Growth means going abroad?
Disclaimer: This will be a very long rant post. You have been warned.
As I’ve said a while ago, these days I’m feeling more social what with all the conversations (and meeting) I’m having with a lot of people whether personal, online or through text, and skype. Amongst all these conversations one really stood out, that was what my aunt and I have talked about last week about my work.
She knows I’m home-based now, I love my work, I love how I am able to test my discipline and I love being at home. I had some doubts before making the “jump
”, you know, we’re all supposed to go somewhere to be able to do our actual work, but now I’m still here. So I’m proud to say that I made the right choice.
I’m fortunate to have the most supportive and understanding parents in the world, when I was deciding whether I should take this post or not I would ask them what should I do? What should I say? But all they would tell me is, “Do what you think is right, if all goes well then that’s good. If not, always remember that we would back you up no matter what happens.
” So I decided to take it up, hope for the best and expect the worst.
Being in the Philippines means stagnant career?
Back to what my aunt and I talked about, she asked me about my work etc., etc. I told her I enjoy the things I’m doing, I love being at home while working, not having to think about what I should wear or what should be my “do
” for the day. Honestly, I expect her to understand it since well, my parents did, as far as I know my grandmother doesn’t have any problems with it. I thought she did too until she said, “What if you want to grow?
”
I was dumbfounded! I can’t believe she was actually telling me that I will not grow just because I’m working here. I’m not as patriotic as I was a few years back but nevertheless I never gave up in thinking that one day the Philippines will be again treated as one of the best countries in Asia and not one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Anyway, as I was saying, I was surprised she thought that if I went abroad then my career would grow overnight. Let me think, a lot of Filipinos graduate with a degree of nursing and they have passed the board some with flying colors, ask them what they would do next and they would proudly say that they’d go abroad, you would find some of them working as a care-giver. Growth?
A teacher is working at HongKong as domestic helper, wait, did you say growth?!
A call center representative here went to Singapore to work as, you guessed it, to be a call center representative still. There’s a growth?
A nurse went to Kuwait to work at a blood bank, umm, where’s the growth in that?
There’s a growth in their income yes, but what growth are we talking about?! Which growth is more important? Yes I know you can’t do anything if you don’t have any money but is there all there is to it?
In a span of 8 months since I started working, I knew how important usability and accessibility is, I learned how hard it is to create a real estate site. I realized how frustrating IE can be, I knew how to create semantic markup and realized that problogging can be a tough job based on Abe’s 2007 Blog Resolution. I was able to learn the basics of SEO and how intricate and complicated the business can be that it’s not all about spamming yahoo groups and getting tons of traffic.
Didn’t I have my fair share of growth in just a short amount of time?! I know there will be more of that so who said and what kind of proof do we have that we can’t grow here?! I don’t condemn people going outside the country to work, and I don’t mean to say that money is all they think about nor am I here to say that there’s no growth outside. I am just here to say that I know I will not be stagnant here, Philippines is becoming known because of our artists and our copywriters so… *shrugs*
Who dispels the idea of traveling abroad? I don’t, but don’t tell me that I should go to another country to make my career grow because I can do that right here, especially if by growth you mean I will work there as a call center representative! I didn’t have any formal education in web designing but I think I’m doing fairly well in this business.
Maybe I’m just being stubborn, maybe I just want her to accept my decision on what I want to do with my life. But nevertheless, that stuck, maybe she meant to hit me but sadly, she missed. What’s your take on this matter?
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Home-based ka lang pala. I want to do the same thing, but I don’t think my parents will approve. Anyway, you know what? Don’t get yourself too worked up on this issue. Tita mo lang naman yan eh. (Look who’s talking; I’d probably feel the same, with a much longer rant, lol)
Hindi ko rin maintindihan kung anung gustong palabasin sa “growth” na yan. Ang growth ay di nasusukat sa pera. Kung mahal mo naman ang ginagawa mo, pinagbubutihan mo ito, at lalo mong napapahusay ang sarili mo, yun ang growth para sa akin.
Don’t dwell on this too much. Superficial people are superficial people; they don’t notice the things that matter the most.
No, you’re not being stubborn. You actually have a very valid point, which I continue to stress to my parents and to anyone who would insist that there’s no growth here in the country. It’s actually funny; people who complain that there’s no growth here are the main reasons why it is such. The more people think of that, the more people say it loud, the truer (haha is there such a word?) it becomes. It’s like when you look in the mirror in the morning and keep on saying that you’re ugly, then you’ll definitely be ugly. :P
I agree with Shari — real growth is when you excel in and love what you do. There’s not too many people who actually take the risk to do that — to venture into the “unknown” and tap into their passions. Kudos to you then because you did just that. Not to sound too religious, but God’s will for us is not to earn the most money, but to do something we’re passionate about. That’s what really counts.
