Wazzup Pilipinas !
Yung banat na “eto lang kasi budget pero bawi kami next project..” ang nagpapamahal dyan.
Kaya maraming gusto sa pulitika, ok lang kahit mag budots lang, magkakapera ka agad pag nanalo.
Seems underpaid nga sa Pinas. This sets a dangerous precedent sa lahat ng nag-uumpisa palang. Baka isipin ng tao, yan ang norm.
Ideally kaya ayoko talaga ng local cllients. Locally, the economy decides kung ano ang presyo sa kahit anong industry dito. Not the competency.
Kaya dapat di dapat #gatong sa lahat ng issue. Nasasanay tuloy ang mga tao na "yan ang normal"
However I have several questions:
- Is the quality of work the same sa international works?
- Do we really have to convert $ to Php knowing na ang laki ng gap ng value of money for both countries ( US & PH)
Don't get me wrong. Im not against paying the right and just amount to every rendered service or sold good.
Baka kasi mamaya may mga ibang gamitin yang info but then hindi maideliver sa client ang lahat ng expectations? Whatcha think?
Videographers in the PH here for weddings that produce quality work is 60k to 200k actually, yung mga ganyan rate is very basic editing na hindi mashado presentable. I'm just saying there are a lot of clients from PH who pays the same price as US rates, depende talaga sa quality, professionalisn, dependability and brand na din.
Sana may proper context rin yung mga rates. Like anong extent ng editing? Cut to cut salpak lang ba or madugong pagtatahi base sa script? May halong effects ba? Talking heads lang, re-enactment, etc... Kasi yung rate rin bilang editor nag-vavary sa years of experience + level of skills. May mga foreign clients na sobrang baba rin ang budget, meron naman galante. May mga networks at post-prod company na ang bayad is per month, kaya one to sawa ang project... kaya di rin gaano nagtutugma yung ibang rates mo. Good for you that you can charge that much, sana may tutorial how to para matulungan rin yung ibang nakakabasa nito to get generous clients 🙂
But one thing that I agree with you is that underpaid talaga anything to do with production/ creative endeavor dito, hindi lang editor kasi yung mga gfx artist, producer, writer etc.
I believe Filipinos do as great and sometimes even more than international standards. The reason we're charging this much is that our industry placed it as our "norms".
I mean, how long will $300 last you in the US? Compare that to how long Php 200 will last you in the PH. I think that alone speaks volumes about how underpaid multimedia people are here.
There's the factor called "cost of living". A single person can live by comfortably with around PHP50k/month here in the Philippines. Compare that to let's say someone living in California, where rent alone averages more than that. Food, health services, etc also cost more and they have much higher minimum wages. It's the reason companies outsource here in Asia. Labor just costs a lot less here even if the quality of work is close to or equal in developed countries.
Ang mali sa thinking ng Pilipino we convert it sa value ng pera natin dito sa Pinas. Pero ang binabayaran po dito ay talent. Kahit nasaan parte ka pa ng mundo dapat pareho ang bayaran sa same level of talent. We are the ones that is building this culture in the world market. Kaya tayo binabarat ng ibang employers, its because of some of the Filipinos who think this way. Dapat ang minamarket natin ay ang galing ng Pilipino so they pay the same. Not because we are paid cheap.
Nasa tao nalang kung pano niya iwoworth kung magkano siya bayaran for the project.. so if you belive na eto talaga ung tamang presyo sa quality na kaya mong ibigay why not... for my experience i really started low para makalaban at makapasok sa big leagues.. experience is your starting line.
Tingin ko one way to check ung quality ng video edits nung editor is thru portfolio or previous works nya,
Para doon palang majustify ung presyong dinedemand nya if u think na masyado mahal or medyo may doubt if kaya ba nya ideliver ung expectation mo as a client.
The international companies can you pay you from 20k-50kphp or more than that if you can satisfy them with your designs with minor revisions. Here in PH, you will still get a minimum wage salary despite of having unli revisions especially if you're a corporate slave.
The price for international works should be the same for Filipino artists. Knowing that art education here in the Philippines is very expensive po. Asides from that, the softwares and gadgets that are used are also pretty expensive. Wala pa po labor ang gastos na. Art is an investment, therefore it's just right that filipino artists should be paid justly. Kung sa ibang bansa nagagawang bayaran ng mataas mga Pilipino, bakit dito sa bansa natin hindi?
This is true, but we cannot really compare yung prices internationally, 3rd world country tayo eh.
Parang BPO setting lang yan, they put up BPOs in PH rather than hiring native speakers coz we sound the same, produce the same output with cheaper price. Same with OFWs, med practitioner and other outsourced jobs, we chose to fly abroad and make a career there coz it pays load bigger than what we get here. Besides most of the jobs here in PH are underpaid.
The danger here is that you’re generalizing “normal” or “average” PH rates that clients can potentially use as a baseline for production costs.
One of the problem here in the Philippines is the “boomer mentality” when it comes to creative/multimedia profession. They think it's not a serious profession like being a doctor, teacher, engineer etc. Thats why artist are always being looked down.
Standard/cost of living, currency conversion rates, and supply and demand for services. Unfortunately it’s the Philippine economy that’s the problem, not because people are underpaid. Also foreign labourers had more expensive education (10x or so the amount Filipinos pay for school) and training costs that they have to recoup In their own localities. In a developed country’s perspective, yes Ph local labour is underpaid, but in the context of Ph economy, market and government it is just about right - although it should be a bit more than that nowadays because the cost of goods are getting higher every year.
No matter what you do, nobody locally can pay for what you demand internationally, because the general pay-scales and economies are vastly different. If you deal locally, then you have to adjust to the local economy. Even McDonald’s adjusts their pricing: Big Mac in Canada costs 500 pesos If converted. But Big Mac in Ph costs 150 pesos. It’s just how economics work, my friend.
Even concrete houses in Ph are way cheaper than simple wooden houses in US or Canada. For $30k, you can buy a house in Ph, but in Canada it would cost $600k. Real estate market is one of the good gauges to feel the condition of the economy.
And it will take years of steady improvement to catch up. That’s why choose your government officials wisely. Posting these “awareness” thing won’t do much, unfortunately.
This is like the feminist fighting for equal pay. competence and agreeableness plays a big role. Anyone can charge for astronomical amount but the question is would anyone hire him? BPOs are in PH because of cheaper labor, delivering the same if not better quality of service. Should Filipinos ask for equal pay?
In a free competition market, if someone can offer their services at the desired quality (varies per client) at a value-for-money proposition, then the work goes to them.
In the end, you can demand for a price equivalent to the quality and services you can deliver, but to remain competitive sometimes you would need to charge lesser thus live less comfortably.
Know your worth based on your skills level. It’s not realistic to price yourself when you know you can’t deliver.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
