Boipelo

Boipelo Ncholo

Originally from a township called Itsoseng, North-West, Boipelo matriculated in 2013. In 2014 enrolled for Biotechnology in the faculty of applied sciences at Vaal University of Technology (VUT), where she completed her diploma. Thereafter, she did her internship between 2017 and 2018. In 2019, she furthered her studies to obtain B-Tech (Degree) in Biotechnology. Upon completion, she started working as a quality analyst in 2020.
How old were you when you decided to pursue your current career path and what inspired you?

I was 18 years old, fresh from Matric, and through life science classes in high school. I remember when my teacher taught us about stem cells and their ability to form any organ in our bodies got me excited. That's when I knew I wanted to pursue this. 

Did you ever get help with career guidance? Any mentor(s) & what role did they play?

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any (formal) career guidance; no mentors and no advice outside of our high school teachers who always encouraged us to do better. I honesty wish I had career guidance. I only got to know about some of the higher learning institutions after a few years into varsity and through LinkedIn. I hope HMU is able to help as many disadvantaged learners as possible.

What challenges did you face (or are facing) / had to overcome in your journey?

One of my biggest challenges was choosing biotechnology. As amazing of a course it may seem, in my opinion, there aren’t that many opportunities for work in South Africa. Also, because it’s a general degree, it does require a masters or PhD for specialisation.

What has been your biggest driver/motivator?

Being someone I can be proud of when all is said and done.

What advice or key learning points from your journey would you like people to take on theirs?

I would advise future leaders to choose specialised courses (in demand) and most importantly do your research and ask for help.

Any advice for a young person from a rural area / township who currently has no clue where to even start when choosing a career path?

Having no idea which career path to follow is very common. I went through it myself and I am sure many other people will go through it. I remember in primary school, I wanted to become a magistrate at some point and a pilot at some point. Take a personality test there are options online, google career quiz or personality test you should get something. Again, do your research and ask for help.