Some people map out their careers with clear blueprints. Others, like Ifeoma Chukwu, stumble upon theirs while trying to survive. Her journey from earning ₦10,000 as a secondary school teacher to making $2,500 monthly as a data analyst wasn’t linear, built on resilience, reinvention, and a deep belief that she could change her story one skill at a time.
This is how she did it.
Teaching For Survival
Ifeoma Chukwu’s career began in 2018, in Nnewi in Anambra State. She had just finished secondary school, full of ambition but faced with a harsh reality, there was no money to send her to university. Her parents were stretched thin, and as the first child, she felt an unspoken responsibility to help out.
So she did what she could. She started teaching mathematics at a nearby secondary school.
“The pay was ₦10,000,” she remembers with a smile. “It wasn’t much, but it felt empowering. It was the first time I earned my own money.”
Teaching became her first brush with independence. She’d wake early, prepare for school, and walk long distance to school around her area. Despite the low pay, the students loved her because she made mathematics less intimidating, more fun.
By 2019, a different school hired her, increasing her pay to ₦15,000. For the first time, she could contribute to household expenses and even save a little, but deep down, she knew she wanted more than a chalkboard and a classroom.
The COVID-19 Spark
When COVID-19 struck in 2020, everything stopped. Schools shut down. Income dried up. For months, Ifeoma stayed at home, uncertain of what to do next.
Then, one afternoon, her older cousin visited and changed her life without even knowing it.
“He gave me his old laptop,” she recalls. “He said, ‘You’re good in maths, you’ll do well in data analysis.’ I didn’t even know what that meant at the time, but something about it clicked.”
That moment planted a seed. She began researching data analysis, watching free YouTube tutorials, reading books, and taking Coursera’s free courses on Excel and Power BI. What started as curiosity quickly became passion. She’d spend late nights learning, applying formulas, and analyzing sample datasets she found online.
When she finally gained admission into the university to study Statistics by the end of 2020, she was already proficient in the basics of data cleaning, visualization, and storytelling with data. She didn’t know it then, but she was already building the foundation for her future career.
The First Remote Job: From ₦0 to ₦40,000
As remote work exploded during the pandemic, she saw a new opportunity. Companies were hiring talent from anywhere, and she wanted in.
“I started applying for remote data jobs,” she says. “At first, nobody replied. I must have sent out over fifty applications. Then one day, someone finally said yes.”
The offer was for ₦40,000 a month, barely enough, but it represented something bigger: progress.
She threw herself into the role, analyzing customer data and building reports. But the company’s culture soon turned toxic. “It was my first job, and I was excited. But the environment was draining. I learned quickly that money without peace isn’t worth it.”
Six months later, she resigned. For a while, she didn’t work at all. She focused on her university coursework and relied on occasional support from her parents. It was a difficult phase; a mix of burnout and uncertainty. But as she would later discover, the pause was necessary.
The LinkedIn Breakthrough
In her 200 Level, Ifeoma had regained her confidence. She decided to showcase her work online, posting small projects and data visualizations on LinkedIn.
“I just wanted to share what I was learning,” she says. “I didn’t expect anything from it.”
Three months later, she received a message from a UK-based founder who had seen one of her dashboards. Thinking it was a scam, she ignored it. But when the founder messaged again, and then emailed her, she finally replied.
It turned out to be real. The company offered her a data analyst role paying $550 per month. She couldn’t believe it.
“It felt like magic,” she laughs. “From ₦15,000 to $550, it was like jumping from night to day.”
She worked with that company throughout university, and even during her NYSC year. It was her first taste of global experience, handling real data, working across time zones, and understanding how analytics drives decision-making.
Black Tax
Shortly after she got the job, life hit hard. Her father suffered a stroke, and hospital bills started piling up. Ifeoma became the family’s financial backbone almost overnight.
“I started paying for his drugs, sending money home, and covering my brothers’ school fees,” she says. “At some point, I even paid for their WAEC exams.”
The responsibility was heavy, but she carried it with quiet strength. Every month, she sent a portion of her salary home, sometimes half of it, while trying to save what was left.
“I learned discipline fast,” she says. “I had to budget like my life depended on it.”
Despite the pressure, she never stopped improving herself. She took new courses, learned Python, and built projects that deepened her skills.
The Big Break
After NYSC, she knew it was time for the next leap. She wanted better pay and more meaningful work.
For the next three months, she applied to over a hundred companies, sometimes receiving silence, other times rejections that stung, but she refused to stop.
Then, in early 2025, the breakthrough came. A healthtech startup based in Australia offered her a data analyst position paying $2,500 per month.
“It was surreal,” she says. “I cried. I thought about how I started with ₦10,000, and now someone was paying me in dollars.”
Around the same period, a Nigerian fintech company also offered her a contract data project, allowing her to earn extra on the side.
Her financial life transformed almost overnight.
Money Moves: Building Wealth With Intention
In mid-2025, Ifeoma’s finances were steady and structured. She had become not just a data analyst, but a data-driven money manager. Here’s what her portfolio looks like today:
- $5,000 in dollar savings
- $3,000 invested in stocks and S&P 500 ETFs
- Real estate micro-investment through Risevest
She also sends ₦200,000 home every month to support her family, covering her father’s medical needs and her brothers’ university fees.
Her short-term money move is to buy a car before the end of next year.
Her long-term plan is to buy a home and travel across Africa, exploring countries like Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda.
“I want to see how people live, how they work, how they grow,” she says. “For me, financial freedom means choices, being able to live life on your terms.”
From Learner To Lecturer
Despite her success, Ifeoma hasn’t forgotten where she started. During her leave days, she began lecturing mathematics and statistics at a university.
“I see myself in some of the students,” she says. “They’re hungry to learn but don’t have access. So, I teach, because that’s how my own journey started.”
She’s also planning to pursue a Master’s in Applied Statistics, with hopes of contributing to research and education in Nigeria.
At her core, Ifeoma believes that every challenge in life can be turned into an equation—and every equation has a solution.
“Money moves are not just about making money,” she says. “They’re about making meaning, turning what used to be survival into stability, and stability into impact.”
I’ve lived many lives, but one lesson ties them all together: money is only as powerful as its utility. Through my work, I share stories about money and create guides for Africans who want to get the best out of theirs.