To Stay or Leave: The Filipino Wanting to Work Overseas

I’ve been teaching high school Biology in a private school in Muntinlupa (a city south of Manila) for almost five years now. I also could have been a nurse because that was my undergraduate course. I traded in a career in nursing that would’ve paid me monthly less than $200–300 (P8,000-P12,000 — private setting) or less than $400 (P15,000–18,000 in a public setting), for another that currently pays me just below $600 (P25,000–27,000). I could’ve done the usual sucking it up for at least 2 years working as an underpaid nurse in Manila to acquire experience that would’ve enabled me to apply for a nursing job in either the UK or the U.S. I could have. At the time during my early twenties, I thought I could do the Overseas Filipino Worker bit down the line. Fast forward to now, at 28 years old, I cannot wait to leave my current job to apply to either Japan or the U.S.

Someone once made a sort of fortune-telling prediction about me, saying that my fortunes lie here in the Philippines and that I shouldn’t go abroad to work. At that, he started losing me because like any Filipino, I had a desire to work overseas at some point in my life. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my days outside the Philippines, just maybe a couple of years just to see what it’s like to be earning in [insert country’s currency here] and be able to save up money to go back and live comfortably in my country.

There’s an actual Reddit thread for this question: Do all Filipinos want to leave the Philippines for a better life overseas?

One person on the Reddit thread answered:

No, not all Filipinos want to leave for a better life. In fact, I would say from my own experience that most Filipinos have no desire to leave, and if they do, it’s only temporarily. Because most people know that life overseas doesn’t always means a better life…

I love living in the Philippines, I really do. The salaries aren’t big, but at least the cost of living is comparable to what you bring home. It’s a beautiful country that still has potential, because even though it’s mismanaged, the country is rich in natural resources and friendly, talented and hardworking people. If only our government and leaders would just find it in their hearts to not waste and squander their citizens’ talents and money. The losses us Filipinos deal with on a regular basis leave us frustrated and angry because our time, money and energy are wasted. Our frustrations are due to heavy traffic, trains that routinely break, flooding even with just slight rain, heavy taxation, bureaucratic government offices… I can go on. Where do the taxpayers’ money go? Why can’t we see improvement anywhere when we pay so much?

The aforementioned Reddit thread also asks: What can be done by the Philippine government to make Filipinos stay and invest in their homeland?

I don’t know how to specifically answer that myself, maybe I’ll do once I’ve left and worked overseas. But one thing I can say is that no matter where I travel, I will always come back to my homeland. I’m still hopeful; but I have to be realistic as well. If I want to save enough money for me to maybe start a family in the next couple of years, I’ll have to cut the line and earn more than what I do now (There’s also that I want a last adventure before I settle down).