Overseas Filipino Workers – OFW

We can’t be successful businessmen if we don’t know how to delegate our responsibilities to other people. This is the main reason why so many intelligent, highly educated Filipinos prefer to work for dollars abroad and remain servants for the rest of their lives. It’s either they don’t trust other people, or they don’t know how to manage other people to make money for them.

Working for the government for a meager salary had been my life for ten years after graduation in college in the Philippines. I had a master’s degree in public administration and few units for my Doctorate in Philosophy, which I did not finish in favor of raising my family. I was one among those Filipinos who believed that having higher education while working in the government will elevate me to the upper level of my position, and have a better salary. I’ve waited for that aspiration to happen, but did not come even after three years I’ve graduated from my master’s degree in public administration. So, out of desperation, I started driving a tricycle instead every after office job to earn extra income for my family.

Even now, so many teachers, are leaving their families on Saturdays and Sundays to go to schools for higher learning, so, they would become Senior Teachers or Supervisors in their school districts when they finish their masteral degrees in education. Millions of us do this, because we believed that becoming Senior levels in our jobs (by having masteral degrees) is the only way to raise our salaries. Out of desperation, these teachers leave their teaching jobs in favor of working as domestic helpers in Hong Kong.

When I tried tricycle driving as a way of earning extra money for my family, nobody from among my passengers knew that I was a master’s degree holder. Even now, I know, educated people would not do this, because that’s what we believed for decades – “Nakakahiya ang ganitong klasing trabaho.” Most of us are afraid of what our friends and relatives will talk about us if they see us doing this dirty job, in spite of the fact that we were highly educated. That’s because for decades we were made to believe that decent jobs are jobs by people wearing clean clothes, specially those wearing coat and ties. I found that idea wrong, when I earned millions of money instead after two years of starting as a tricycle driver – when I delegated to other tricycle drivers later what I could not do (driving 14 more tricycles by myself) to earn more money.

The difference between Filipino and American families in terms of motivating their children for professional advancements could be seen at the dining tables when they are eating together. Filipino parents tell their children to study hard, finish college and have a good job after graduation. American parents, while eating with their children discuss the day’s trends in the trading market and other business. In short, the American families are talking about business to make money, while the children are young. While the Filipino families were talking about working for other people or how to become servants to earn money. That’s why undergraduate Americans like Bill Gates and Michael Dell are billionaires, while intellegent college graduate Filipinos are merely working for their daily subsistence in America and other parts of the world.

Nowadays, in America, you could no longer earn big money by working too much, or having double jobs. For a single job in America, six people are aspiring for it. So, even Filipino Nurses now are having hardships doing overtimes and double jobs at other hospitals, because there are more Nurses who offer their services at lower rates.

After 17 years of working in America as a fix salaried consultant for other companies, I’ve found it for the second time that you could not advance yourself financially if you will just be working for others. You should learn to start your own business instead, and let other people make money for you. To be successful in this venture, you should know how to manage people, and delegate your authorities to them. Let other people earn money for you.