Hello all...

My partner and I are very serious about our future together, but unfortunately she is studying in Manila and her course won't finish for another 3 years. This is far too long for me to wait and since I'm only allowed to visit for 1 month at a time it's very expensive for me to go back and forth.
I want to work out there.. I don't care what the job is or what it pays as long as it enables me to stay there for longer than 1 month, I can live with my partner so the wage I would be earning would not matter too much. I don't speak fluent Tagalog though, and I can't seem to find any opportunities what so ever.. So I'm just curious if you lucky expats have any advice that could guide me in a helpful direction?

tl;dr - Advice on finding work in Manila whilst still here in England?

Hi,


The chances of you finding work in the Philippines are almost zero.Apart from the fact you would have to work for about 350pesos (£5.40) a day, the contract would only be 6 months, allow 2-3 hours travelling (short distance).The hours would be long,and you would be competing against young filipinos educated to degree level.If you have a degree in teaching you might be able to teach English, again the salary would be very minimal.
Further,it would be impossible to live in Manila on that level of salary.The transportation costs alone would eat up a 1/3 of the daily salary.

More important you would need a proper visa allowing you to work in the Phills .................how do you propose to get this?

Now for some honest advice................you clearly have very limited knowledge of living in the Philippines.If I were you I should forgo the costs of travelling and get yourself in the Phillls for a minimum of 6months.During that time you should gain knowledge of how things work,etc.

Regarding your girl ffriend(?) would it not be better she came to live in the UK ? A degree course in the Phillls guarantees absolutely nothing.Degrees are ten a penny in the Phills and on gaining one your G/F might be lucky and get a job at SM or Jollibee on the normal 6 months contract.

Sorry if I have dampened your enthusiasm, but you really have no experienceof the Philippines,this could become a very difficult problem for you in the future

No you've pretty much confirmed everything I spent 3 months trying to gather. The truth is I came here as a last resort hoping someone would have a way I couldn't find... A last stab in the dark if you will. So I thank you for your swift response and honesty.

The idea of her coming to study here is great, but yet again my experience in moving her from the Philippines, and managing to enroll her onto a university course here are next to none. Is that an easier option to pursue? I guess I need to start from square one again! Thanks again for your help

I have met a few "digital nomads" who live in Asia and work on various IT projects, all they need is a laptop and Internet connection.

Not everyone can do it, but those that do are location independent.

Yeah I guess something like that would be ideal if I was a 'digital nomad' myself haha.
Seems getting her a student visa here would be just as difficult as they need a lot of requirements... Seems financially as well as academically.. Maybe I'm just chasing a lost cause which is really sad to be honest! Bah!

You could always get married. Maybe you could get a papa san job in Angeles? The wife might not be happy about that though!

The chances of getting a gf into the UK is about as slim as landing a well paid job in the Philippines I'm afraid.

doctors letters now thats all i know as i think its near to a closed shop. possible 2000 peso a day if you can do it

my ex neighbor was a papa san but thats balibago not Angeles

ok you think i,m joking there are some that live here by the online work the papa san also true........... but not for me

Balibago part of Angeles City??

Thirty years ago being a Westerner was a bit like winning a lottery when it came to working overseas. Having a half decent education really added to the prestige.

Westerners were seen as trustworthy, incorruptible, hard working and educated. I am sure a lot of guys on here can remember those days.

These days a lot has changed. Easier travel means that Asia has more experience of westerners - they now know that there are a lot of untrustworthy, corrupt, illiterate bums out there. Sex tourists, broke backpackers clutching Lonely Planet guides etc have damaged the brand pretty well beyond repair.

On top of that the Asian countries have really changed. Now there are many good universities churning out good quality graduates and many Asians have worked or studied overseas.

The days of being able to wave a British passport and pick up a good living anywhere have pretty well gone. I think the last one is teaching English, and that is being damaged by people who are there for the girls, boys or nightlife etc. I believe they now demand degrees in Japan, Korea, Thailand and China.

And it will only get harder to pick up work in Asia.

Yes but as i,m sure you know already Balibago is just 1 part where the bars are. You did say work as a pimp did you not...........Have you seen some of the places in Angeles where it is a closed area like pig pens with the not good enough for Fields..Angeles is not fields try the port area in Tacloban after midnight

Hmmm working in Manila, Philippines. This is my first post on the forum, I'm in my late 20's and I've been living in Manila for a couple of years now.

If you go the regular job hunting way, then it'll all depend what you've got written on your CV. I mean, if companies see that you're a grad from UK and have got a bit of experience then that's plus points.

However, if you have the bare minimum and you don't even speak Tagalog then you're going to have a hard time unless you go for a call centre job (which alot of my non-Filipino friends have done).

Call centre jobs, in fairness, pay decent for Philippine salary standards. Being an entry level call centre agent you'd probably peak at P25,000 a month, anything higher would be on a supervisory level which involves managing small/large teams of agents (which believe me, is much harder than gathering my dads sheep back into their pen).

Now, since most call centre jobs are foreign owned BPO's, your English skills will definitely put you at the top of the pile - unless there's an insider in HR who will, of course, put their relatives ahead.

Working for a Filipino company on the other hand is a totally different ballgame. For the most part, they offer puny salaries in exchange for heavy workloads. It's like a triangle, the people at the bottom earn peanuts and there's loads of them. Whereas the bosses near the top, who often do little to nothing and are probably relatives of some sort to former people holding that position, get unbelievably healthy salaries often reaching a minimum of P100,000 which in the Philippines is a more than healthy amount.

I think average salary here is still P20,000 and minimum is around P500 per day and most employees get 15 days off a year aswell as medical insurance (depending on employer).

theres no local work here and if you ever tried to find any ,you will be laughed at and asked why you want work you have money your american.(as all foreigners are american)