I've long wondered about how working on EST in any one of hundreds of call centers here in the Philippines affects the lives of thousands of 20-somethings with college degrees from good schools and nowhere to go. I know three people who work at call centers, and they all wished they were working elsewhere.

The hours are a bitch, but the pay is good. Moreover, overtime is pretty common. But, at the end of the day, if it puts food on the table (or smokes to go with the beer and credit in their cellphones), they'd hold on to the job -- better than nothing, they suppose.

These days, a large majority of English, Psychology and Communication graduates, end up working in call centers, answering emails with the handle "Sara Jones" or "Brian" instead of Belen or Jon-jon. But the business is growing so fast (and, conversely, employment elsewhere increasingly sparse) that any surplus of graduates from other fields are sitting in front of their PCs chatting with clients in the East Coast at 4 in the morning. There are in fact schools that give out certificates for call center operator wannabes, much like the seafarer schools dotting the countryside.

Nuki's uchi's blog would probably have more pages if it wasn't for the fact that he works late into the night.

I think working at call centers typify the status of the large majority of the Filipino workforce: like nurses and seamen (I heard 1 in 5 worldwide are Filipinos), theyre in jobs they had no choice but to take. And, the miss out on friends and family. Right now, I'm trying to find time to get together with a friend working in a call center. Of course, he has time; four AM he takes his coffee. Even Burgos is asleep by then.