It is a satire like The Office or Dilbert that really gets to people.

They laugh at the monotony of office life and in Schadenfreude realization they think, “I’m so glad that’s not me.” (Even though it could have been.)

Whether it is the dullness of a soul-sucking office environment, or the exaggerated humdrumness of life in corporate career tracks as shown on TV, it is the kernel of truth behind the joke that tugs most rather hard.

The Atenean job seeker is no exception.

Pay and passion

Without prompting or cue, as if by some natural phenomenon, a large number of the Ateneo’s graduates flock to corporate desk jobs.

In the survey held annually by the APO, 90.68% of Atenean graduates employed from batch 2006 went on to careers in the industry category, while 89.18% was the same case with batch 2007. Guidance Counselor Ronald Rodriguez will argue that it is not as inexplicable as it may seem.

“Their main reason for doing so is job security,” says Rodriguez. Based on his talks with students, their major concern is to get a job that can provide for the future. He adds, “Some are lured by the corporate career because it pays well. The benefits are good and it offers a secure feeling about their future. Because that is one of the concerns of our students: a secure future.”

The Loyola Schools Guidance Office (LSGO) has been dealing with career choice anxieties by means of self-assessments and regular career exploration workshops. “In terms of ranking, security is number one, but [it is] closely followed by being happy in their career choice,” says Rodriguez.

Finding that balance between security and happiness is daunting enough for fresh graduates, but matters are not as simple as matching paychecks and smiles.

APO Director Chit Concepcion brings to light another one of the student’s concerns—self- assurance. “They never know if they are making the right decision. Is their career becoming of who they are?” she asks. “Secondly if they are given choices, they feel ‘Am I making the right choice?’ [Then] they want to go where they are more interested in.”

In this respect, indecision does nothing to help our would-be graduates. But like them, batches and batches from the past have dealt with similar challenges, some cases with more interesting results than others.

Pressure is forever

And then there are those who are set to ditch the corporate plan altogether.

Quark Henares’ (BS CTM ‘01) big break as a film maker came with the conception of A Date with Jao Mapa, a short comedic film, which went on to win a Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature before he even graduated. After college, he went on to pursue further studies abroad. At this point he was well on his way to fulfilling his dream. “That was my life goal. [Ever since] college I wanted to be a film maker,” he says. “I really set my sights on that.”

Much like his dazed and confused peers, Quark went through career anxieties. “There’s always the anxiety of not being able to make money,” he says. “I mean, how many people want to become filmmakers and how many people have achieved that dream?” He adds, “I really really wanted it. I could not see any other way around living life.”

Like Quark, artist and talent manager and founder of Maven Entertainment Inc. Raymond Fabul (AB Psy ‘06) based his career on something he wanted to do.

“You can say I started with just being a fan. [I was just] being a fan of my friends’ band [and] trying to help them out. In doing so I just met more people,” says Raymond. “It was not even about work. It was just me helping my friends. It just so happened I had connections.” From there, Raymond’s career snowballed into his own talent management company, but not without a few hitches here and there.

He too had to face similar problems and anxieties. “Despite my insistence on pursuing this line of work, I can’t lie and say I never had doubts. I was very hesitant for a long time, even up until a year after graduation,” says Raymond. “The uncertainty of this job is nothing short of nerve-wracking.”

Concepcion backs this statement up saying, “The pressure I think is coming from themselves. I think when they see that all their [peers] are employed, and they find themselves not employed, they get panicky.”

As inspiring as their stories are, Quark and Raymond are neither invincible nor bulletproof. “It is not as if I do not ask myself ‘Maybe I should go to business school like my parents want,’ ‘Maybe I should focus on my businesses,’ ‘Maybe I should go corporate.’ I still ask myself that everyday,” says Quark.

He adds, “But when I go on set in the field doing what I want, [I think to myself,] I would rather do that than take a vacation. I would rather do that than take a cruise or have fun or party. That is where I am most fulfilled. That’s where I am in the zone. That is where I find purpose in telling stories. That is where I find most fulfillment in seeing people react to that. I would not exchange that for anything else in the world.”

Raymond shares the same sentiments about his own career. “I am not simply content but extremely happy with my career. It has its ups and downs like any other line of work, but again, I am passionate about it and I do not necessarily see it as work. I still see it as a hobby, something I do for fun. I don’t want to lose that love and appreciation for music.”

Passions and dedication aside, it is more than coincidence that these two practically started their careers in college.

Enchanted

In the midst of all their success, neither of them has forgotten their humble beginnings on Loyola grounds. Quark was part of the school staff as a film class teacher and Raymond recalls how much of his career he owes to the Ateneo Musician’s Pool. “I think if you already feel passionate about something you should pursue it,” says Quark. “College is really the best way to do that. It’s very open, it’s very organization-oriented.”

A lot of time and effort has been invested into career explorations, self-assessments, and career talks organized by the LSGO and the APO for the students’ benefit. “I’d like to believe that we’re doing our best,” says Concepcion. But it is now up to the individual to take advantage of the services. The services are there. They are not required. We are treating you as adults now.”

Whether or not to make the most of college education is completely up to the students, but the looming expectations will always be hanging over them. “[The school administration] notes the value of a secured future but [it] also wants them to be people of change for society. Not always money, money, money,” says Rodriguez.

“It doesn’t matter where you are at,” says Concepcion. “As long as you’re doing well and doing something for the improvement of [our society]. Because once you’re employed, you’re productive, and when you are productive, you achieve something of value.”

For many, inspirational, against-all-odds Cinderella stories are the stuff of overhyped Hollywood flicks. But because of the occasional few that opt to take a career risk, despite the looming pressures and the crippling anxieties, who is to say that happily ever after cannot be said about work?