u/FigTop6828

I am wfh employee as well and wala akong alam na Coworking space dito saatin. Minsan kasi nabuburyo ako sa bahay and sometimes feel ko namamadali ako sa coffee shops. Would starting a coworking space business do good around here or not enough demand for the business?

Okay so share ko lang, habang nag aaral ako sa exam sa master's nag play ang Payphone by Maroon 5 and gulat lang ako kasi after so many years, memorize ko parin siya word by word and line per line. So nacurious and looked up when ito nirelease. Gulat ako na this song was released 2012..14 years ago na..

Dread and existential crisis hit me like a truck. That was 14 years ago? Hindi ko siya memorize dahil fan ako ng Maroon 5, memorize ko siya kasi yun lagi jinajamming ng mga boys and girls at the back nung highschool. Ang scary kasi ang vivid pa talaga ng memory ko ng highschool like it was just yesterday. Yung laughter, yung whole section singing in sync while someone was playing the guitar. Biglaan akong napaisip, 14 years na yun?Where did the time go? Ang bilis ng oras. Bigla ko namiss ang highschool life dahil sobrang close ko talaga mga highschool friends ko.

During our last school day before graduation when we were fourth year students (wala pang senior high nito trentahin na talaga ako), our adviser was telling his goodbyes to every one of us and made a statement that I would never forget.

He was in front of the classroom looking at us, took a mental picture and sighed. "You know guys, this is the last time that you will be all complete as a section. The chance that you will be complete after graduation, zero percent". We just scoffed at him kasi we were so close ehh. We would go out on the weekends and our free times.

But lo and behold, nung college, swerte na kung may sampo kaming makalabas. And fast forward to the present 14 years after, ang hirap ayain kahit isa dahil syempre may kanya kanya ng responsibilities. Some married, some migrated, and others grinding lang sa buhay. Dati ang pinoproblema ko lang eh anong bibilhin na pagkain sa camteen pag lunch. Pero ngayon pinoproblema ko na pano kumita ng pera.

So please, enjoy every moment kasi ang bilis ng buhay and lahat ng bagay lilipas. Good times and bad times. So ayun, tapos na ang mid life crisis rant, balik na ulet sa review 😅

Hi M[29] working for an AU company as an engineer with full wfh setup. When I came here there were 3 of us in the team and I learned a lot from two of my seniors and even the manager above us.

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But during my 6th month, nag si alisan yung seniors ko for better opportunities and I was left to fend for myself nung umalis na sila. After a month, the management noticed my effort and was promoted with 20% increase to be the Senior Engineer and team lead OIC and that brought my salary to around 54k including bonuses. Then, I also signed a leadership track that would officially give me the Team Lead title which would bump up my salary to 63k starting next year.

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The downside lang ng company ko is medyo limited lang sa benefits and you can really feel yung pagkastart up at times. Sobrang daming changes sometimes for better sometimes for worse, high turnover rates on other departments, and if the sales are low, mahahalata siya sa mga management decisions (aka cost cutting). May

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The benefits in my current are as follows:

full wfh

63k starting 2027

7am-4pm PH time

Leadership role/track

HMO no dependents

13th month pay and govt mandated benefits

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I have no plans on applying rin sana kasi kahit papano kahit undermanned pa department ko, I can feel myself not just growing, but thriving kahit ilang months palang ako sa leadership role. My plan was to finish my MBA (to be finished next year) while maintaining my OIC/Team lead role to really bulk up my resume THEN consider applying outside

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But recently my senior who left, recommended me to his company which is another AU company. The company is waaay more established according to my senior and it shows on my research. The company reached out to me for an interview and I accepted. The role being offerrd is slightly different to my previous role but is also within the ballpark of my experience. No job offer as of yet but what I can expect according to my senior is:

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90-100k

Full wfh

9am-6pm PH time

HMO with 2 free dependenta

13 month pay and govt mandated benefits

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since wala pang offer, ang threshold ko is:

60-70k offer - stay with current

80k offer - I will consider jumping but still leaning towards staying

90k-100k - would DEFINITELY think of leaving

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Would you trade a leadership track role for higher salary?

Hi M[29] engineer, and working remotely for an australian company earning 47k. I am also based sa province and still living with my parents.Mag 1 year paalng ako dito but the company got me on a team lead track and got promoted so my income climbedaround 54k including allowances. At the end of the year I will again be promoted since i'm on a team lead track that will bring my pay to 62k with allowances. The work is okay, minsan patayan sa busy pero minsan chill din. understaffed pa pero working on it narin ang management ma fill upan yung vacancies. Schedule is also good 7am-4pm and weekends off. Important to saakin kasi i'm taking up my MBA during the weekends, 2nd sem ko na.

Nung una is na inherit ko lang yung team lead role dahil nag resign yung 2 seniors ko, na appreciate ko naman yung company na tinaasan agad sahod ko and promoted me immediately tapos nag hire rin agad ng isa kong kasama. Still getting used to the leadership role pero na eenjoy ko naman siya. The only thing is, yung company is di pa ganoon ka established and nag woworry ako about stability. May PH office naman sila pero remote talaga yung work and di kami nirerequire sa office. Pero there is something old school mindset na sumasagi saakin na remote work is not stable work, im sure remote workers would understand. para bang di tangible, wala kang nakikitang office and whatnot. for reference ito ang benefits ko sa current company lets call this Company A

Company A Fully Remote

55k current salary, 63k starting January 2027

HMO - for me only

VL,SL- total of 16

13th month pay

no guaranteed increase annually, inflation increase discretion of management (this year was 5%)

Now, living in the province, opportunity is scarce kaya ang mga nakukuha ko na opportunity na akma rin sa 5 yrs experience ko ang pay is mga remote roles. Ngayon, may cumontact saakin na colleague from a very well known company sa Philippines. buong philippines ang sakop ni company and may office sila 15 minutes away from our house. Natural monopoly ang company na to and very very stable.

