# Will My Bachelor's Degree Be Honored?



## kona680 (Dec 5, 2014)

I would like to major in International Studies or Political Science in the Philippines and study Japanese as well. Will my bachelor's be honored or recognized by international NGOs or a United Nations agency if I were to seek employment?

Some people have told me that majoring in these non-technical field from the Philippines will get me nowhere and now I'm a kind of reconsidering going to the Philippines to study.

I am sorry if I offend any Filipinos! I love your country and your people, I really want to study there and get a good education that will be honored wherever I go.

Some of the universities that I'm considering are:

Adamson University
Lyceum of the Philippines University
De La Salle College of Saint Benilde
New Era University 
University of Asia and the Pacific


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Having worked in International Development including for the UN as well as some NGO's, you really need a graduate degree to stand out.

Make sure that your undergrad degree will allow you to get into a well recognized graduate school program.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

The impression I get is that people that take a degree in the Philippines is because they have to not because they want to. Just look at the world rating to get an idea of their worth. If you must study in the region I'd personally look at the likes of Singapore, Hong Kong or even Japan if you want to learn Japanese.


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## simonsays (Feb 11, 2009)

Gary D said:


> The impression I get is that people that take a degree in the Philippines is because they have to not because they want to. Just look at the world rating to get an idea of their worth. If you must study in the region I'd personally look at the likes of Singapore, Hong Kong or even Japan if you want to learn Japanese.


Plus studying in Philippines will not give you a one-up in NGOs

The NGOs are, as it is, flooded with many Filipinos!!


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## ROUNDHEAD1952 (Aug 18, 2014)

The reality is that almost everyone here has a Bachelor's degree. Supermarket cashiers all have a BS. Your greatest asset in employment is the fact that you are native English speaker. I have been a Principal in an International School and an English Professor at a major university. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but the salary was just pocket money, not a living. Working here for the money clearly is not worth the effort. Anyhow, I am retired now!


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## jon1 (Mar 18, 2012)

I do not think that the Philippine Colleges have the clout in the International Community. A good example is doctors. How many times have you heard about a doctor who went to work abroad as a nurse? If he was truly a qualified doctor, why not work abroad as one?


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

jon1 said:


> I do not think that the Philippine Colleges have the clout in the International Community. A good example is doctors. How many times have you heard about a doctor who went to work abroad as a nurse? If he was truly a qualified doctor, why not work abroad as one?


Because the purpose of most professional licensing boards, be they medical, engineering or other, is to protect the interests and incomes of their members.

Keeping MD’s from Asia out of practice in a western country protects the incomes of the membership.

I don’t have any experience getting Philipino’s licenced in Canada but do know some people who went through getting Eastern Europeans licenced as engineers in Canada. Guys who were senior level, in some cases university instructors had to take exams in the subjects they were considered to be the national expert at home in.

Nothing to do with qualifications, everything to protecting the incomes of the existing members.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

Manitoba said:


> Because the purpose of most professional licensing boards, be they medical, engineering or other, is to protect the interests and incomes of their members.
> 
> Keeping MD’s from Asia out of practice in a western country protects the incomes of the membership.
> 
> ...


Although not recently but we did take on a large number of Filipino nurses as nurses. We had to retrain them first though, and bring them up to speed with modern western hostpital equipment.


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## esv1226 (Mar 13, 2014)

Manitoba said:


> Because the purpose of most professional licensing boards, be they medical, engineering or other, is to protect the interests and incomes of their members.
> 
> Keeping MD’s from Asia out of practice in a western country protects the incomes of the membership.
> 
> Nothing to do with qualifications, everything to protecting the incomes of the existing members.


I agree.


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## esv1226 (Mar 13, 2014)

jon1 said:


> I do not think that the Philippine Colleges have the clout in the International Community. A good example is doctors. How many times have you heard about a doctor who went to work abroad as a nurse? If he was truly a qualified doctor, why not work abroad as one?


I know of an American who sent his son to study medicine in the Philippines because getting into medical school in USA is very competitive and very expensive. He is now a practising doctor after passing the qualifying and board exams in USA.

I also know a Filipina doctor who took up nursing because she wanted to go to USA. She couldn't get a visa as a doctor but visa as a nurrse is easier to get as nurses are in demand. (she's still in the Philippines as a doctor).


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Gary D said:


> Although not recently but we did take on a large number of Filipino nurses as nurses. We had to retrain them first though, and bring them up to speed with modern western hostpital equipment.


There will always be an adaptation phase when people move between countries. There is when people change jobs so why not change countries.

However in my profession, engineering, there is something called the Washington Accords. Under this many university programs in Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and USA, if memory serves me, are rated as being considered as providing the equal initial educational standards for entry into the profession. 

Since my degree and program is listed I am considered to meet the educational requirements for being a professional engineer in all these countries.

Note that all the countries on the list are developed western ones where there is no major mass immigration pressure between the different countries on a scale which you would see between any of these and the Philippines for example.

The Washington accords, IMHO, simply pay lip service to labour mobility in the profession while effectively shutting it off from developing countries to the developed world.

I have worked with and have a lot of respect for the technical skills of a number of my Philippine professional colleagues. In some ways I consider them better trained and qualified than the western educated engineers I have worked with.

However getting a Philippine engineer a western professional licence is a difficult matter. I have started to look into it on behalf of some of my Philippine friends and just getting any straight answer from the associations is a daunting task.


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