Recently there are many friends of mine who asked me why I decided to work oversea. Some asked me on some details and they are considering doing the same. Some debated the reason to work abroad. So I decided I’ll just scribble something in my mind here. What I say is just my point of view, it is not a fact or something that one must follow. I just hope at least by sharing what running in my mind during this period of time may helps others to think and decide on their future.
I must say I’m blessed to be able to work in so many different places in the world for the past 3 years of my career. I’ve been to Italy, Pakistan, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, China, Papua New Guinea and etc for short term business trip, while also working in Dubai for 1 year and now I’m working in Singapore. It’s not hard to find that people works oversea. You can find a lot of Indians working in Dubai, Philippines in Papua New Guinea, Chinese in Pakistan and so on. For some, there isn’t enough job opportunity in their country, so they got no choice but to work elsewhere. For some, they simply need to earn more money to support their family living, and that amount of money will only be possible to be earned if they work somewhere else.
Spending time talking to them and to understand them during my previous travel really opens up my eyes and mindset. Me, as a Malaysia, there’s enough job back in my homeland, we are not considered to be poor or rich, but at least we are able to earn a living to continue our life. But why many of us choose to work elsewhere or live elsewhere, and we never look back?
I personally fed up with the politics in my homeland, and with all the ridiculous policies going on which drains all my hard earned income for no reason (actually there is a reason, which is to fill up “their” pockets), I decided to escape from it once and for all. For others, there are reasons such as currency exchange rate, better job opportunity, better offer, better life for their family and etc. Reasons, there’s always one when you need it. But deep into our heart, who doesn’t want to stay and work in their homeland? But we have chosen to do the opposite, this may sound ridiculous to you, but really, we got no choice.
Of course it is not as easy as it says for someone to decide working oversea. There’s a lot of consideration going on. For single, mainly one will need to juggle between his current commitment (car loan, house loan, parents and family) in his homeland and what he really wants in the end. For those married or planning to married and start a new family in near future, there are more consideration to be taken in. Other than the usual commitment, they’ll need to think about their children’s future as well. It’s not cheap to raise a child, doesn’t matter where you are in the world.
I’m a single man, currently without any commitment (car loan cleared and I can’t afford a house in Malaysia anyway) other than insurance, my family is not depending on me to survive the day, and I’m not planning to start a new family with children in near future. Therefore, my point of view is simple. I want to work for different jobs, experience different culture and gain as much work experience as possible while I’m still young, energetic and able to do so. When I’ve gained my experience, and I’m comfortable with the place and job I’m in, I will settle down and focus in growing further on my career, and perhaps starting my family. Owning a house is certainly not in my priority list for the moment.
Some may argue that you won’t get to high position without staying in a company for long enough. This is “yester-year outdated” thinking. Nowadays, seniority is nothing in most company. If you are capable, you will be hired. It’s that simple. Considering the currency factor, this is the time where I can really work hard to earn and save money for my future usage. If I do come back to Malaysia one day, at least my hard earn money will be more valuable. If I don’t come back to Malaysia, at least I’m sure that I’m living a life with better quality elsewhere.
So, with nothing to lose and everything to gain, I set off on a journey in pursuing what I want in my life, and what my homeland can’t offer. I’ll talk more specifically about working in Singapore next time.
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