Don’t let her get to you; she probably doesn’t understand the great thing that you did by taking the risk. :)
Hey, you don’t need to be abroad to make a difference. Well, let’s just consider this.
There was a time that I really contemplated deeply on how it is to be young and idealistic, yet pressured by economic woes.
I left a rather spiffy job in the corporate world to go home-based and work offshore. By June, I’ll be teaching. And that’s easily taking a job with a salary that’s about a third of what I used to get. It’s honestly not enough to realistically sustain life in the metro. But I chose to do so. Why? ‘Cause I want to make a real difference. Even if I touch one kid and teach him/her one thing that s/he didn’t know before s/he met me, that’d mean a lot.
Many people have said that I could make it big abroad but I’m not going. The Philippines might be f*d up, but we’re still here, right?
Growth is intrinsic, more than how people view you, it’s how you view yourself. There’s no use pretending ’cause you can’t lie to yourself. You made a stand; be responsible and proud for it.
Wouldn’t you be more proud spreading the good word here or overseas where you’d just be dealing with people who don’t even know the difference of a CD drive from a coffee cup holder?
Wow, all of your comments looks like it would be better to have a post of its own haha :P
yeah, I told this to my father and that’s what he said as well, he told me that it’s already a big bonus that I’m not (as in I’m not too stressed out with what I’m doing) because I’m being paid to do what I love the most and I don’t have to go anywhere else as well.
Tina: you’re right, they don’t think there’s growth here so they would go elsewhere only to do a job that’s lower than their degree, and they think that by going abroad would make our country better?.. haaay… And I thought I’m pessimistic! lols
Alex: whoah! what a noble job that I know I won’t have the patience to take! hehehe :P Thanks for dropping by ha ;)
[...] from one blog to another, I chanced upon this post on growth and a career abroad. (Funny how I jumped from Angelo’s to Yuga’s to Mae’s [...]
to each his own. your aunt has her own definition of growth. do what makes you happy coz that’s what matters most. change is not always growth just as movement is not always progress.
wouldn’t be able to say it better myself :)
aunts!
my aunt and my uncle also berated me for having a stay-at-home job. said it’s “not good” to be “unemployed”. then i found out that i earned more than they do :P
haha! well, that’s cause you’re so talented :) I’m also hoping for the day to come when I will be able to earn at least equal to what they’re earning, but I know that I still have a lot to improve on so.. I have to take one step at a time :)
Congratulation to all of you have the same way of thinking with Mae. Standing for what you believe in is already a success in itself.Getting paid for doing what you love most is another.
May all your tribe increase…
Someone once told a friend of mine na martir raw ang maiwan sa Pinas. I don’t think so. I think that there are plenty of opportunities here in the Philippines especially that the world is becoming more wired and more connected and “flatter” (to quote Thomas Friedman). It just needs creativity, perseverance and adventure. :)
hehe whenever I hear that kind of thinking I can’t help but think then what will happen to our country? Eh di sana, yung mga bayani natin hinayaan nalang na under tayo ng iba… ganun din naman pala ang mangyayari… diba? :)
Philippines need people like you Mae. I call it Entrepreneur. We need Job Maker, not Job Seeker. It’s just a matter of time but i believe “There’s no other way than to go UP”.
I hope that our school system will change already. Sa eskwelahan kasi palagi sinasabi ng mga titser, “MAGSUMIKAP KAYO PARA PAG NAKATAPOS KAYO MAKAPAGTRABAHO KAYO SA MAGANDANG KUMPANYA NA MALAKI ANG SWELDO O KAYA’Y MATANGGAP KAYO SA ABROAD”. Very frustrating… that’s why i quitted. Wasting time and money…
thanks, yes, we do need entrepreneurs in this country…
You won’t just earn as much as they do, you’d probably earn more. That’s the best thing about our job. It would depend on you if you want to succeed, and just you. You won’t need to depend on some other person who decides whether you deserve a raise or not.
As my mom used to say… When you’re employed, the highest position you can reach is President. But you can never be the owner :) Same thing for going out of the country. You get employed there, but you can never earn as much as your employer. Where’s growth in that?
:D very well said indeed! pricing… that’s so… vague… hehehe, honestly, I don’t know how to price myself I often find myself thinking whether the price I’m giving is just fair, underpriced or way over haha *sigh* but thanks for that Ate Gail ^_^ Will keep that in mind!
