When I was a young kid, I had this fascination with the word “America“. It’s the first word I can think of when I think of going abroad.

As a Zennial (Millenial and Gen Z hybrid human being hehe) who grow up in a small barangay (A barangay is the smallest political unit in the country)  in the Philippines, I have no idea what other countries look like.

What I know are just things I heard or probably seen in textbooks which are usually printed in black and white. 

Growing up, I never really thought that one day I will be living abroad away from my family, especially for work reasons.

In my teenage years, that’s when I started having interest in Korean Drama and more about South Korea. If there’s a country I really want to see and feel myself in, it will be South Korea.

I thought I’ll get there someday and just travel for sightseeing. That was my idea of going abroad. (It is still a dream as of this writing.)

To cut the long story short, I’m here working in another country and it is my second home now – Malaysia.

If you’re a Filipino working abroad, no matter what your job is, you are an OFW an acronym that means Overseas Filipino Worker.

I got an opportunity to work abroad and here’s why I took this chance:

Disclaimer: This list is based on my personal experience as a first-timer working abroad.

1. Believing that life abroad is better than staying in the Philippines.

For most Filipinos, going abroad for work is usually because of the hope for a better quality of life for their families that will be left behind.

There’s this notion that if you work abroad, you will earn more money and potentially improve your life, as well as your family.

I imagined that when I’m able to work abroad I would be able to become a reliable “Ate” (means older sister in the Filipino language) and I wanted to give back to my family, which I couldn’t exactly do at that time.

I grew up in a small family and I’m the eldest. Despite my family’s financial situation is tough, my parents do not pressure me for anything at all.

Being the eldest though, I knew I wanted to be capable of helping my family. I wanted to do everything that I can to make our lives better. That inspires me to take a leap of faith and go abroad.

2. Finding better opportunities abroad.

I’m one of those who wanted to work abroad for better career opportunities. There are a lot of jobs in the Philippines, as there are many job posting on Jobstreet.

However there are also many people looking for a job, and the competition isn’t easy. For me, I thought I better apply for a job overseas to acquire new skills and hopefully advance my career.

I have been working some part-time jobs in college, but I officially started working in a corporate at the age of 19.

In the Philippines, applying for a job abroad means you need to be prepared with experience. There are sometimes age limit requirements when you apply for a job.

In case of domestic workers, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has raised the minimum age to 24 before they can be recruited to work abroad. Reference: Malaya Business Insights

By the age of 24 (pre-pandemic), I felt that it was about time for me to start looking for an opportunity to work abroad.

Despite the pandemic situation, I’m grateful that I was given a chance to fly and work in Malaysia.

3. Taking the chance to travel internationally.

For someone who has never been out of the country, working abroad is definitely a chance to think you’re traveling internationally. So that’s me, I had never been out of the country until I had the chance to work abroad.

In my country, the Philippines, traveling internationally means you have to go take a plane or travel by sea. The plane ticket alone is really expensive for a commoner like me.

When I started to become responsible for my bills, food, expenses, and debts, traveling outside the Philippines seems impossible.

When I first received the job offer abroad, the feeling is a pure excitement. Even before the time I got my single-entry visa to enter Malaysia, I was already looking forward to it. This will be my very first international travel.

True enough, when I boarded the plane I had thoughts like “Is it real? Am I really traveling to another country?“. 

When I arrived in Malaysia and I was already at the quarantine hotel (I came to Malaysia during the pandemic), I cannot believe that I’m already in a different country.

That excitement, that feeling, that gratitude, remains until now. I’m in awe of having the chance to be in another country. This opens opportunities for me to travel to nearby countries as well.

My travel itchy feet are happy!

4. Exploring a new culture and expanding my social circle.

I have always been interested in learning about different cultures.

While I was in the Philippines, I would be joining language exchange groups and finding friends from different countries. I love talking with them about places to visit, food to try, and celebrations in their culture.

It amazed me every time I discover something new and understand why people do things in a particular way they do. It opens my mind to new perspectives and became more accepting of changes and differences.

Malaysia is a diverse country. When I first moved into the rental place where I will live, my housemates are of different ethnicities, but they were locals.

An example would be my housemates were Indians but they were born to Indian parents and were raised in Malaysia. Same with my boss who is a Chinese by ethnicity, but they were all locals. It fascinated me a lot.

I mean, this isn’t common in the Philippines. It’s also amazing how they are respecting each others culture and retaining their own.

Living here for almost 2 years taught me a lot about a different way of life, celebrations, and traditions and I also gained many new real-life friends.

(Below is my Malaysian friend even before I came to Malaysia. It was our first meeting – I may put my IG in private at times, you can follow me in IG and see this post here)

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A post shared by Marez Virtucio (@marezvirtucio)

5. Never wanting to feel discriminated.

This one is a bit heartbreaking for me to add to this list, however, this one had a big impact on my reason to find an opportunity of working abroad.

It felt like this is the way out for me to be able to find a job based on my credentials, experiences, and skills. Allow me to share a personal experience to elaborate on why this influenced me a lot.

I started working as an associate in the corporate world at 19. I acquired experiences and skills that are useful in most businesses. That means at 24 years old, I have 5 years of solid work experience.

Despite that, I have experienced quite a lot of instances where I wouldn't have the chance to showcase my skills due to hiring discrimination.

I would be lucky when I would get interviewed, but then my work experience seems no value.

Due to my financial needs back then I had to have many side hustles to earn a bit extra. It was the most difficult time during the pandemic and I was blessed to be working from home as a customer service representative.

After my shift, I would be making and selling Kimbap (A popular Korean dish) to my neighbors in the place where I live. I would also be selling internet subscriptions and many other things. So mostly thought I was really a seller, not a work from home sort of customer service, which is okay.

Once, I encountered one client applying for an internet subscription and due to difficulty in movements during a pandemic, it took a while to get a schedule for internet installation. As their sales representative, I've been diligently following up and monitoring the case of this client, keeping them updated, took hours and hours to get a hold of the right unit to help in their case, until I finally get good news, which the installation will be done very soon.

I excitedly shared this with the client. Only that, I got blamed for why this subscription application even had to push through and the client claimed that they asked for canceling this. We were in constant communication, and there were no mentioned about the cancellation, which is why I have been working so hard to get progress in their application.

What I felt during that time was being discriminated against and my time was not respected. Just because I'm only selling and will gain commission if I get a sale, this client thought it was okay to waste my time. It's truly sad.

I wouldn't feel bad if I was informed that they no longer wish to proceed with the application by the time I was giving them updates. That could have saved my time and used it to do something else as I was already juggling so many things in a day.

There's frankly more to it, but as much as possible I never want to remember what I felt that time. 

Because of these thoughts, I took a leap of faith and tried to find a way out. The idea of working abroad seems to become stronger. This motivated me more to seek for greener pasture and believe me, I am beyond grateful. Of course, circumstances are different for everyone.

I’m just one of many people working in another country who have been driven to find a better quality of life and I’m always thankful for this chance.

If you’re someone who is probably researching for information or signs if you are ready to work abroad, I wish you clarity and strength. This isn’t really an easy decision to make.

Whatever your background or circumstance in life is, I know you’ve reached reading until this point because you’re looking for someone’s point of view and hopefully my story has been insightful.

If you’re someone who is already working abroad, let me congratulate you. You did a big step for yourself to achieve your goal. High five to you!