 

I believe that you’re in a good place now. But what does levelling up mean to you?

The plan is to grow the business beyond being a car repair company. There’s nothing special about fixing cars. What makes the difference is the add-ons you won’t find in another workshop or garage. I’m thinking about running end-to-end services for anything related to automobiles — from fixing to rentals to discarding old vehicles. A one-stop shop of sorts is the goal.

In a way, I’m driven to do this to attempt to change the narrative about mechanics, especially in these parts. I have a degree, but I chose to do it because I loved it. And you know what? I’ve become fairly successful at it.

Hustleprint stories drop every two weeks on Wednesdays at 12 p.m. WAT, and Hustleprint guides will drop in the interim weeks. 

So you can follow each drop, Hustleprint will be published in our money newsletter.

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Lawrence’s hustle story took us through his surprising transition from civil engineering to flight school, eventually becoming a pilot. Fancy a career in the sky too? This guide will help you.

Image: Pexels

Firstly, what kind of pilot can you be?

You know how every doctor studies medicine but can specialise in different aspects of medicine? The aviation industry works almost the same way. You can be one of three types of pilot: commercial, private or military.

A commercial pilot is qualified to fly a wide variety of aircraft, including passenger and cargo planes. If you’ve ever travelled by air, you were most likely flown by a commercial pilot. 

Private pilots, on the other hand, are only qualified to fly small single-engine aircraft like some private jets. 

While the army specifically trains military pilots for combat missions and to covertly gather intelligence.

Not to be confused with the type our village people use, though:

Where do you study to become a pilot in Nigeria?

Numerous aviation schools in Nigeria offer flight training courses and licensing, and the most popular is the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria. It’s a government-owned institution and a parastatal of the Ministry of Aviation, plus it’s widely regarded to be one of the best aviation schools in the nation.

Other aviation schools that offer flight training include:

• Universal School of Aviation: This is in Lagos and also provides training for other professions in the aviation industry, such as flight dispatch, flight attendants and customer service.
• International Aviation College: The state-owned institute is in Ilorin, Kwara state and offers various flight training.
• Dhaewood Aviation Business School (DABS): Also based in Lagos, the school offers both private and commercial pilot training, and other aviation courses such as aircraft maintenance and air traffic control. 
• BlueSky Aviation-Helicopter Pilot Training Academy: The academy offers helicopter pilot training and is based in Lagos. Other courses include Private Pilot License (PPL), Commercial Pilot License (CPL), and Instrument Rating (IR).

RELATED: Hustleprint: He Started His Career in Civil Engineering. Now He’s a Pilot

How long does flight school take?

Flight school in Nigeria typically involves a two-year training program, consisting of a six-month training for the Private Pilot License (PPL) and 18 months for the Commercial Pilot License (CPL). This is the standard for most commercial pilots, and while admission requirements vary between institutions, the minimum qualification required is a secondary school certificate.

How much does it cost to be a pilot?

Two words: A lot.

Depending on the flight school, tuition fees for a standard piloting course typically range between ₦7.5 million and ₦8.9 million. In March 2023, it was reported that the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) had raised its fees to ₦12.83 million (excluding accommodation and feeding) for its two-year course, citing the dollar-denominated aviation industry as a major factor. 

How much do pilots earn in Nigeria?

Training is really expensive, but it’s expected that you make what you spent back when you start flying. A pilot’s salary depends on the aircraft they’re rated on (or “type rating”) — this is another certification pilots need to acquire after earning the pilot license — as well as their flying (or flight) hours. “Flight hours” simply refer to the number of hours the pilot has spent in the air. 

The flight hours determine the pilot’s experience level, and their rank. A new pilot enters the industry as a Second Officer, then a First Officer (or copilot), Senior First Officer and finally Captain. 

To become Captain, the pilot must have attained a minimum of 4,000 flight hours and a spotless record.

The pilot’s pay also depends on the airline they work with. Second Officers can earn between ₦1-₦1.3 million monthly, and this figure typically increases with type rating, flight hours and the airline. Usually, the more type ratings the pilot has, the more aircraft they’re cleared to fly, and the higher their earning potential is.

In summary

Research is fundamental in pursuing a piloting career. Knowing the path you want to take determines the relevant courses and certifications you’ll need to acquire. An aviation career is rewarding but also very intentional.

NEXT READ: How to Get Into Product Marketing as a Newbie

Let’s take it back to when you first thought about becoming a pilot

Random story. I didn’t grow up wanting to be a pilot; it just wasn’t in the realm of what was possible at the time. Civil engineering was a more realistic career choice, and that’s what I studied at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA). After graduating in 2009, I got a job with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) operations in Nigeria. 

But something changed

From the moment I got the job, I started saving money for my Master’s Degree — a couple of universities in the UK and Canada were on my list. Three years later, I had saved enough to start the application process. But during a conversation with a mentor, they said, “Why don’t you go to flying school and become a pilot?”

And that was it?

For the most part, it was. My mentor had some flying experience, and I suspect that’s why he mentioned it. But it triggered something. I always loved planes and the physics behind them. It just never occurred to me to pursue a career in the aviation industry. Not until that moment. 

Now, I had two options: go ahead with my plan for my master’s or go to flight school and transition into becoming a pilot. The thrill of the latter hooked me. 

Haha. Just the thrill?

There was also the income potential. My research showed that I’d probably earn more as a pilot down the line than I could as a civil engineer. There was one more thing to consider though.

What?

The barrier to entry was steep. And it wasn’t just about the basic requirement — I had a university degree when a secondary school certificate was the minimum qualification I needed.

