From ₦36k to CEO: Jane Egerton-Idehen on building wealth through tech careers
Jane Egerton-Idehen started in tech earning ₦36k as a corps member, running 24/7 satellite shifts for extra pay. Now MD/CEO of NIGCOMSAT, she advises: chase challenging opportunities and skills first, financial growth will follow.
<br />
For decades, Jane Egerton-Idehen has been one of the few women working at the heart of Africa’s technology and telecommunications ecosystem. Trained as an electronics engineer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, she has spent her entire career in technology, moving through satellite engineering, telecoms, multinational tech firms, and executive leadership roles across Africa and beyond.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Her professional journey began at Spar Aerospace, a satellite integration company, where she completed her industrial training. From there, she joined Ericsson, followed by Nokia Siemens Networks, Avanti, a satellite company, and Meta (formerly Facebook).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Today, she is MD/CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Nigeria’s national satellite operator.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In a conversation with Techpoint Africa, she discusses building a career in technology: how the right skill sets and competence can translate into making money.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
How much did you earn in your first tech job?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Even back then, people in tech tended to earn slightly above average. This was around 2001. As a corps member, I earned about ₦36,000 monthly, which was significant at the time, considering the government allowance was about ₦11,000.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Because I worked as a Satellite Engineer, I ran shifts 24/7 operations, and shifts came with allowances. When I ran shifts, my take-home pay could be close to ₦80,000 because the hourly rate was higher. So I was earning several times what the government paid corps members.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I didn’t do it primarily for the money. I was curious and eager to learn. It was a new sector, and I wanted to immerse myself fully. My colleagues and managers noticed my hunger to learn and kept giving me more responsibilities.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I worked during the holidays as well because people would ask me to cover their shifts. So even though I worked very hard, I earned quite well for a corps member. And even today, I believe tech still offers not just a base income but opportunities for additional or passive income.<br />
<br />
<br />
...
