For years, there’s been a popular idea about success for young Nigerian professionals: if you want a better career, you have to leave the country. The word japa became shorthand for ambition, proof that you’re serious about your future.
But a growing number of Nigerians are quietly proving that you don’t need to pick up and move to get a global career. With high-speed internet, online communities, and a shift in how they approach work, they’re building high-value careers with Silicon Valley and European companies, from their apartments in Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and across Nigeria.
And they’re not merely freelancing for scraps; they are integrating into the core operations of global teams, earning thousands of dollars a month, bypassing the third-world discount, and climbing the ladder through smart upskilling and psychological repositioning. Here’s how they do it.
Why “Just Doing the Job” No Longer Works
The first rule of the new global workforce is that generalists are vulnerable. In 2023, Ajayi Johel was a content writer earning $2,000 a month at a Portugal-based SEO agency, until AI changed everything.
“When AI came into the picture, the company started downsizing. They wanted one writer doing the job of ten,” Johel says. He lost his job that November. Rather than fighting a losing battle against algorithms, he pivoted up the value chain. He discovered GTM (Go-To-Market) Engineering — a hybrid role blending marketing strategy, API automation, and AI tools to scale sales operations.
Johel’s transition reveals a broader truth about global work: companies aren’t just paying for hours anymore; they’re paying for results.
Lateef Maleek, a Strategy Operations Manager who has earned up to $10,000 a month managing SEO for international clients, argues that the era of “doing the task” is over. The market now rewards “diagnostic” thinking.
“If a client says they are looking for a writer to produce four blogs, I ask myself: Why four? Why not ten? What are they trying to achieve?” Maleek explains. “I approach clients from a diagnostic point of view. I’m not hard-selling. I’m saying, ‘Based on your job description, you don’t need X, you likely need Y to get this specific result.’”
This shift from order-taker to strategist is the primary defence against being easily replaceable. Oluwatoni Olujinmi, a B2B SaaS content writer who has worked with major brands like Visme for over three years, notes that while AI can generate text, it cannot replace high-level critical thinking.
“AI can’t be their full writing team because they know their clients are people who can think and evaluate,” Olujinmi says. “It requires critical thinking to develop angles and expert insights. That is the skill so many don’t build.”
The takeaway: Stop being a task-doer. Start being a problem-solver.
Hyper-Specific Upskilling
Success in global roles is more than having a fancy degree. It’s about knowing exactly what companies need, and then proving you can deliver.
For Johel, the breakthrough came from an online community around a tool called Clay. He saw people being hired just for that skill. So, he went all in, aggressively consuming resources by learning everything he could from YouTube tutorials, free accounts, and AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
“I joined the Clay community and saw people looking for Clay operators. That gave me insight that this role is in demand,” Johel recalls, “I spent two months learning Clay from scratch. That’s what got me hired.”
Maleek agrees. His leap from writer to strategist came through investing in expensive, global-standard courses from reputable institutions like the CXL Institute.
“If you want to play on the global level, you need to know what you’re doing. Buy the course. Read the latest research. Keep learning.”
The principle is simple: benchmark your skills against the best, not just what’s available locally.
Related: I Went From Earning ₦160k/Month to $7.8k Working Remotely. Here’s How I Flipped My Career and Income
Mindset Matters
Many Nigerians have the skills to integrate seamlessly, but the confidence to compete globally makes the real difference.
“If you enter a call thinking you’re lesser because of where you’re from, you’ll always earn less,” Maleek says. “Ask for what you deserve. Don’t undervalue yourself.”
Interviews are about selling your value just as much as they are about answering questions.
Johel explains: “It’s like you’re fighting bias before it even comes up. You need to know exactly what they want and show you’re the best choice.”
Maleek adds a numbers perspective: “If I bring $150,000 in lifetime value from one lead, and ask $20,000 for my work that could generate $2 million in three years, the math is simple.”
The Economics of Staying
For those who crack the code, the economic benefits are staggering in comparison to the local economy. However, the path is rarely linear. Income volatility is a feature, not a bug, of the high-growth global career.
Maleek admits that his income has fluctuated wildly, peaking at $10,000 a month in 2024 before settling into a $5,000–$7,000 range as he prioritised a role offering more strategic growth over raw cash flow.
“I’ve always leveraged where I’m going to get the best experience over where I’m going to get the highest money,” Maleek explains. “I’m learning how to be a leader and a decision-maker. Those things are much more valuable to me.”
Johel, currently earning between $1,250 and $1,500, views his current compensation as a stepping stone to his future goals. He is actively interviewing for roles in the $3,000 to $6,000 bracket, a realistic target for a mid-level GTM engineer in the global market.
“Being paid $1,500 is not enough based on my experience,” Johel states. “But I believe that if I am going into any career path, I am competent enough to compete on a global scale. That is why I don’t start my journey locally. I start globally.”
Related: How to Land a Global Remote Job While Living in Nigeria
The Network Effect
Getting global roles is as much about skills as it is about networking and strategically building digital relationships.
Olujinmi treats her online presence like a lead generation tool. She meticulously studied top content marketers in her niche, learning how to reverse-engineer their success.
This enabled her to establish a LinkedIn presence that attracted high-value clients, including her current role at Visme.
Johel takes a more direct approach, utilising “cold” outreach within professional communities. He cold-contacts founders or heads of growth, asking for advice or free resources. Sometimes, they even share access to courses worth $3,000 to $4,000.
The Playbook for Young Nigerians
For young Nigerians entering the global workforce, the core insights from the trio are consistent: Don’t just learn a skill; learn the business of the skill.
“Anyone going into the international role now needs to know that it is saturated,” Johel warns. “You need to experience it locally first to get your hands dirty. Focus on expertise, and deep experience, not just skills.”
Maleek offers a final directive for the next generation: “Don’t be a utility. Be a strategist. Be a consultant. The industry needs professionals who know what they are doing. Invest in courses, learn the right way to do it, and put yourself out there.”
In a world where talent is distributed equally but opportunity is not, these Nigerians are proving that with the right systems and mindset, you can engineer opportunity from anywhere. They are not waiting for the world to come to Nigeria; they are building a bridge to the world, one strategic Zoom call at a time.
Key Takeaways
The pattern is clear:
- Learn in-demand, hyper-specific skills.
- Don’t chase every shiny new skill; focus on what actually moves the needle.
- Think strategically, not just task-based.
- Build confidence and the right mindset.
- Network strategically, online and offline.
- Treat every role as a learning opportunity, not just a paycheck.