The primary barrier was the cost of getting a pilot license. I settled on an aviation school in Jordan, and when I enrolled in 2012, the fees were about $65k. That was a lot of money. 

What about aviation schools in Nigeria?

They were cheaper, but there was no guarantee that I’d finish my training in good time if I explored a school in Nigeria. The biggest issue flight schools in the country face is aircraft availability. So I might have to spend three years in what was supposed to be a two-year programme. That didn’t sound appealing to me. 

Jordan was the best option at that time. Thankfully, my mentor offered to pay for the bulk of the fees. I also had some savings and my mentor and family members chipped in the balance. With the fees sorted, I flew out of Nigeria to Egypt, and then to Jordan to start my training course. This was 2013.

Sweet. How did it go?

I paid for something called the Air Transport Pilot License (ATPL) training, which is the highest level of certification a pilot can get. There are two other certifications — the Private Pilot License (PPL) and the Commercial Pilot License (CPL). The PPL is the starting point, then the CPL. But no new pilot can leave the flight school with the ATPL. 

Why not?

Every pilot needs a minimum of 1500 flight hours to qualify for the ATPL exam, and it unlocks the path to becoming a captain. 

How many years did you spend in flight school?

A year and four months. I left with a CPL plus ATPL frozen license, which meant I had passed the theoretical exams, but I hadn’t fulfilled my flight hours requirements. I had 250 flight hours under my belt at the time.

Wait, what does “flight hours” mean?

It’s the number of hours a pilot spend in the air. It’s the aviation industry equivalent of “experience level.”

Ah, got it. What job options do 250 flight hours give you?

Not a lot. It certainly wouldn’t get me a job in Jordan, so I returned to Nigeria in 2015. Fortunately, my timing was perfect. Air Peace was still a relatively new airline and was recruiting pilots for its operations. My flight hours were enough to get me a job in their flying crew, and it’s great that happened. 

What do you mean?

A pilot license only gets you one foot in the door. The next step is to get something called a type rating. It’s a certification that allows you to fly a specific type of aircraft. 

Usually, baby pilots pay for this from their pockets. But because Air Peace was building their team, they sent me to Casablanca for my type rating and paid for it. At the end of my training, I was cleared to fly the Dornier 328 jet and started my new job as a second officer. This was 2015. 

I’m curious. How do flight operations work? 

There are two pilots in the cockpit on every flight: a Captain and the Co-pilot, and the latter’s rank is a Second Officer, First Officer or Senior First Officer. Now the Captain sits on the left and the Co-pilot sits on the right

The duties are shared between the two pilots, and we call this process “pilot-flying” and “pilot monitoring.” Essentially, it means one pilot is in charge of navigation and controls and the other assists and monitors their flight management. 

The Captain decides if one pilot will fly the aircraft for the complete flight or if both pilots will take turns before the commencement of each flight sector. For example, the Captain can be the “pilot flying” during take-off and the co-pilot takes the role during descent and landing. 

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Whew. Tell me about your first flight as a commercial pilot

It was thrilling for the most part. But there was a nervy moment when my training Captain gave me the pilot landing duties when we were about to land the plane. That wasn’t a problem, but I thought he’d assist me. He didn’t. 

I landed the plane all right, but boy, was I nervous. It took about two more flights before I built up enough confidence. I haven’t looked back since.

Whew. So what came after?

The only thing left to do was to work and gather more flight hours. I started my role as a Second Officer like every pilot in the early stage of their career does. The next milestone was being promoted to First Officer, and this happened after I clocked 800 flight hours.

By 2019, I had built my flight time to 1500 hours. Two things happened here: I returned to Jordan to complete my ATPL certification. Since I’d already passed the theoretical exams when I was in flight school, I only had to do and pass a series of skill tests to prove my proficiency. Then I got my certificate. 

On the work front, an ATPL certificate and 1500 flight hours meant I had now fulfilled the requirements to be promoted to Senior First Officer. 

The title means a lot of things, but most importantly, it means you’re a pretty good pilot and can now be on the path to making Captain.

Exciting. But I imagine there are other requirements

Absolutely. A Captain is the pilot-in-command and is responsible for the safety of the aircraft, crew and passengers. So it’s a big responsibility and multiple factors come into play to become one. The minimum requirement is 4000 flight hours. But you also need to have a spotless record, particularly with your competence, attitude to work and how you work with your team. Those cannot be in question.

I hit 4500 hours earlier this year, and the airline kicked off the process of making me a captain. Subsequently, I took a series of short courses and a simulator exercise, and that was it. In May 2023, I was decorated as a Boeing 777 Captain at Air Peace.

It took you eight years of active employment to get here 

And those were very exciting eight years. At every point, there was always something to look forward to. Beyond getting promoted, I went for two other “type rating” exams between 2017 and 2019, which cleared me to fly the Boeing 737 and the Boeing 777. I also started flying international routes in 2019.

Well done. A lot of career growth is determined by how many hours you’ve spent in the year. How do you ensure that you’re not overworking?

Regulation takes care of that. A pilot cannot fly more than eight hours a day, thirty hours a week, 100 hours a month and 1000 hours in a year. A great day in the life of a pilot is simple — it means you take off and land your plane safely, and to a reasonable degree, these hour limits make sure of that. 

Ah, sweet. What do you find most rewarding about being a pilot?

Access to multiple destinations and airports is quite an experience. My favourite airport to fly to is the Dubai International Airport. Also, the pay is enough to live a very comfortable life. It feels like I’ve recouped the money I invested in myself to go to flight school. I feel proud of myself when I remember that. 

I’m not sure what my life would look like if I continued a career in civil engineering. But you know what? This one isn’t bad either. 

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