Medical Transcription Philippines

Good pay in good night jobs

By Anne Genuino of ManilaTimes

For almost a century, the Philippines has been sending professionals to work in the US: architects, doctors, therapists, nurses – even music teachers. In a way, BPO industry – the call-center business in particular – is just the next wave. This is what call centers and other BPO companies are communicating to Filipinos – that they don’t have to take up courses that would eventually take them abroad, because there really are equally enriching work in the Philippines. There were 60,000 local call-center seats by end-2005, increasing by 50 percent 2004′s 40,000.

But what makes call centers and other BPO companies attract Filipinos? You guessed it – the fat paycheck.

A regular call-center agent provides a variety of customer and employee-care services to Americans and other nationalities: handling call-in inquiries, giving technical support, sending e-mail, doing online chat, giving travel tips and consumer services. There are over 120,000 Filipinos answering queries in Manila, doing work – a minimum of P13,000 ($254.27 based on a $51.125 exchange rate) a month – that generally pays better than bookkeeping in a bank or a similar white-collar employment, which pays around P8,000 ($156.09) a month for an entry-level position in a local company.

Other BPO companies, like those that do data transcription, legal transcription, medical transcription, animation and software development, offer even more attractive pay packages. An entry-level position at a data transcription company, as a legal or medical transcriptionist, pays P12,000 ($234.71) a month; an animator and software developers receive a relatively higher monthly pay – P16,000 (about $312.95).

Apart from the attractive rates, call centers also give their employees other benefits – continuous training, food and transportation allowance, performance and attendance bonuses. No wonder Filipinos flock to call centers and other BPO recruitment offices.

An average Filipino worker’s paycheck is meager compared to the pay, perks and benefits offered by call centers. A bank teller receives a minimum of P7,500; a public-school teacher gets about P8,000 at the very least; a data analyst receives around P8,500.

Jon and Andrea, both 32 (not their real names), husband and wife, work in a Makati call center as directory assistance operators. They just got in last March. Jon used to work as a real-estate agent while Andrea was a full-time housewife. The couple have 3 children, aged 5, 3 and 1.

“I was getting tired of approaching people persuading them to buy houses. My monthly pay depended on how well I did with the selling,” Jon said. He adds that it was his friend who persuaded him to try his luck in a call center. “At first I was hesitant particularly because of the graveyard shift. But I had no choice. Stretching the peso had become very difficult for me and my family.”

Jon wasn’t happy with the idea of Andrea also applying for a call-center job. “The same with Jon, I had no choice. I needed to do this because our kids are growing. Good thing my mom lives with us. I am still adjusting. With the call-center job, even if I want to play with my kids in the morning I can’t – I am just too exhausted.”

Karen, a 22-year-old call-center agent who once considered becoming a lawyer, says her friends ask her, “What do you do?” I just sit around, talk to the customer with my headset on. That’s it,” she says. “They ask me, ‘How much do they pay?’ Secret.” Is it glamorous? “Well, it is – mainly because of the pay,” she said with a laugh. “If you’re not working for a call center, you’re not in.”

Jason (not his real name), 28, has been working ePerformax for nearly a year. “Most of the time, I feel isolated,” he says. “You can’t tell your friends what your day was like, because they are either sleeping or at work. But I enjoy what I do, even if it’s at the graveyard shift. Besides, the pay is good, way better than my old job.”

He adds, “Staying awake at night is not a problem. There’s a lot of irate callers to keep me awake. It’s a good-paying good night job.”