[...] At the start of this month, I found this post of my fellow Blogparteehista: Growth means going abroad? [...]
There is nothing wrong with working abroad if somebody thinks that leaving the country is the best option for them.
Like you, I have thought about it deep, long and hard. And it’s not the best option for me.
The keys for me are perspective and attitude. While others see gloom and doom, I see potential and hope. While others choose to rant about our condition, I choose to work within my circle of focus.
I accept that there are problems and hindrances to growth and success here but I also believe that we are capable of solving them and surpassing them.
My instructor once mentioned to me that studies showed that it’s not really the lack of jobs nor the transcript of records that make people get a job, but rather their personality(it includes the way they dress on their interviews, etiquettes). It’s plausible since learning about your profession isn’t limited to the four walls of a classroom. I’m even convinced that, many professionals learn more when they start on their actual jobs.
I formerly was an IT student, and now I’m in Commerce. It’s a lot funny that many Commerce students REFUSE to be business-like people. I mean, when we are required to wear corporate attires, many dress like as if they don’t wear corporate attire. So it becomes a habit, when they’re on for an interview, they wear the uncorporatish corporate attire. Of course, kung ikaw ang employer and you see an applicant like that, turn off. Of course you want the best not only for your business, but also for your customers. It’s a chain reaction.
Naalala ko tuloy yung kinuwento nung instructor ko nung pumunta siya sa Figaro. She asked the lady what’s their bet coffee, nung una, nakatunganga lang yung babae. Tapos nung inulit ulit niya yung tanong ang sabi ng babae “Ewan ko, hindi ko alam, di ko pa natikman”. Horrible, right?
The things you pointed out are funny but true. Maybe, many Filipinos lack the “it” to get hired?? You know how it goes in the Philippines. It’s difficult to fire a lazy and/or inefficient or ineffective or impotent employee, if you do that you’re going down(It’s like shooting yourself on the foot). I guess that’s why employers are too careful when hiring people?
“the lack of jobs nor the transcript of records that make people get a job”
I mean, “the lack or availability of jobs”….
Growth is subjective. Growth can be defined in increasing their monthly income doing the same thing. On some, practicing your field of expertise in a different country where people play a different set of dynamics can be defined as growth also.
You cannot judge people for leaving. For all you know, opportunities are just better outside than here. Sad to say, our country couldn’t offer better job opportunities here. But since OFWs bring in the dollars, they can sustain our country for the growth it needs to improve the economy and create better opportunities for them to come back and reduce the brain drain.
I understand why your aunt is saying to move your arse to someplace else but it is up to you where you want to be. You see yourself being productive here so why change it. Perhaps she meant well. As my mom would always say, explore your options while you are still young.
I think it depends on what you do. I left the Philippines in 2001 because in five years that I worked there my career wasn’t growing no matter how hard I worked. It appeared that it was who you know in the company that mattered regardless of whether you excelled. I was given a chance to work abroad and yes I started off as a junior tech person but worked my way up. I was given the chance to get involved in various projects and had the chance to meet wonderful people along the way. I am glad I made that decision to leave as I can’t be where I am right now should I have decided to stay in the Philippines. I have spoken with my ex-colleagues and they are still doing the same things they were doing before. So yeah, I guess it depends on each and everyone’s perspective.
I never thought this would generate a lot of responses, I know I have been biased, we all have different views on this matter, but, I just want to clear that I don’t condemn people who leaves the country, rather I want to let other people know that leaving the country is not the only solution to the poverty problem we have.
We have a lot of options here and the best that we can do is stay and utilize it so that we, Filipinos, would benefit from it. But again, we have different choices on how we lead our lives.
Nope, You Don’t Need to Work Abroad to Achive Growth…
After reading “Growth means going abroad?” and Migs Paraz’s related post “Exodus”, I couldn’t help but ask myself similar questions. Was my move to Singapore worth it? Do the pay I’m currently getting, and the …
[...] ever go into the call center industry no matter how profitable, economically, that profession is according to my extended family. I have a short temper and I happen to be the worst customer whenever I’m so frustrated and [...]
well its hard to say its not bad to go abroad
IM not the debunker i am person very complicated
i dont like debating regarding abouth this issue
well IM just only a seminarian
what i would like to say in a simple words is
if you want to go abroad,that you think its necessary just go but do not forget our country and help although we’re under crisis but i know poverty its not the reason to rise up again
hi….everybody who want to help me…I really need a job.I need to going abroad for working and living (USA) please email me at : ra_lana@yahoo.com