Entrepreneurship as a Career
Senior 4 · Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship as a Career
Lesson 1 of 4
25 min
The National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) surveys the labour market every year. Its Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2024 found that about 4.4 million people were employed. Of them, 66.5% were employees and 28.3% were own-account workers: people who work for themselves without regular employees. Unemployment stood at 14.9%, and it was higher among young people aged 16 to 30 (18.5%) than among adults (12.3%) (NISR, LFS Annual Report 2024).
More than one working person in four in Rwanda already works for themselves. For many of them it was a deliberate choice; for others it was the only option open. The difference between the two is planning.
Think about it: do you know an adult who runs their own business? Did they plan that career, or did they fall into it?
Definition
Job: a particular paid position or piece of work, such as "cashier at a supermarket in Huye". Occupation: the kind of work a person does, such as "accountant" or "tailor".
Career: the sequence of jobs, learning and experiences a person goes through in their working life, usually in one field and with growth in skill and responsibility.
Example: apprentice mechanic, then mechanic, then owner of a garage that trains apprentices is a career in motor repair.
Definition
Career choice: the decision about which field of work to prepare for and enter, made by matching a person's interests, abilities and values to the opportunities available.
Entrepreneurship as a career: choosing to earn one's living mainly by creating and running one's own ventures, and planning the education, experience and resources that this requires, rather than seeking employment from others.
| Group of factors | Examples | Question to ask yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | Interests, abilities, values, personality, health | What do I enjoy, and what am I good at? |
| Educational | Subjects taken, results, qualifications, training places | Which careers do my subject combination and results open? |
| Economic | Expected income, demand for the skill, cost of training, capital available | Will there be work, and can I afford the route into it? |
| Social | Family expectations, role models, friends, culture, gender stereotypes | Am I choosing this for myself or for others? |
| Information | Career guidance, visits, media, internships | Do I know what the work is really like? |
The American psychologist John L. Holland (in Making Vocational Choices, 1973) grouped people's work interests into six types, often called RIASEC. People are happiest in work that suits their two or three strongest types. Types next to each other on the hexagon are more alike than types opposite each other.
Entrepreneurs usually score high on Enterprising, combined with the type of their field: a garage owner is often Enterprising and Realistic, a fashion designer Enterprising and Artistic, and the owner of an accounting firm Enterprising and Conventional.
Tip
Choose a field, then a role. First ask "which field interests me?" (farming, fashion, computers, health). Then ask "do I want to work in it as an employee or as an entrepreneur?" Every field has room for both, so the two choices can be made separately.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Independence: you decide what to do and how | Income is uncertain and may be low or nothing at first |
| Income is not limited to a fixed salary | Personal savings and assets are at risk |
| Work that matches your own interests and values | Long hours and responsibility for everything |
| Creating jobs for others and value for the community | No paid leave or employer pension unless you arrange them |
| Can start small, even while studying or employed | Loneliness of decisions; failure is public |
| Skills learned are useful in any later job | Needs capital, which many young people lack |
Worked example 1: comparing a salary with an uncertain profit
Mukamana can take a job paying Frw 250,000 a month, or open a hair salon. From the experience of salons nearby she estimates that in a typical month there is a 50% chance of a profit of Frw 450,000, a 30% chance of Frw 200,000, and a 20% chance of a loss of Frw 50,000. Compare the two. (Illustrative figures.)
Expected (average) monthly profit, the sum of each outcome times its probability:
Interpretation: on average the salon earns Frw 25,000 a month more than the job, but in one month out of five it loses money, while the salary never falls. The choice depends on her savings (can she survive a bad month?), her attitude to risk, and the non-money factors: independence and the chance to grow a bigger salon. The numbers inform the decision; they do not make it.
Worked example 2: applying the factors
Habineza, in S4, enjoys repairing radios and phones, scores well in physics, likes explaining things to customers, and has an uncle with a small electronics shop. His parents want him to be a doctor.
Conclusion: an electronics career, starting with training and work in his uncle's shop and aiming at his own repair business, fits him better than medicine. He should discuss it with his parents with this evidence, and gather more information, for example by spending a holiday in the shop.
Warning
Two myths. "Entrepreneurship is for people who failed at school": many entrepreneurs are highly educated, and every venture needs skills. "Entrepreneurs get rich quickly": most businesses grow slowly, and many fail in their first years. Choose entrepreneurship because it fits you, and plan for it like any other career.
Stephen Joy, "Holland and the RIASEC Model". Listen for what each of the six types enjoys, then decide which two or three describe you best.
Practice
Key points
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the Holland hexagon (drawn from John L. Holland's published model), the tables, the worked examples and the practice items. The people and figures in the examples are illustrative (2026).
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Match each term to its example.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
