Undergraduate or masters in population studies is among the best courses for mathematics lovers in Kenya. If you are a student in high school or intending to join college for a degree relevant to mathematics, the ideal courses for you include statistics, mathematics, population studies or biostatistics. But population studies is most relevant to people whose goal is to work at KNBS, NGOs or UN.
The University of Nairobi offers the course, population studies. The program attracts less than 50 students, which makes it one of the few courses in Kenya with the least number of students. It is in this regard that many students are encouraged to make it the first choice when selecting university courses.
I have observed that most Kenyans rush to pursue common courses like electrical engineering, law, medicine and teaching, thinking that those are the only course with the best salaries and employment opportunities. But there are uncommon courses that attract attractive perks and are highly marketable, population studies is among those programs.
If by chance you miss out on statistics, actuarial science, biostatistics, or mathematics, the next destination should be population studies. If you don’t know what this entails, simply search the meaning of the word demography.
And if you are wondering which companies can employ you, the following is the list:
- Kenya National Bureau of Statistics
- APHRC
- Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
- Ministry of Environment
- United Nations
- Innovation for Poverty Action
- Centre For Disease Control (CDC)
- Kemri
- NGOs
- African Wildlife Foundation
- World Food Program (WFP)
- University of Nairobi
Population studies, just like statistics is very marketable .Research show that more than 80 % of graduates with population studies degree earn at least Ksh 80,000 starting salary.