Call centers took the Philippine job market by storm. A few years ago, while the Philippines was feeling the effects of the global IT crunch, the country’s call center industry experienced a boom fueled by the cost-cutting trends in countries such as the United States.

Currently, call center jobs offer very attractive compensation packages – high basic salaries, night differential and added allowances – prompting workers in other industries to explore these opportunities.

Kyle, an events coordinator in a service company, shares, “I've been working for this company for the past 3 years. I love my job and it's pretty challenging but my college batchmates are making way more than I do as call center employees.  Is it time for me to leave?”

In this week’s discussions, JobStreet.com’s Career Coaches ponder on this issue: the job you love or the job that pays?

Danny Pancho of Edward Keller Philippines cites Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in this instance. “People have a series of needs which needs to be satisfied one after the other to ensure contentment. It starts with the physiological needs – like food, clothing, shelter, etc. – then moves on to security – such as having a secure job – then acceptance, recognition, and self-actualization. The last need is doing something because of the psychological income it generates, such as overcoming challenges of the job. If you come from a rich and well-known family, in which case the first four needs are already satisfied, it would be easy to fulfill the last need. But if you are just an average person, struggling to make both ends meet, then the last need should be satisfied later. In street lingo, ‘Paano masisiyahan ang loob mo kung kumakalam sikmura mo?’”

“If your priority right now is that you need to earn and save, then I'd say choose very carefully which call center you'd like to try out,“ suggests Melle Roxas-Pitalgo of iDnet Consulting. “But if you value the worth you bring to your job, stick it out because sometimes the best rewards don't come financially. It's when you get recognized as the best in what you do.”

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Career Coach is a series of articles in JobStreet.com’s Career Services section which answers questions posted by jobseekers. JobStreet.com’s Career Coaches are composed of members JobStreet.com’s HR Forum e-Community. For comments on this article or to get advice from our Career Coaches, email careercoachph@jobstreet.com.