about

Dump Your Degree is a comprehensive and practical guide designed to help students, graduates, and early career professionals choose the best education and career path for their life. Although higher education has traditionally been perceived as the ultimate means to achieve career success, Dump Your Degree challenges this long held belief.

This guide provides a refreshing perspective on the importance of education and offers insights into various education paths that are often overlooked, with emphasis being on exploring alternative career paths that can leverage their skills and talents.

Dump Your Degree covers a wide range of topics, including navigating higher education, choosing a field of study, and assessing career demand. Readers will learn how to maximize their skills, talents, and network to create a career they love and enjoy.

Dump Your Degree is a must-read for anyone who wants to make informed decisions about their education and career and get the tools to create a path that aligns with their values, passions, and goals.

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Section I – The Don’ts

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Don’t Listen to Your Parents
(Why parents give bad advice and how you can make your own decisions)

Chapter 2 – Don’t Listen to ‘They’
(Why getting the right advisor makes a huge difference)

Chapter 3 – Don’t Get a B.S. Degree
(How getting the wrong degree can cost you big time)

Chapter 4 – Don’t Make a Deal with the Debtvil
(The ins and outs of student loan debt and why you should avoid it)

Section II – The DOs

Chapter 6 – Change Your Mind
(Rethink your plan for the future)

Chapter 7 – Start Before You Finish
(Start your career before you graduate)

Chapter 8 – Ready, Set, Goal
(How to set and accomplish career goals)

Chapter 9 – Start Socializing
(How to use your social capital to boost your career)

Chapter 10 – From Seeker to Sought After
(Why branding yourself matters in the job market)

Chapter 11 – Money Making Moves
(How to be financially prepared)

Conclusion

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Meet The Author

Dr. Zakiya Akerele found an early passion in academic pursuits hoping to use them to improve herself and the world around her. She sought higher education with full force, obtaining degrees from Florida A&M University (B.A.), Columbia University (Ed.M.), and Fordham University (M.A. and Ph.D.) in International Education, Philosophy, and Religious Studies.

She has served in various capacities at higher education institutions and at social justice, political, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) both in the U.S. and abroad. Zakiya has made it her mission to raise awareness and find tangible solutions to the issue of unemployment and underemployment experienced by college graduates.

As a professor and mentor, she’s taught hundreds of students how to control their careers by figuratively dumping their degrees and using the sum of their skills, knowledge, and connections to create a professional life they enjoy.

An entrepreneur and globetrotter, Zakiya loves traveling while working remotely on her own terms and currently resides near Atlanta, GA, with her husband and two children.

reviews

Calvary Diggs

“Readers will feel like they’re meeting with a professor after hours and receiving coveted mentorship. The text is educational in nature, yet at times it can be so humorous that it causes literal laughs out loud”

Kimberly Horne

“What I liked most about Dump Your Degree is the fact that it provides tangibles on how a person can step outside of their degree to build a career. This includes taking stock of their passions and finding profitable ways to utilize them.“

Alexia Howell

“As someone who graduated from an Ivy League majoring in something they no longer care about, I found the book such a helpful and inspiring read that makes me want to think more about my goals and path forward”