more difficult making a course of study choice.
For one thing, there are hundreds of studies courses a school may offer across Sciences, Social Sciences and Arts.
For a student who is caught between choosing Law or Mass Communication, Economics or Accounting, or even Theatre Arts or Music, it could be overwhelming to just fill that JAMB form, choose courses A, B, or C, and click submit!
Again, many students do not have an idea of what courses are high-paying or in high demand or not, and nor do they know the career prospects open to them in any given course of study.
For these reasons and many more, if you are a potential undergraduate in Nigeria look for which course is the best course in Nigeria, the list below will guide you towards making an informed decision.
Although there are only 9 courses listed here, there are other great courses you can study alternatively but this list is based on certain criteria like job availability for careers in these courses, lucrativeness of the courses, and marketability.
Without further ado, the best courses to study in Nigeria are in 2021/2022. Please note that this list is in no particular order.
9 Best courses to study in Nigeria in 2021/2022
Nursing
Nursing is arguably one of the best courses to study in Nigeria in 2021-2022. For one thing, nursing continues to outshine other health care professions in many key areas.
Their diversity, demand, and salaries keep growing. The outbreak of Covid-19 placed the central role of qualified, passionate, and experienced nurses at the forefront, thereby increasing the value placed on this esteemed career.
But not to scare you about the risk they are exposed to, which is very minimal in developed countries, nurses are also very well renumerated compared to other careers.
The average salary of a nurse in the US as of the time of this writeup is up to $80,000 dollars annually.
Nursing is also one of the most high-demand jobs in the world, giving you the opportunity to secure jobs abroad, although you may need to up your skills over there.
If you are interested in studying, here are the best universities where you can study Nursing in Nigeria.
Engineering
Engineering is one of the best courses to study in Nigeria and even many other parts of the world.
It offers a variety of specialized courses that offer great prospects for candidates who want to go in the Engineering direction.
Some of the hottest and highest-paying Engineering courses you can offer in Nigeria are Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Electrical, and Electronics Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Telecommunication Engineering, Software Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Engineering, Biochemical Engineering.
Any of these branches of Engineering is a good one, but it all depends on your interest, passion, and preference. Software Engineering, Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Engineering are some of the most in-demand professions right now.
Apart from the fact their prestige, professional growth, and ability to solve real problems with practical skills, Engineering jobs also usually come with a handsome financial package which is something no one minds.
You can start your Engineering courses at any of these best universities for Engineering in Nigeria.
Accounting and Finance
By 2022, the global accounting services market value is expected to reach $868 billion. That shows the upward trend of the demand for these professionals.
If you are in the social sciences, then one of the best courses you can study in Nigeria now is Accounting and Finance. Accountants and auditors are an essential part of every business.
These professionals make sure your numbers add up, perform audits, and run payroll. From government parastatals to the private sector and small businesses, economic activities taking place around the country require the knowledge and know-how of accounting and finance experts.
If you are a business owner operating in Nigeria, once your business starts to grow and you start to drive revenue, you’ll soon need the services of an accountant.
In fact, you’ll need them to help you tidy up your tax papers so that you don’t shoot yourself in the foot and at the same time so you can access opportunities open to registered businesses.
Medicine and Surgery
Needless to say, Medicine and Surgery is one of the most prestigious, most lucrative, and most sought-after courses everywhere in the world.
Medical professionals play very vital roles in society and they cannot be too many. In a country like Nigeria, where medical doctors leave the country in their thousands yearly to developed countries, the need for medical doctors has never been this urgent.
Medicine and Surgery are also some of the highest-paying professions in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world. The median salary of a medical doctor working in us is about $299,000 annually.
That’s a lot of money if you ask me. But considering the demand of their job and the amount of time that they sacrifice to study before becoming certified medical doctors, it is well-deserving.
For these reasons and more, medicine and surgery remain one of the best courses to study in Nigeria in 2021/2022.
Marketing
We all market ourselves every day.
A lecturer markets himself to his students every day in class, couples market themselves each day – the husband market himself to the wife and vice versa.
And of course, companies and organizations market themselves to their customers and potential customers all the time.
Marketing is an indispensable professional skill that is useful in all areas of life, especially in the world of business. According to the SMEDAN National Survey a few years back, there are around 41.5 million SMEs in Nigeria.
In fact, some data shows that SMEs account for more than 90% of jobs in Nigeria. All these businesses need one thing – marketing.
Hence, the demand for skilled and professional marketers has increased in recent times. If you are a student looking for admission in 2022, marketing is a good choice for you, especially if you have a passion for and interest in this profession.
Pharmacy
Are you looking for a course with more job opportunities in Nigeria? If you’ve scrolled through the best courses to study in Nigeria that I have mentioned above, and you are yet to see your choice, then what about Pharmacy?
Pharmacy is arguably one of the best courses for students in the sciences. It is similar to Medicine and Surgery but the difference is that pharmacists only deal with the drug aspects.
Pharmacy is the clinical health science that links medical science with chemistry and it is charged with the discovery, production, disposal, safe and effective use, and control of medications and drugs.
Whenever there is a medical doctor, there must be a pharmacist to administer drugs. In fact, the average range of a pharmacist’s salary in the US is $110-$142 annually.
But don’t be fascinated by the financial gains alone, Pharmacy is a very rigorous course that requires 5 years of undergraduate training in Nigeria.
Law
One of the most lucrative courses in Nigeria as of today still remains Law.
Law, or legal studies, comes into contact with almost every area of human life, touching upon issues relating to business, economics, politics, the environment, human rights, international relations, and trade.
Law is strictly for art students, so you need to score very in subjects like Government, Literature, English Language and Economics, or other related subjects to qualify to study law in any of these best universities in Nigeria.
You’ll need to score well above 300 in your JAMB to gain admission to study law.
Talking about how lucrative law is in Nigeria, though becoming a lawyer may not give you a passport to a wealthy life, lawyers earn reasonably well depending on their different law firms and different government parastatals.
But the relative job security, career advancement prospect, and the satisfaction of being able to contribute your quota to the justice system of the country are next to none.
Being a lawyer also opens up a world of possibilities that may not be available in other courses of study.
English language
You may wonder why the English Language is on the list of one of the most lucrative courses in Nigeria but yes, it is.
If there is one course in the humanities that opens you up to the world of possibilities and opportunities, it is the English Language.
The English language is one of the most spoken languages in the world and so, a graduate who is well trained in the use of the language is able to attract lots of jobs across different sectors requiring a good and skillful use of the language both in written and speaking forms.
If you graduate with a good grade in the English Language, you can work in advertising agencies as a creative, i.e., copywriter, become a journalist working in print or broadcasting; in public relations, you can become a successful writer and author, editor, become a lecturer upon furthering your studies, etc.
The job prospects for smart students in the humanities who go for the English Language are actually a lot more.
Interestingly, some of these job prospects are more high-paying than some far more popular courses in the sciences.
Hence, this is one of the best courses to study in Nigeria in 2021/2022.
Psychology
Awareness about mental health is on the increase everywhere in the world, including in Nigeria which has increased the demand for psychologists across the world, making it one of the most sought-after professions.
Psychology is defined as the science of mind and behavior, it includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as feeling and thought.
Psychologists are very important to the well-being of society.
If you want to contribute to the betterment of humanity and get that sense of fulfillment, psychology is a good course.
And, there are different careers you can pursue in psychology such as Clinical psychology, Counseling psychology, Developmental psychology, Environmental psychology, Forensic psychology, Health psychology, Rehabilitation psychology, and sports psychology.
All these areas of specialization in psychology are lucrative depending on how you are able to attract great job opportunities which are available.