7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Being an OFW

Why should you become an OFW? How better is being an OFW than working in the Philippines?

Let’s start by talking about the advantages of being an OFW. What benefits can you get from being an OFW? We believe here are some of them:

SEVEN (7) ADVANTAGES OF BEING AN OFW

1. HAVING A JOB. 

One of the most obvious advantages is that, if you do become an OFW, then you will have a job. Instead of loitering around the house, you actually get to spend your time on something as productive, meaningful and as useful as working. This is particularly good in cases when you are having a really difficult time to land a job locally. Of course, as a consequence of having a job abroad, another advantage is that you…

2. EARN HIGH INCOME. 

Most Filipinos choose to become OFWs because they know they’ll be paid higher compared to what they will receive or are receiving as a worker in the Philippines. And this is indeed often the case, especially when you take the foreign exchange rate into consideration. Having more earnings = more money for your family = better life for you and your loved ones. Of course, as you search for jobs abroad, we do encourage you to check on the standard of living in the countries you are eyeing to work in. Most of your “high” income may actually go into making sure you survive each day abroad as opposed to being sent out for your loved ones back home. However, the bottom line is the same: working abroad gives you a source of income, which is definitely a good thing.

3. EXPOSURE TO LOTS OF NEW THINGS.

Working abroad will certainly introduce you to new cultures, new places, new people, and new ways of life. Not only that, you also get to live with all of these new things on a daily basis! This kind of exposure will expand your perspectives on the different aspects of life and society, facilitate learning new stuff (e.g. language, work ethic, communication skills), and give you the feel of what’s it like to work in a diverse, international environment. Another big plus is that you get to visit and tour around a different country (or countries), which should be super fun!

4. GAIN INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

Something you can permanently hold on to even after you finish working as an OFW is the experience you get from doing so. This kind of experience will be extremely helpful in future job applications, either locally or internationally. Not everyone can get international experience, which gives you an edge over other applicants, and such an experience is a big plus for employers since it says so much positive things about you as a worker. One other related thing you can get from working as an OFW is that you get to establish and grow your very own international network, which can also be of some use in the future (e.g. when you need references, or even when getting a new job). Overall, working abroad makes you more marketable as a job applicant.

5. OPPORTUNITY TO START OVER.

One can also think of working abroad as a chance to start over in your career or life. For instance, if you believe the career path you are currently on is not the right one for you, you can always choose a new one by working as an OFW. Also, working abroad can give you time to reset yourself, give you the opportunity to think more about your life and where it’s headed. It’s also possible that being an OFW will be the first step for you and your loved ones to start a new life abroad in the future. Who knows?

6. ACQUIRE IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS.

Being an OFW will help improve your independence. It will teach you numerous skills that you may only be able to learn precisely because of this independence: cooking, doing the laundry, budgeting, planning your days, communicating with others, being resourceful, handling challenges, making the hard decisions… basically doing sufficiently well to go through each and every day of your life abroad. In short, being an OFW will help you grow better as a person, inside and out.

7. REPRESENT THE PHILIPPINES. 

Finally, becoming an OFW gives you the wonderful opportunity of representing your country, the Philippines, abroad. You get to show what Filipinos are capable of to the world. And by interacting with others abroad, you also get to share our values, culture, and traditions with them. By being ambassadors of the Philippines, you get to make a positive impact on the impressions of foreigners on our country and countrymen, increase the chances of other Filipinos to become OFWs, entice others to come and visit the Philippines, and establish and/or strengthen good relationships between our country and others.

SEVEN (7) DISADVANTAGES OF BEING AN OFW

As you know or will know, being an OFW has its own share of cons. You will have to take these into consideration as well when making your big decision of whether or not to pursue the OFW life.

So, let’s get right to it. Here are some disadvantages which we believe one will most likely experience as an OFW:

1. SEPARATION FROM LOVED ONES. 

This is usually the biggest disadvantage OFWs face, no matter where they work abroad. Loneliness and homesickness are common among OFWs, and it takes lots of strength and willpower to get through these as you go and work abroad. There is also the case that, if you have a family of your own, you will not be there to watch your children grow or to handle family affairs with your spouse. Furthermore, there is another side to this separation: you may be living alone abroad. This means that you will have to be independent, making sure you survive through each and every day abroad as well as facing (alone) any problems that come your way.

2. PRESSURE TO EARN.

There exists a strong notion among Filipinos that being an OFW = earning tons of money. This is a big misconception. However, it is likely that you would still feel the pressure to earn as much as possible during your time as an OFW, what with other people’s expectations surrounding you. Thus, there are OFWs who think they have to live up to these expectations by overworking or by leaving little to no money for their own personal use abroad, while sending majority of their pay to their loved ones back home.

3. ABUSE AND DISCRIMINATION.

Truth be told, abuse and discrimination of OFWs still does happen in certain places abroad. We’re sure you’ve heard lots of stories about these things in the news. Of course, this does not happen to all OFWs—yet, there remains the possibility of it happening if you are unlucky enough to work under a bad employer. And it’s not only foreign employers who partake in these. There are also those illegal recruitment agencies in the Philippines which take advantage of OFW aspirants, offering them work abroad for very little pay, zero benefits, and/or inhumane work conditions. Remember to steer clear of these should you choose to begin searching for jobs abroad.

4. WORKING IN A FIELD UNRELATED TO YOUR BACKGROUND.

Be prepared to accept jobs abroad that have no similarity or relevance whatsoever to your past jobs in the Philippines or to your earned college degree/s. By choosing to be an OFW, you will often find yourself at the mercy of foreign employers and which jobs they are looking to fill. If jobs unrelated to your line of work are the only ones left open on the market, then you have no choice but to apply for them if you really want to work abroad as an OFW.

5. BAD FIT WITH PLACE OF WORK ABROAD.

As we say frequently here in the cool tips, working abroad exposes you to a lot of new things. There is the chance, however, that these new things may not work out too well for you. For instance, your job abroad could involve tons of outdoor work—but if you dislike cold weather, you will definitely not enjoy working in places that experience winter. There is also culture shock to worry about.

6. BEING AN OFW HAS A TIME LIMIT.

Being an OFW is not the same as having a stable job in the government or a private firm. Being an OFW is a temporary “job”. OFWs are, more often than not, bound by contracts, which means that somewhere down the road you will have to go back to the Philippines and hunt for another job. Sometimes, these contracts don’t even finish and OFWs can get prematurely terminated, which leaves you suddenly without a job. In other words, you don’t have much control over the security of your job as an OFW.

7. BRAIN DRAIN.

Finally, by working abroad you contribute more to the development of other countries than to the development of your own country, the Philippines. Some may say this isn’t much of a disadvantage, especially considering that people do need to feed their families first and there is a lack of jobs in the Philippines as it is anyway. However, it will impact the progress of the Philippines in the long run since there will be less professionals available to steer the country in the right direction and to keep it running at a state that is on par with other countries. Just something to think about, perhaps.

Now that we’ve given you a good list of both the advantages and disadvantages of being an OFW, it’s up to you to weigh these as you decide whether or not to become an OFW. It really depends on which things you find more important to you and your loved ones at present, or even in the time to come—is it financial stability? is it to have strong family ties? is it to have the chance to get out and explore the world? Whatever you decide, we are certain it will be one of the most difficult and heavy decisions you will have to make in your life. So think about it well, and think about it all the way through!

Hopefully, this should help you OFW aspirants out there to make more informed decisions about whether or not to proceed with the OFW life.

If you're already an OFW, it's an opportunity for you to relish the good side of being an OFW, and take extra care on how to handle those bad side of it.

Source: OFW ON AIR