Dear DR. HOLMES:

I'll be starting college in Orlando as a physical therapist. I don't really want to; it just pays good. What I really want is to go into something that will benefit the Philippines. I grew up there until high school and have always dreamt of going home with something good to bring back to our country. My seafarer dad tells me to go into something that has to do with food and agriculture. A tita told me that computer engineers are in demand back home. What does the Philippines really need?

RENATO

Dear RENATO:

The Philippines really needs good, strong men and women with their hearts and minds with similar values to yours. She needs people who have the option to live in this great land of milk and honey and yet choose to go back home to her, contributing what they can for her growth and well-being.

That is what's most important: You are not coming back as the Messiah who will save his home, nor as the bleeding liberal for whom all things Oriental are better than things Occidental, nor as the technocrat who knows what's best because he’s "been there, done that." You are coming back as one who has trained abroad as best he could and wants to apply what he's learned to suit the specific needs of his fellow Filipinos, under the specific circumstances in the Philippines.

All the rest--what course to take up, what field to go into--is mere logistics. Don't get me wrong. Logistics are very important. It is imperative you choose a career best suited to your temperament, talents and wishes. Then you can make use of your training no matter *what* situation you find yourself in. Ideally you would use your education directly; so that what you learned will be EXACTLY what you need to put into practice. But things changie so fast nowadays. Many of us have to "learn on the job.”

My gut level is to tell you, "Your Tita is right." Computers are the way of the future. But then again, your Papa is right too. Notwithstanding every nation's wanting to shift away from an agriculture based-economy to an industry-based one, we will always need food (and thus, agriculture). Anyone who knows how to maximize quantity without sacrificing quality is bound to succeed. But other areas--medicine, psychology and physical therapy, to name a few--are of vital importance too.

That is why you should choose a major you love, and not just one that may give you a good salary. If nothing grabs you at the moment as, indeed, nothing seems to, get the best liberal ats education you can, so you will be exposed to the classics and to art, music and literature. At the same time, get some basic courses in the hard sciences so that being a renaissance man is not all you have to offer. Also, work during the summers, and learn first hand about the fields that you may want to spend your working life in. Finally, keep in close contact with friends who live in the Philippines. That, more than anything else, can give you the pulse and direction our beloved home is going. Many things can change in four years and a hot job now may be cold as ice by the time you graduate.

Everywhere there will be competition for the best spots, and everywhere there will be people who will be just as well trained as you. What will separate the employees who collect a paycheck each month from those who understand what they're doing is your love of the job. Most of the time this translates to better pay, but even if it doesn't, it will translate to a better life: one where you are learning all the time because it's fun to learn, one where you have time--and the inclination--to smell the roses and have fun with your friends. That is the kind of job worth having no matter where you are. My best wishes...

MG Holmes

(BodyMind Vol. 2 No. 18 - First posted: 7-26-98)

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