On Working From Home in the Philippines

The initial question here would be, "Is it even possible?" Well, I wouldn't be writing about it here if it wasn't, right? And I would certainly not be the first one to blog about it. Living here in this country and working for U.S., U.K. or any other foreign country-based firm is something I have been doing for the past year, and I thought I'd share some of my experiences so far.

First off, I do not know many people who work from home like me. Okay, I do, but they're not from the Philippines so that makes a huge difference. They seem to have more opportunities there (especially U.S. and U.K.) than here. I often get referred to this and that opportunity only to read from the FAQ that the requirement is that "the individual must be living in the U.S. or Canada", or wherever, just not in the Philippines. So it's kind of frustrating to know that yes, there are a lot of opportunities out there, but only some of them are available to someone from the Philippines like me.

Second, some people envy me for having this type of job. Yes, the pay is way better than what is paid by local jobs, but it has its fair share of disadvantages. I believe I already discussed that earlier but I have to add some things. Being thousands of miles away from the source of income, it's hard to get your money on time, unlike with a regular job. Errm. My mom has a regular job but does not always get her money on time because the LGU she works for has an incredibly corrupt mayor. Hehe. Intermediaries often screw up and my salary is almost always late in coming, so the bills pile up once in a while. Okay. Always pile up. I know I seriously need a crash course on budgeting. Filipinos have yet to find the best way to send money from there to here. May I live to see that day. *Sigh*

Third, and this is what most people here do not understand, sitting in front of the computer is not an easy task. Writing IS NOT an easy task. Working from home IS NOT EASY. People hear about my job and think, she must have it pretty easy. Well, dummies. I DON'T. It takes a lot of thinking, incredible hard work and a lot of cussing to get a decent income off the Internet. Cussing might be easy to do for anyone, but thinking and hard work? I don't think so. Hehe.

Now what's great about it? I've already discussed this as well, I know, but here are additional benefits. Aside from being near my child everyday, the currency which I am paid with, when converted to our own currency amounts to a tidy sum of money. Most foreigners wonder and/or derogate me because I put up with payment as low as $3 a page. They do that without even doing the math, without even knowing that what I am paid for everyday sitting here in front of my computer doing three-four hours of work is more than what most companies here in our country pay the average manager for eight hours of grueling work. More often than not, foreigners do not have a grasp of how different our currency is, how large a money $1 is to us.

20 comments:

Honie Kwon said...

i think working home or working in a regular work environment have its pros and cons..:) its just a matter of maximizing what you have:)
ahehe.. enjoy earning more $$$$ ahhaa.. as for me i am enjoying both.. especially with the 13th month pay..lol ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi mommy kaye,
I was so glad finding your site co'z i've been searching for a long time now a blogger or someone i could ask bout my queries on online business (sort of!). I'm quite hesitant to contact people inviting me to be a member and earn extra income by simply accessing website.
Is this really true in the Philippines, i mean legally speaking? I'm a mom of 3 and i really want to find a job where i could earn extra income without leaving my kids and this is the only idea that comes to my mind. How about typing jobs? Is this also possible in our country?
I hope you could help me understand more on this.

Many thanks! More power to you!

Mommy racks

fedhz said...

wow great. i always thought how lucky we are to be able to do the things we love most while being there with our kids. life is great!!!

Sherry Go Sharing said...

it is true sit infront computer not easy task plus we get bigger bump too. LOL.. I mean imagine how long you sit there to do your work.

niko said...

pag nagka IC tlaga ako sa bahay ikaw una kong chat sa ym!!! bwhahahaha. u need to help me where to start hihihi nkkaexcite ha. hihh

redamethyst said...

wow, this is such an inspiration. wish I'll have the guts to resign. at ng makapag wahm na.

zoan said...

oo nga :D salamat sayo i've learned about some opportunities here in the internet :)

niko said...

girl i miss u.. dami ko sana chika sau about work :D waahhhaahh

niko said...

help me pray for IC sa bahay.. kc tlgang nabuburyong na ko sa opis :D lol hahahahah.

niko said...

simulan ko ng silipin ang mga pinagkakakitaan mo!! wahahahaha

Genefaith said...

marce for me mas challenging ang magiging WAHM kesa working mom...

Genefaith said...

pinifeel ko na WAHM ako for this week kasi nga ala kaming pasok and i take time doing opp$...di ko kaya marce...nabobored ako tsaka sakit ng puwit ko..I really admire WAHM like you...

Sherry Go Sharing said...

ringgit money here is small, if you use currency rate usd$1 here will be ringgit malaysia$3.

Sherry Go Sharing said...

since I started blogging I know many pinay works from home ;)

Sherry Go Sharing said...

I think advantage of being work at home is you get to be your own boss. if reality boss out there is more demanding like you need to work extra hours and no extra pay. that's what happen here.

kamz said...

ay super agree ako sa number 3 that writing is NOT easy... kala lang nila madali ano?

kamz said...

not to mention all the backaches, stiff necks and eye strain that you get after a day's work..

kamz said...

working from home has its perks naman din talaga.. you get to be your own boss as sherry puts it.

kamz said...

at syempre, since nauso ang blogging, naki join na rin ako sa mga countless WAHMS who are trying to earn money online.

kamz said...

@niko: hindi pa rin ba nakakarating ang IC jan sa inyo? tagal naman.. last year ka pa namumuroblema about that ah.