Several days ago, retired political scientist Prof. Clarita Carlos drew flak for saying that we need more STEM practitioners than lawyers. Filipino netizens bashed her on Facebook and Twitter for allegedly invalidating the new lawyers’ success in passing the Bar.
Honestly, she could have worded her post differently to prevent unnecessary offense. Stating that “we need more scientists, engineers, doctors…not more lawyers” makes people defensive. It can fail to facilitate civil discussions about the oversupply of certain professionals.
Despite that, Prof. Carlos is also correct. Some jobs are more in-demand than others. Denying this reality might trap young people into college majors or graduate degrees that will render them unemployable.
The Hard Truth
Doing various online searches would show us that Philippine businesses are looking to hire more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates than other types of workers. Even surveys conducted abroad reveal that many STEM careers are projected to grow faster than law or jobs that are related to the humanities and the social sciences.
Perhaps Prof. Carlos incurred many netizens’ ire because the latter subconsciously think that one’s job is equal to a person’s worth. In this line of thinking, a human being’s inherent value depends on how much the market priced him to be. Because a lot of Filipinos lack the skills to succeed in lucrative STEM careers, a lot of them would rather delude themselves into thinking that the market should value all jobs equally.
It’s wrong to base a person’s worth on his job. Every human being has inherent value because God created all of us in His image. Moreover, what a person brings into the job is far more important than the prestige that the job confers to the person. And the market cannot always measure the true value that we create when we’re faithful to our vocations. Stay-at-home mothers greatly illustrate this principle.
The Case of the Full-Time Housewife
As an occupational therapist (OT), I’ve worked with housewives whose children have special needs. Our woke culture looks down on them for not having careers. The truth is that the market will never be able to capture how valuable these mothers’ contributions are to their kids — and consequently to their communities.
I’ve known children with disabilities who needed occupational and speech-language therapy sessions almost everyday due to their developmental delays’ severity. Their full-time moms determinedly followed home instructions to the point that the therapists only needed to monitor the patients twice a year because of their significant improvements. Some were even discharged because all the goals had been achieved. Many of them went on to thrive in mainstream schools. Those who could no longer follow the general education curricula gained enough functional skills to be productive.
Many of those full-time mothers seemed very happy to stay at home with their kids.
Are they then inferior to career women? No! Many women amassed wealth in their prestigious jobs because they cut corners, slandered their colleagues, and destroyed their families. The latter are not excellent at all.
Grass is Greener Syndrome
Whatever our vocations may be, we should focus on maximizing our skills to serve others instead of coveting the prestige of other people’s careers.
I must admit that there were many days when I too envied others. I wondered if people would admire me more if I went to a particular medical school. I wished that I too had trained in a prestigious residency program just like my schoolmates when they became doctors. I thought that being a physician like them would earn me more money to travel often, which is something that I’ve always wanted to do.
On the other hand, occupational therapy has lots of advantages. Envy will only make me take them for granted. For one, working as an OT allows me to use both the artistic and scientific sides of my brain. It’s very fulfilling to help patients learn skills one step at a time until they’ve become more independent. Working right after college also allowed me to take care of my grandparents, which I would not have been able to do if I was busy with med school. Being an OT also pays well. Finally, it will be relatively easier for me to find work abroad compared to other professionals should staying in the Philippines become unbearable.
What makes you thankful for your vocation?
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