This is my very first post here. Readers of my other blog would find this very different from the crazy, hyper and unstructured posts they've come to expect.

My posts here would be very structured and would entail a lot of seriousness. I do not expect people to like what I write here, this is simply for my own development as a serious writer. So... on with the boring stuff:


Engineers and the Economy

The Philippines is producing too many engineers.

Every year, tens of thousands of college students graduate with a degree in various engineering fields. Also, every year, thousands pass the infamous board exams and successfully earn the title they spent 5 or so years studying for.

But does it really make a difference?

Ten years ago, being an engineer brings a promise of a very rewarding career, with job offers from abroad and a fat paycheck. Engineers are regarded as geniuses who thrive to improve man’s standard of living. They stand side by side with scientists who study and discover new things everyday. As a college textbook says: “Scientists discover things… Engineers make them work.”

At present, the word engineer still receives the same respect and admiration from people. This is well-deserved, since to become an engineer is no easy work. Spending five (or more) years to study and master mathematics, physics and chemistry plus a thousand other things is not a road everyone is willing to travel.

However, contrary to popular belief, being an engineer is not all butterfly and roses. As mentioned earlier, thousands graduate every year carrying their diplomas with the words Bachelor of Science in Engineering emblazoned on it. And the Philippine economy can’t seem to give these fresh bloods the opportunities they want and deserve.

Understandably, there are a lot of employment opportunities for our engineers and engineering undergraduates. Plants and electronics companies sprout out of nowhere on Philippine soil. But the sad fact is the offered compensation for these hard-working people are far less than they deserve. Given that these employment opportunities are based in the provinces, one can conclude that it is “just about right”, considering that the cost of provincial living is lower compared to Metropolitan Manila. This would be no problem at all if this is true. But the truth is that the difference is no longer that noticeable.

The minimum wage is P8000. It goes without saying that this is also the same compensation that fresh graduates receive, owing to their lack of experience. Some may be lucky enough to get higher than the said amount, owing to their academic excellence. That’s P8000 for a month, P4000 every payday (every 15th and end of the month). Now if we deduct the mandatory taxes that good citizens of the country pay every month, their total take-home for a particular cut-off would be around P2800-P3000. Is this amount enough to go by for the next two weeks?

Now consider working for a call center. The lowest basic monthly salary for a new hire is P10000. That’s P5000 every month, deducting the taxes, that’s P3600-P4000 every month (considering your status as single or head of the family). But it doesn’t stop there. A person gets night differential and other bonuses (performance-based bonuses). So at the most, a call center employee can take home as much as P6000 every pay day, taxes and all. And that’s for a fresh graduate.

Now is it any wonder that fresh engineering graduates opt to work at call centers as technical support representatives (TSR) rather than pursue their careers in their chosen fields? Yes, it is quite arguable that being a TSR is applying your knowledge itself. This is a very good excuse, also considering that call centers are booming these days. But nothing can quite compare to actually applying five years of studies on a particular project, hands-on. Engineers are reduced to telephone operators who answer calls and give instructions, which should not be the case.

Who’s to blame for this derogatory status of our engineers? Naming people would not help in answering this question. Nor would it give jobs to deserving people. The question is stated to merely point people in the right direction: our economy is not doing that good.

Next time, don’t be fooled. When a State of the Nation Address is given and words such as “improving” and “economy” are stated in the same sentence, look around. Look around and check if engineers are really doing engineering tasks and doctors are really curing people…. Not answering calls from people half-way around the world.

Disclaimer: I do not hate call centers. I think call centers give our economy a boom. But engineers shouldn't be working for these centers. They should be working in companies like Intel and Microsoft, further broadening their knowledge and making technology work, not answering phone calls and assisting someone who doesn't know what a CD-drive is.

mood: *sigh*

i was part of The LaSallian, the official English student publication of De La Salle University. and those were one of the fondest and proudest moment of my life.

and so... i bring you another blog. this is a far cry from "badbadz: my side of the world"... this blog will be dealing more on my views on politics, current events... all those serious stuff. i don't expect this blog to have a lot of readers, this blog is just for my personal development. i don't want my writing skills to go down the toilet.

i am a fangirl, but i do have a serious side. :)

please watch out for my very first post this april.

mood: sleepy