Are the country’s highest paying jobs for you?

All of us have a dream job – one that can fulfill the desires of our hearts and the needs of our pockets. For fresh graduates, such is the ultimate goal as they find their place in the workforce.

When an online job portal website released a list of jobs that supposedly provided the best salaries, we asked employees in the fields mentioned what they thought about the report. Read on and may their words of wisdom guide you in choosing your first job.

LEGAL SERVICES

Mark Anthony Rojo
San Beda College, Class of 2015
Bachelor of Laws
Junior Associate

What can you say about the report?
We have to distinguish first; those who enter our field as fresh college graduates with a background on legal studies (Legal Management or Political Science) are employed as paralegals, which, I think they are well compensated. Their salary is around P25,000 to 30,000 gross. On the other hand, a law graduate, who has taken the Bar Exam is hired as a Legal Assistant, compensated in the same way as a lawyer. When I was former Legal Assistant, I was paid around P40,000 gross amount plus benefits.

What do you consider as the most difficult part of your job?
The hardest part is the responsibility in managing the affairs of our clients.

Is your salary worth it?
To be honest, I think a salary raise is needed, considering the volume of our work.

What is your advice to fresh graduates who plan to work in the same field?
Work hard and be patient to make it. It will be difficult at first. But to stay in the game, you have to get out of your comfort zone.

HEALTHCARE

Franklin C. Manuel
Saint Michael’s College of Laguna, Class of 2011
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Registered Staff Nurse

What can you say about the report?
Healthcare includes healthcare providers and various employees on the healthcare team. Each healthcare provider has a special role. Some involve doctors or technicians who help diagnose disease, such as medical doctors and technologists; others are experts who treat disease or care for the patients’ physical and emotional needs, such as nurses and therapists. The first time I saw the report, I was surprised by the salary offered in the healthcare industry. It seems too good to be true for us nurses working in public and private institutions. It would’ve been better if the website specifically indicated the profession that had that kind of salary, like doctors.

What do you consider as the most difficult part of your job?
We, nurses, do the dirty work like cleaning up the patients’ excretions, and bathing and washing them, thus exposing ourselves to different diseases. RESPONSIBILITY is our byword. To become fully, legally and ethically responsible for very sick people and knowing that the very well-being of patients is in our hands can add to the tremendous weight already on our shoulders.

Is your salary worth it?
Ideally and legally, according to R.A 9173 or the Philippine Nursing Act of 2002, we should be compensated fairly. But in reality, this never happens. We have low salaries, less benefits and run the risk of having communicable diseases. The way I see it, this is how nurses are treated in our country compared to abroad.

What is your advice to fresh graduates who plan to work in the same field?
You should know yourself more deeply, because nursing is not just a profession, but also as vocation. It is full of hardships and sacrifice. You need to invest time, energy, health, bravery and patience to fuel your future.

JOURNALISM

Gerald Saavedra
Malayan Colleges Laguna, Class of 2014
B.A. in Communication, Major in Multimedia Arts
Senior Television Producer

What can you say about the report?
I am curious about how the study was conducted and the factors involved. A well-performing call center agent can get more income than a senior producer of a major media network; this is because some of the call center agent’s revenue follows a commission-baed system compared to the wage system commonly used in most companies. Also, the salary should not be the sole basis of one’s preferred career. One should also consider their passion and the said career’s impact on the greater system of things. But if want to find out if I am paid competently as a senior producer, my answer would be yes.

What do you consider as the most difficult part of your job?
News and current affairs’ usual challenges are fact verification and ethical concerns. In an age of internet .trolls, fake articles, and people eager to post sensational news, it’s a challenge to bring the truth to the public. Media ethics tread on a thin line, but we manage to overcome this by sticking to what we believe in, which is telling the story of the Filipino.

Is your salary worth it?
Yes. But salary is not a big factor in choosing this job.

What is your advice to fresh graduates who plan to work in the same field?
Stick to your strengths and passion. When you love what you do, your job will make you feel complete, and you will push yourself to the limit. Also, choose your first job carefully. Each job you take should build your career and help mold you to be a responsible citizen.

Mark Gene D. Makalalad
Polytechnic University of the Philippines Class 2013
Bachelor in Broadcast communication
Reporter

What can you say about the report?
I think the field I am in deserves to be among the highest-paying jobs in the country. However, this is not the scenario in all companies. Neophyte reporters get a range of P12,000 -17,000, and might increase over time.

What do you consider as the most difficult part of your job?
The hardest part of my job is doing several tasks at the same time, and doing more tasks with so little time—most especially if you work for a not-so-big network, with less manpower.

