Coast students turn to social media for formal jobs

Hiring companies use social media to vet their applicants.[Photo: iStock]

For a growing number of students at the Coast, social media is increasingly becoming a potential lifeline in an economy where formal job opportunities remain limited.

At Pwani University, more than 500 students recently attended a  digital income masterclass backed by Safaricom and Sprite, highlighting a shift in how young people perceive online platforms.

The session exposed a critical gap. While many youth are highly active on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, few understand how to turn that engagement into income.

“I have always posted videos, but I did not know how to make money from them,” said one student, echoing a common frustration among digitally active but financially excluded youth.

For creators like Nishmah Gesare, a student at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) in Mombasa, content creation has already begun to shift from hobby to hustle.

Her growth on TikTok has opened doors to brand deals, but the income remains inconsistent.

“Some months you earn, some months you don’t. It’s not something you can fully depend on yet,” she says.

Balancing content creation with academic demands remains a daily challenge, forcing her to film between classes and edit late into the night.

At the Technical University of Mombasa, David Magware shares a similar experience. He sees content creation more as a faster route to visibility and income than traditional career paths, but warns that the system is still largely unstructured.

“Many brands do not pay fairly, and there’s little guidance on how to turn content into a sustainable business,” he says.

Those realities were not glossed over during the Pwani University session. Instead of presenting content creation as a glamorous career, facilitators framed it as a demanding, uncertain but potentially viable income stream.

Participants were taken through the mechanics of audience growth, platform algorithms, and the unpredictable nature of brand partnership, underscoring that digital income is neither instant nor guaranteed.

The training also challenged the perception of “easy money” online, emphasising  financial discipline, consistency, and reinvestment as critical to long-term success.

This reflects a broader shift across Kenya’s youth population, where rising internet access and smartphone penetration are fuelling interest in digital hustles. However, the gap between visibility and actual earnings remains significant.

While some creators manage to secure deals and monetise their platforms, many are still navigating trial and error,  learning how to convert views, likes, and followers into sustainable income.

For students like Gesare and Magware, content creation represents both opportunity and uncertainty, a space where creativity can generate income but without guarantees.

As the digital economy continues to evolve, one reality is becoming clear: for many young Kenyans, posting online is no longer just for fun; it is part of a broader search for survival in a challenging economic landscape.