Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Is Working Abroad For You? Check Out These 10 Pros and Cons

More OFW Updates

Many Filipinos dream of working abroad. Every day, thousands of kababayans leave the Philippines for jobs all across the world. While deciding to work abroad may not be difficult, it remains a major decision for many people who have other possibilities at home.

For example, if you work in a somewhat stable position in the Philippines or are expecting a promotion or a pay boost, staying at home within your comfort zone may be an option. However, when you see friends’ families receiving balikbayan boxes on a monthly basis or moving to new homes supported by overseas remittances, the allure of travelling abroad becomes too strong to resist.

Overseas Filipino workers appear to live a better life than they did before moving abroad; therefore, others want to try their luck. Unfortunately, the path to success and improved experience entails risks and sacrifices, some of which fail to bear fruit and drive migrant workers to the brink of desperation.

So before deciding to take the risk and hunt for jobs abroad, weigh your options with these pros and cons:

Earn higher income

Filipinos working overseas take advantage of opportunities for better incomes due to economic inequality and restricted prospects at home. Overseas employment offers higher pay, allowing them to support their families, send their children to better schools, and invest in their local businesses. This advantage provides a path to financial security and a higher quality of life.

Learn new culture

- Advertisement -

Filipinos working overseas grasp the opportunity to immerse themselves in different cultures and enhance their viewpoints. For example, a nurse in the United States learns about American healthcare procedures, which improves their expertise.

Similarly, a software developer in Japan obtains insight into Japanese work ethics and technology, which promotes professional development. These experiences not only enhance their lives but also help them adjust and become more globally aware.

More options for family

Filipinos working abroad increase their families’ financial security, allowing them to afford education, healthcare, and better living conditions.

For example, Maria, a nurse in the UAE, pays for her parents’ medical expenditures and her siblings’ education in the Philippines. Her profession abroad not only provides for her family’s needs but also enables them to follow their goals.

- Advertisement -

They can live in a larger home, possess a decent car or run a small business like a market stall or sand and gravel business.

Government benefits and privileges

OFW make excellent candidates for government assistance such as housing loans and children’s scholarships. These efforts honor their economic contribution and seek to benefit their families.

Fee exemptions, dedicated OFW lounges, and special airport lanes help to expedite their travel and alleviate the stresses of their busy lifestyle. Such policies recognize their contributions while also alleviating financial constraints, forging a deeper link between the government and its overseas labor.

Working abroad brings a lot of experiences.
Working abroad brings a lot of experiences.

More secure future

Filipinos working overseas frequently have a more secure future due to greater earnings and better job prospects. Remittances sent back home make a substantial contribution to the Philippine economy and provide financial stability for families.

Furthermore, Filipinos abroad obtain significant skills and experience, which improves their employability and professional progression prospects when they return home. This worldwide exposure promotes personal development and creates a safety net for the future, resulting in increased economic freedom for themselves and their loved ones back home.

More business opportunities

Filipinos working overseas frequently pursue varied business opportunities, such as opening sari-sari stores, water dispenser companies, or even leisure resorts. These opportunities arise from their entrepreneurial drive and quest for consistent income streams.

Sari-sari stores cater to local community needs, water dispenser enterprises provide necessary services, and leisure resorts profit from visitors. These initiatives not only provide financial stability, but they also help their home country’s economy grow through remittances and investments.

In an ideal world, there are no downsides whatsoever. However, because we do not live in an ideal environment, OFWs’ lives are not without obstacles. Despite the financial rewards, privileges, and a more secure future, difficulties are lurking:

Financial investment

Filipinos working abroad face financial burdens such as fees for employment agencies, medical tests, flights, and other expenses. These costs accumulate before they even receive their first paycheck, leaving many OFWs in debt.

Filipinos in financial hardship, frequently as a result of job loss, medical issues, or natural catastrophes, may sell their homes or turn to loan sharks for quick cash.

These individuals may have limited access to formal financial services or suffer excessive interest rates from traditional lenders. Desperation can lead to a vicious cycle of debt, with loan shark loans compounding, keeping people in a cycle of poverty and vulnerability.

Detachment from family

Filipinos abroad endure the pain of separation from family, missing milestones and moments like their children’s growth, from first steps to graduations. Absent parents witness milestones through screens, grappling with the void of everyday presence.

They miss bedtime stories, school plays, and parent-teacher meetings, sacrificing these irreplaceable experiences for economic stability. Isolated and longing, they may find solace in companionship, vulnerable to the allure of extramarital affairs, seeking connection in the void left by their distant families. Amidst the struggle for a better future, they navigate the delicate balance between responsibility and personal longing, their hearts divided across continents.

Being detached from family or relationships also attracts temptations. It is a fact that many OFWs abroad are involved in extramarital affairs, some with fellow married Filipinos working abroad. Such a gap between the breadwinner can be too costly that it breaks families apart.

In many cases, children become alienated from their parents and prefer to stay close with guardians even if they are not their blood relatives. For a mother longing for her child’s affection only to be turned away when she makes a brief vacation back home, how painful can that feels?

Lack of opportunities when you return home

Despite their foreign expertise, returning Filipinos encounter a struggle in finding work. They frequently lack the financial means required to start a business upon their return. This situation forces individuals to choose between a need for a stable job and a desire to start their own business.

Without enough funds, their goals of owning a business are stifled, forcing them to navigate a competitive job market in which their abilities may not always be recognized or respected. As a result, they face the harsh realities of reintegration, dealing with uncertainty about their professional future, and attempting to make the best of their situation upon returning home.

Subject to exploitation

Due to illegal recruitment methods, Filipinos living overseas may risk exploitation, maltreatment from employers, and becoming victims of human traffickers. The repercussions are catastrophic, including physical and psychological anguish, financial exploitation, and even death.

Many workers face horrible working conditions, long hours, and low pay, unable to seek assistance owing to language problems or fear of punishment. The damage reverberates through the families left behind, causing broken dreams and shattered hopes and perpetuating the cycle of vulnerability.

You decide

Now that you see the two sides of the OFW coin, will you decide to go abroad or stay home?

- Advertisement -
Email Newsletter
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Latest Updates

Pinoy Royal Caribbean Cruise Staff Allegedly Installed Hidden Cameras in Bathrooms, Suspected of Spying on Guests

A Royal Caribbean cruise staffer is suspected of concealing cameras in passenger cabin restrooms to spy on visitors, especially...
- Advertisement -

More Articles Like This

- Advertisement -
error: Content is protected !!