I'll never outsource my engineering skills, despite the lack of jobs in the Philippines

I'll never outsource my engineering skills, despite the lack of jobs in the Philippines.
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Illustration by April Y. Kasulis

This essay is one of 35 selected by a panel of judges for “Ambitions Interrupted,” a series from The GroundTruth Project and YouthVoices, its storytelling platform.

Name: Cedric Dela Cruz

Age: 21

Dream Job: Government engineer

City, Country: Pasig City, Philippines

Current job/school: University student

Challenge: Lack of engineering jobs in the Philippines

I am Filipino. I was raised with the moral obligation to serve my country. We all walk these streets with “pakikipagkapwa-tao” – Tagalog for solidarity or a shared identity. For this reason, I want my neighbors and future children to live in a Philippines that is significantly better than the one I see now.

I dream of seeing every Filipino have the privilege of electricity – according to the World Bank, about 12 percent of Filipinos lived without power as of 2012. Electricity is important because it gives children access technology, which will then let them learn and grow up to be technically-sound people who develop our country for the better. I dream of the day where they don’t live in the dark anymore. Their success is my success – their story is my story.

My dream job is to work for the government as an engineer who develops technology that can benefit Filipinos in all walks of life. I’m currently studying engineering at the Technological Institute of the Philippines, but I worry about finding a job once I graduate.

The Philippines is one of the world’s greatest workforce exporters, and that means that our scientists and engineers often outsource their services to countries abroad. It’s quite disheartening to see that your very own countrymen tend to serve other countries rather than stay here and work for ours. They play a vital role in the development of our country, and they are the difference from continuing to be a third world country and becoming the next first world country.

We are an agricultural nation that pays little attention to innovation, but what if we gave farmers the technological advancements they need to improve? What if our government invested in giving opportunities to agricultural scientists and agricultural engineers?

That’s my dream – to help my home country develop. Hopefully, it won’t just be a dream. Even though I’m still in school, I’m already talking with my classmates about our common goals for this country. I may not be special, but I am determined to be a part of that change.

This story was originally submitted to YouthVoices, a platform powered by The GroundTruth Project that encourages young people to share stories about the issues affecting their generation. Submit your own essays and answer new questions here, or learn more about global youth unemployment with this interactive map.

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