Ang concern ko is yung lifestyle change and paycut. may graveyard shift tong role and fixed na hindi weekends ang day off kasi seniors ang weekends day off. first time ko rin magkaka night shift if ever kasi weekly daw nag rorotate ang shifting. And due to this, baka mag stop rin ako ng MBA kasi di kakayanin ng schedule. Need ko rin bumili ng motorcycle kasi medyo liblib lugar kahit malapit lang and need ko ng service because of the shifting sched, i dont want to use our family car mahihirapan pamilya ko. lets call this company B

ito ang benefits na sinabi ng colleague

Company B Fully on site

35k max offer according to colleague

HMO- free plus up to 3 dependents

VL,SL- total of 30

13-14th month pay guaranteed

Performance bonus (so 3 bonuses a year)

Yearly increase guaranteed (unknown percent pero ang sabi di bababa sa 5%)

Pag benefits no brainer naman na mas maganda si Company B. But I'm not sure if kaya ko igive up ang 7am-4pm and weekends off kasi nag MMBA nga ako, plus the work life balance im experiencing right now with leadership experience and higher pay pa. sa paycut rin ako nag aalangan kasi hirap mag paycut in this economy??? Plus factor rin yung mag 1 year palang ako ang napromote na agad kaya may halong excitement parin na napromote. I would like to know your thoughts about this!

Hi M[29] and currently working as an engineer remotely for a foreign company.

Growing up, both my parents worked for the government sector. Di kami mayaman, pero life is comfortable and stable kasi they are both permanent employees sa government. Indoctrinated saaming magkakapatid na pag mag tratrabaho na kami, eh dapat sa gobyerno rin and I dont blame them. Naitaguyod nila kami magkakapatid eh kaya its the formula that worked for then.

So when I was passed the board exam, I really tried applying sa permanent government position. There were failed attempts, some nabagsak ko exam, some walang reply at all and di rin ako gumamit ng backer since di ako applicable sa field ng aprents ko. So for my first years being an emoloyee, I worked as an engineer sa private sector and started around 21k php as my first salary sa metro manila. Now in my 3rd company in 4 years, napa akyat ko ang salary ko to 50k+ thru job hopping and since remote siya, sa province na ako naka base.

Now kasi nga indoctrinated nga saamin ang mag work sa government because of stabilitiy, i dreamed talaga of working in the government din particulary this government agency na relevant sa field ko and luckily may office sila sa province ko. I have tried applying for years sa agency na to pero di ako pinapansin. Pressure pa dito is my brother nakapasok siya sa isang government and napakaganda ng career progression niya. almost 6 digits salary na siya as a permanent government employee! kaya dagdag din to sa pressure

Pero I tried applying last year and alas, napasa ko exam and napasa ko sng interview!! ang inapplyan ko is a senior role in this agency and napasa ko naman ang exams and qualified naman ako. but then nung initial interview, sinabi saakin na they wont offer me the senior positin (55K+++ php) and would offer me the entry level (35k++ php) instead. sa gobyerno mataas na yung 35k php na entry level gets ko.. pero im now esrning 50k plus ehh. on how my finances are setup its a downgrade talaga. right now, ang dami kong non negotiables na bayarin (ex. maintenance ng parents, bills sa bahay) and I cannot afford na hindi to bayaran. Kahit pa same province yung agency, medyo malayo siya saamin and medyo uncommutable yung place. the agency is 2 hrs away from us and walang direct way to commute dun kaya at the vey least, kailangan ko mag labas pa ng motor to get by.. (di pa gaano afford ang car kahit 2nd hand). Naisip ko the barrier to entry is too high.. Bababa ang income, pero tataas ng grabe ang expenses.

Right now, pag mag titipid talaga ako i will have about st least 18k in savings per month, net na yan pag naibawas ko na ang non negotiable gastos. But when i will accept the Government job, since i would have to rent, buy a motorcycle na huhulugan plus daily expenses, walang 5k ang maiipon ko kada buwan or at the very least max na yun na possible ipon IF mag titipid talaga ako.

Base sa numbers ehh napaka obvious ng answer, but I once dreamed of working talaga for this government agency. Pero the numbers speak for itself na ehh.. So i made the hard decision to decline the plantilla position... Iniyakan ko to ng sobra, pangarap ko to eh. pero sadyang hindi kakayanin ng bulsa ko and my long term goals. stable nga ako pero ang hirap ko naman? :(

The hardest part is my parents does not fail to remind me everyday since na "sinayang mo yung opportunity mo" "saan ka pupulutin sa wfh wfh na yan". na ang sakit saakin kasi parte sila ng decision ko. kung kukunin ko yun eh di ko mababayaran ang mga maintenance nila. lalo netong mid year bonus nila sa govt, ang daming pasaring na parinig saakin kasi wala daw akong ganun. nakakainis rin na parang minamaliit nila ako porke i work remotely, samantalang i make more than them right now? (except my brother)

I realpy hope na di ko pagsisihan tong decision ko, i don't know if masyado akong short term nag isip. pero I just did what's best for me right now :(