Escaping Myanmar by working abroad? Remote working may be a way back in!

Lately, most educated Myanmar youth have been leaving the country in search for better livelihoods against the backdrop of the seemingly dim prospects back home. With many large international organisations and corporations opting to put projects on pause or pull out of the country altogether, job and career prospects locally have not been the best of late. Working abroad may seem to be the best way to start life anew in a new country, or so I thought…

Two months ago, I started working with Crossworks as a Marketing Executive, but trust me, this isn’t just marketing speak! Over 45 remote hires have been placed with more than 20 overseas companies, accessing opportunities to work in an international environment without needing to leave the country. The pandemic had set a precedent for many employers and employees to be comfortable with working remotely, and gone are the days where work meant a 9-5 job in a physical office space.

Hybrid, distributed, and fully remote companies are rapidly increasing in number globally, and I’ve been able to witness firsthand why. Remote hiring not only enables employers to effectively expand their worldwide workforce, but also allows job seekers like myself to get an overseas job without really moving there. According to one report by JobStreet, the openness to remote work is on the rise at 57% all over the world.

Felix, a Web Developer whom I met briefly when I was still in Yangon, first joined Skills Union in February 2022 as a WordPress developer and was later promoted to a technical lead managing a team of 3 other engineers. Owing to some restructuring, he made a switch to work with another company with the help of Crossworks. “Getting job experience from foreign companies has been one of my dreams. As for going abroad, I wish to do that, but a remote job is the first step to work with foreigners without having culture shock. This has become my full-time job working with foreigners for the first time, and I am very excited,” Felix said.

Myanmar's rapid inflation is pushing up prices for rice and other daily necessities while there’s little to no wage growth at local companies. The vast majority of remote jobs from foreign companies come along with salaries pegged to foreign currencies, which is a huge plus for me. Felix also said, “Due to money inflation, our local currency is getting devalued a lot compared to the other foreign countries. Consequently, my local income actual value has lessened and not matched my work experience. So, I decided to work a remote job at a foreign company rather than the local one.”