Why do Filipinos work abroad?

Question

just curious

Answer 1

k, I'm back. Now with your question, I think you were misled with your intuitions. First, Filipinos love to travel. Second, They are not poor. They spend so much money and time to earn a college education. Then seek employment. After a while, because of high forex rate, they seek employment abroad. These people are already employed in here but seek a better prospect of higher returns of their time and efforts.
Its like the foreign capitalists who come to the Philippines to invest their money because of the prospects of higher rate of returns of their investments.
Filipinos who are able to go abroad are definitely not poor, if you think they are. The poor are the ones who cannot afford to go abroad.
And it is not only in America where there are Filipino nurses. There are so too many in London, Middle East, and soon Japan. The Philippines will keep on producing quality trained- nurses because population of some countries of the world are slowly becoming older and they have no young generations to take care for them.
We, Filipinos will go anywhere for as long as the price is right.
The fact is, Filipinos are not ashamed to say they are poor even to foreigners.

Answer 2

The work opportunities in the Phils for the trained and educated are limited and the pay is low (at the same time the cost of living is also low).
By working overseas the OFW is able to save a good amount of money which is often sent back home to clothe and feed members of the family. The OFW is therefore able to improve the life style of their immediate family and actually creates jobs back in the Phils. e.g. builds a new family home or buys a jeepney.
The Filipino mentality is that "the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill"
It is sad but true that many OFW's are abused and mistreated by their employers and this is not just in other Asian countries but also in some of the Western countries too.
If you think that things are bad in the Phils try to imagine how bad they would be without the BILLIONS of Peso's that the OFW generates. They are the unsung heroes of the Philippines.

Answer 3

Philippines' largest export are people because we have so many of them unfortunately there is not a job for all of them in PI that will make end meets. Working abroad is the ultimate goal for Filipinos because they will be able to bring the money that their family will benefit from.
I find Filipinos respectable for doing so, they sacrifice leaving their love ones behind so that they can provide more than they can if they were to stay in PI.
I live here in USA and had been gone from PI for 35years, I miss PI so much that I go home once a year.Ive sent all my siblings to school and most live overseas now and all professional, their children and mine are all professionals which is something we woul have not reached if I decided to stay in Phil 35 years ago.
I hope this will suffice your curiosity.

Answer 4

There are many reasons why Filipinos choose to work abroad. One reason, and one shared by most, to experience life outside their country and to get work experience in their line of work. Of course many are forced to look overseas for employment given that the economy is still developing and there is high unemployment at home. Also, salaries in many occupations tend to be low. Filipinos can feel that they are being patriotic in doing so because the incoming revenue into the country i.e. money that overseas Filipinos send back to support their families is vital for the health of that economy. In deed, it is dependent on it.

Answer 5

Simply because working in another country presents a bigger opportunity. Since we belong to the "Third World", it is also a matter of survival. Yet, it is not so much abandonment to our own but an extension of our identity. We have travelled far and wide so that we can help our families back home. "Even as we take, we give back. We are the 40,000 skilled nurses who support the UK's National Health Service. We are the quarter-of-a-million seafarers manning most of the world's commercial ships. We are your software engineers in Ireland, your construction workers in the Middle East, your doctors and caregivers in North America, and, your musical artists in London's West End" ...and your teachers and nannies spreadout all over the world.

Although the Filipino blood may be tainted with malice, corruption, poverty and prostitution.....our hearts will always beg to differ that somehow in our silent contribution to the world. We have made a difference to make this world a better place.

Answer 6

Workabroad Philippines

Answer 7

I came to America first and foremost not to work... I however was offered a job and so I worked but not for the money, though but for the experience. Got stuck here because I got married. : )

People have different reasons why they travel and work abroad... it's a case to case basis.

Answer 8

Personally, I want to work abroad because I think I can earn more. And then I will save this and spend my savings in the Philippines. I want to work 8 hours a day only and spend the rest of my time with my family.

Answer 9

My girlfriend is a Filipina who has worked in Kuwait and now in China. The simple answer is: lack of opportunity in The Philippines. Many educated and hard-working people just cannot find jobs in their native land. Filipino nurses, domestic workers, hotel workers, ship crewmembers, etc. are often the mainstay of the industry in which they are working. Jobs are hard to find in the Philippines, pay is low, and, often, connections are needed to find good jobs.

Answer 10

minimum wage in the philippines is around 6usd/day.
that's minimum wage for an hour in many states in the us.

the minimum wage law doesn't apply to everybody. domestic helpers earn around 30-50usd/month. some sales people even in malls get paid around 100usd/month, working 12 hrs a day, 6 days a week.

on the skilled side, for work that locals (us based, canada based, etc) normally do, outsourcing providers in the philippines can bid for maybe half the rate. the filipino employee ultimately gets paid one-tenth [of that half].