Since high school, Algie Marie De La Cruz knew that she would not be staying in the Philippines to work or even live for a long time. She thought there was gravity that pulled her toward a strong desire to work abroad and live elsewhere. Although she loves her country, she had to follow her passions and goals.
While getting a college degree, she had an internship in Malaysia for six months that she considered her first job. After her graduation and coming from her training overseas, she worked directly.
“I didn’t want to rely on my single parent for all my needs. I wanted to spoil her and get her whatever she wanted and needed the soonest I could,” she said.
However, this wasn’t the case. The reality at that time was that she was living paycheck to paycheck. She relied more on the experience that she would get from the jobs than on working and saving. Her mother would still support her with some of her expenses to survive. Algie recalled running out of money and buying the cheapest meal in a convenience store or from street food vendors.
“My work experiences in the Philippines, both good and bad, have shaped me into the person I am, and I was able to prepare myself towards my goal,” the 29-year-old Filipina said.
Taking the leap
Algie found another career opportunity abroad when she was on a night shift and worked as a call center representative. She saw an ad on Facebook; she thought it was another scam, but it wasn’t. When she passed the interview, she saw herself bound for the Middle East in just one month.
Her work in the Middle Eastern country revolved around the hotel industry. She started working on the reservations, getting a monthly salary of QR1,650, or approximately P23,000. Although she enjoyed the job, she didn’t see herself staying in the field her whole life.
“It hurt so much when I found out from other expats that cleaners even earn more than us. No shame but it is what it is, I guess. There were multiple times that I couldn’t even ride a QR 10 taxi cab from our west bay hotel accommodation to the city center, and I would prefer to walk or take our accommodation bus and walk from my work,” she recalled.
Algie tried her best to work in the sales industry, and it took her two years to land a position in the field.
“I can say that I have finally found the field that I like, which was in sales, marketing and events,” she added.
She excelled more when she landed a job in events management for a five-star hotel in West Bay, Qatar.
While working in Qatar, she regularly partakes in several non-profit groups, making a significant impact on the betterment of the country, its nature, and its society.
Pandemic effect
During the Covid-19 pandemic, she was terminated twice from work. Each wave of the pandemic was her tsunami. She struggled to keep herself afloat for a year and could not send money back home regularly.
“It was hard to finally tell my mom that I was laid off because I didn’t want to be a disappointment to her. I told her a few months after when I was about to get one more steady part-time job for a couple of months,” Algie said.
In total, she had to juggle six part-time jobs to survive.
Two years ago, she was diagnosed with chronic Crohn’s disease; she didn’t find any support group, so she started a small Crohn’s Warrior Group online to support those suffering from the same condition.
Today, she works as a sales, marketing, property management, and administration assistant for a GCC-wide real estate company. Her responsibilities were vast—from addressing tenants’ concerns to collecting rent, dealing with maintenance, and any inquiry throughout their stay. Their five-star properties and services cater to the niche VVIP clients who live in or visit the country.
Be open to change, new experiences, and work. It goes a long way, and as long as you are open to things like trying out new food, going out, and doing something new. It broadens your horizons for your future,” she concluded.