OFW: Skills you need when you go abroad

“Abroad, abroad” that is the dream of most graduates today in the corrupt laden countries like the Philippines – to work overseas because that is where you could get money. Forget that you have a title because all that matters now is to earn money - no matter what. However, it would be much better if you could maximize your earning capacity to earn more money, and be able to save some.

 My 10 years of stay abroad to earn cash taught me that relying on your own salary, as a domestic helper, caregiver, and the like, will not give you enough to send to your family, and for your own personal expenses. It taught me that those who have skills have a very big advantage over those who are relying only on the work they know, and could not do anything to earn extra income.

 No matter what country you’re in - the trade is all the same. You work to have a salary, and you look for part time jobs to earn extra. You always need some cash to finance your needs, like, rent, food, clothing, and of course, the boxes of goods such as corned beef, toothpaste, soap, clothes and anything that would fill up the box to send for your family home.

 When I went abroad, I used my knowledge and skill in massage to earn extra income to finance my hobbies without touching my whole month salary. Aside from massage, I saw friends who have other skills and saw how much money they were earning. In addition, they do not need to go looking for their clients, it is the people looking for them, thus during the week, clients(99% kababayan) are making schedules with them for the weekend if they are live-in, and some do it during the weekdays if they are live-outs.

Skills that are in demand

1. Manicure and pedicure – everyone wants to have clean nails, so, every week same clientèle ask for a schedule to have their nails cleaned. What is good about this skill is that even men are looking forward to have their nails cleaned.

2. Haircut - A good haircut would complete good looking nails. Thus, this is necessary additional skill to learn. A scissor is not a big thing to carry around – but be sure it is properly kept to not be accused of carrying a deadly weapon.

3. Massage – this is my forte, and there were not many people doing it. Pressure, stress, and physical work get its tool upon us during the week. Add to that the boredom, and depressing routine work you do each day and you would surely have a very sluggish body on the weekend.

4. Technical know-how, such as knowing how to repair and reprogram computers, repair television,washing machine, microwave oven, oven toaster, etc.

5. Part time Cleaning – this is the most popular among Filipinos abroad. They look for families who needs help and make appointments with them. When both are satisfied with each other, a mutual understanding develops that their relationship would last as long.

6. Food preparation – No one could beat the traditional food we have at home. I saw kababayans who are preparing Filipino foods and sell them to the Filipino community, and cater to them during birthdays, weddings, and other occasions. The only thing about this skill is that you have to put out a little capital at the beginning for the things needed to cook the foods you will prepare.

There are ways more that OFWs could earn extra money but are not as the ones enumerated above which do not require much capital outlays - and are risk-free. If you are a risks-taker, and had saved enough capital, these other ways could generate massive income for you without doing so much physically. This is the principle of letting your money work for you.



 

Hence, for those who are planning to go abroad, do not just go there without learning and mastering one or two skills to have in your hands, unless your profession is something that would really give you an earnings that an extra work is not needed at all.