Do we need an M.A. to work in the M.E.?

I can’t give you a brain, but I can give you a diploma – L. Frank Baum

An article I read in Ms. Connie Veneration’s blog about “package” thesis and other projects being sold in cyberspace made me think. It’s pathetic to imagine when students go to that extent to acquire a diploma. “Hilaw” (visayan for unripe) is the term I use for these graduates.

Even here, hilaw “professional” proliferates. We have our share of “engineers”, “doctors” and “nurses”. In fact a co-worker, a hardware engineer, is one. He got his computer background from a trade school that offers a three-month training program. But what he lack in academic, he compensate with research, self-study and an eagerness to learn. These also holds true with other pinoys I know. Ang lalakas nang loob kumuha nang assignment they barely know. But they do their homework. Mag susunog nang kilay para hindi mapahiya sa bossing.

Before we judge our fellow kabayans for faking their way to a better life, try to see what other nationalities are doing. When it comes to mass-produced diplomas and certificates, nobody can beat a particular South Asian country. They have resumes that read like a novella, backup by diplomas and certificates as thick as an inch. Their forgers make C.M. Recto looks like a talipapa.

To cite an example, we had a company driver who heard about an opening in another project. He went on vacation for a month. When he came back his loaded with documents affirming that his a certified microwave technician. He admitted to us the diploma and certificates are fakes, but the government authentication is real. Their government knows but sanctioned it anyway. Talking about “mafia” in governments, their government is “the mafia”. What is worst, these are the same people who gets promoted rapidly, dahil ang lalakas sumipsip. When it comes to first impression, hindi kapani-paniwala ang pinoy dahil hindi naka-kurbata.

I’ve got my prejudices, but I’ve been here long enough to know that when it comes to technical aspect of jobs, these workers are rejects in their country, ask any kabayan. What scares me is when a member of my family gets sick and encounters these “professionals” in clinics and hospitals. I just cross my fingers and hope we don’t meet one.