Is your salary worth it?
No, salary does not always compensate for these hardships.

What is your advice to fresh graduates who plan to work in the same field?
While the salary does not compensate for hardships, fulfillment and passion do. My advice to fresh graduates who are planning to work in the same field is to do what you want to do. Happiness and success do not always equate to money. You can always do better if you love what you’re doing.

IT-RELATED

Rossano Dionio
STI College Muñoz EDSA, Class of 2014
Diploma in Information Technology
IT Support

What can you say about the report?
It depends on what level or industry you are working in—unless you are working overseas. I previously worked overseas and I can say that you can earn more abroad.

What do you consider as the most difficult part of your job?
You are required to resolve the issue as fast as possible without panic, as it will just lead to mistakes. Also, there are new things that you are required to study in order to survive a dynamic environment.

Is your salary worth it?
No. Sometimes, people won’t notice or understand what you are doing.

What is your advice to fresh graduates who plan to work in the same field?
Try to be in a company that specializes, or at least has the right technology in the field that you want. Don’t be afraid of things that you don’t know. Try new things and don’t get stuck with what you are used to.

EDUCATION

Angelo Cleofas Jabagat
Polytechnic University of the Philippine Manila, Class of 2013
Bachelor in Business Education
Public High School Teacher

What can you say about the report?
With our current starting salary of P19,500 based on the Salary Standardization Act of 2015, it can be accepted that yes, education is one of the fields that offers a high salary. But I guess they have underestimated the overall cost teachers have to go through to perform their duties. I believe that we belong to the group of highest-paid workers in the country, but we also belong to those who have the lowest net salary. These are two different things.

What do you consider as the most difficult part of your job?
For me the hardest part of being a teacher is that every day is a different routine. Unlike others who do the same thing every day, we, teachers have to think of various activities and strategies to deliver our lesson.

Is your salary worth it?
Our salary is not even enough to support our family— what more for our daily expenses for our teaching and test materials, paperwork, classroom decorations and the like? We even shoulder some of our students’ allowances if they really do not have money for their lunch and projects.

What is your advice to fresh graduates who plan to work in the same field?
I do not consider this as an advice but a reminder: if you want to become rich financially, don’t pursue a teaching career. No one becomes rich in teaching. Every teacher needs to have their additional sideline just to support their family’s needs. But teaching is not all about money. You take part in each of your students’ lives and that is something money can’t simply replace. Teaching is for passionate people. If you do not have the passion for teaching, you better find a new career.

BANKING

Arl Valenzuela
Bachelor of Broadcast Communication, Class of 2013
Polytechnic University of the Philippines Manila
Bank Teller

What can you say about the report?
Honestly, I really don’t know where they got the figure! It’s not the entry-level salary in any bank.

What do you consider as the most difficult part of your job?
The hardest part is dealing with clients who always insist on what they want even if it’s against the bank’s policy. Sometimes, you also have to pay for your shortages, which sometimes, is actually higher than a teller’s salary. There’s also a reputational risk. Because money is the root of all evil as they say, some bank employees may be exposed to temptation.

Is your salary worth it?
Actually no, but as you start loving what you do, you eventually desire to always give your best every day.

What is your advice to fresh graduates who plan to work in the same field?
Being a bank employee is not really an easy job. You’re being entrusted with money that your clients worked hard for, and you need to protect it. You can eventually learn the process; you just have to be committed.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Maria Cathlea Rosas
De La Salle University – Dasmariñas, Class of 2011
Bachelor of Arts Major Communication
Copywriter

What can you say about the report?
In the creative field, your ideas are your output. They’re the product you have to sell to the clients. You have to work from scratch—to create something out of nothing. And you have to keep up with the trend. When you master the ins and outs of the job, a career as a creative can really be rewarding.

What do you consider as the most difficult part of your job?
When you’re not in the mood to create. When you don’t get momentum. When the creative brief’s not really a creative brief. Burnout. Creative block. Insane deadlines. When clients ask you to “do something like this, but different.”

Is your salary worth it?
Sometimes it motivates you. Most of the time, it doesn’t. When you’re in the middle of giving birth to ideas for a full stretch-campaign, your salary is going to be the last thing on your mind. (But on Friday nights and piso fare sales, it is.)

What is your advice to fresh graduates who plan to work in the same field?
Learn and unlearn. Believe in your ideas. But don’t fall madly in love with them. Know when to push it and when not to push it. Know when to say your but, and when to save your butt. Know that clients have the last say. They’re paying you for what you can bring to the table. So yup, you still have the last say, technically.