Disclaimer!

The story contained in this article is a fictionalized account inspired by the experiences of many Engineers and Engineering Graduates with 5+ years of experience.

Any resemblance to actual individuals or companies is coincidental, the author is not liable to personal deductions and real life associations made by the reader and this is by no chance, an attack on any individual or organization, however the article may serve as a cautionary tale for young professionals entering into the engineering field. Your CV is not the only thing important in your career.

This piece is a first in a series of articles I will be doing exploring the often-overlooked details of employment, migration, and lessons hard learned over time in the field of engineering for individuals in the Global South.

Introduction

In today’s fast-changing and unpredictable economy of the Global South(aka Third World Countries or as Trump likes to put it, “**** holes”) every job opportunity feels like a lifeline, a bridge to stability and survival.

For many young engineers just stepping out of college or those still finding their footing in the early stages of their careers, securing that first paycheck is a moment of triumph.

A salary often means more than just income; it symbolizes independence, growth, and the validation of years of hard work and for some it may literally be the cheque your whole family has been waiting on for a while.

But if only we, the “younger” generation of engineers, had known what we know now i.e. if we had seen the full picture beyond the immediate allure of that first job.

There are lessons that would have made all the difference, knowledge that might have reshaped decisions, and choices that could have paved smoother paths for us now that we are in the future.

This story is for those who follow after me and my class, so they might learn from some of the past mistakes that we made without any guidance, and understand that some decisions, once made, echo longer than one might expect.

In this article for some reasons that your “Animal Farm” mind will have to deduce, I am going to be using a story narrative to bring out my point, so I hope you enjoy this one, But First lets talk about…

The Biggest Misconception of 5 Years Experience and Migration.

Among young engineers there is a common piece of advice that floats through classrooms and early career years;

Focus on getting your five years of experience and everything else will fall into place

This notion is simple, reassuring, and widely believed. Why? Because…

1. Most Tenders want the key personnel in a company’s EOI or BID to have at least 5 years Experience.
2. For Migration under skilled visa programs, you get the most meaningful number of points once you reach the 5 year mark e.g.
   • Australia – 5 years experience = 10 Points (GSM system),max is 15 for 8+ years
   • Canada – 4 to 5 years experience = 64 Points (CRS system), max is 80 or 6+ years
   • New Zealand – 6 years experience = 30 points (SMC system), max is 50 for 10+years
3. Most Regulatory Institutions consider applications for Professional or Chartered Registration after 5 years.
   • See Table Below

_{^{This is based of information I have gathered on my own journey to chartership with ICE and ENZ and from the other organizations’ guidebooks}}

As you can see, the, get Five Years experience notion tells us at a very young age that, once you hit that milestone, doors to financial opportunities, skilled migration & international jobs, and global engineering networks will swing open without resistance.

BUT THE TRUTH

As many of us have and many still will, come to learn the hard way

IS FAR MORE COMPLEX!

5 Years experience is not just about the time spent at work, the number of projects you have done or the references collected.

When it comes to migration, especially for skilled visas to places like Australia and Canada, experience means documentation.

It means payslips, tax returns and official records that validate each year of work as more than just a line on a CV and a referral Letter.

And as for Professional Registration, 5 Years experience is more than just the years you were employed, your title on a project and the projects or value of the projects you did, its about what exactly you did and executed but! that is a story for another day (article coming soon)

For today I will tell you a story I heard about a young Jedi Engineer in the Planet of MIZ who was left stunned after 5 years of laboring and toiling, when he could not prove the “unprovable” and he was forced to search for papers he never knew he needed.

Story Time – The Journey Begins

Once upon a time, there was a young Jedi Engineer named Annakinn Musalad, hailing from the bustling capital of the Planet MIZ.His path to engineering was not one of passion but practicality. With stellar grades out of high school, the only acceptable choices, in the eyes of his parents, were Medicine or Engineering. Annakinn had no stomach for biology and found the idea of cadavers rather unsettling, so engineering it was.

With this background, it wasn’t a surprise that 5 years later after his last exams in college and whilst he was waiting for his graduation, he was not actively searching for a job but rather enjoyed the benefits of his mother’s domicile, chasing the glee of youth, savoring his freedom and pursuing the charms of the beautiful Togruta women.

Then, out of nowhere, came an offer from Museyamwa AnoTenga Lunch Pvt Ltd. (MALP), a mysterious new small company corp of Jedi, that had just been incorporated within the same month he was writing his exams (unbeknowst to him)

The job offer was more than tempting; it was life changing. It promised an above-average salary, valuable experience, a chance to travel, and an office adorned with portraits of the legendary reggae artist Mobb Barley.

The owner himself, a charismatic figure who always smoked a pipe and talked big game, seemed to have stepped straight out of a Hollywood movie. Annakinn couldn’t resist; with youthful ambition and a grin, he signed on.

Payday

The contract was signed and the missions began. Annakinn’s work took him to sites flowing with the proverbial milk and honey. Museyamwa arranged luxurious accommodations and sent him on trips to legendary places, including the famed Citadel of Kings and Queens, home to the vibrant and famous Zeltron ladies,

AND

When the first payday arrived, Museyamwa did not disappoint, The money came! however, not with the crisp and formal flourish of a payslip, but as a whisper in his bank account, and an extra sum unceremoniously named “bonus” under the company’s name. No paperwork to track it, no breakdown of deductions, and certainly no tax evidence.

When one of his friends who worked for another small corp asked him how much had he been taxed on his payslip he mused “Payslip? For what?”

It seemed an afterthought. After all, the work paid well, their other peers were still scrambling for interviews, and, at that moment, life was generous. The company had even given him his own unbranded fighter ship, why should he worry about a payslip.

Months Passed, The Pattern Held

Museyamwa AnoTenga Lunch Pvt Ltd., had a talent for the unexpected, Contracts were never formally renewed or extended or upgraded after the first three month mark. Payments would now vary how they came sometimes even as mobile money transfers or even as fat wads of cash in hand, passed across the desk like a favor owed.

Annakinn was too busy living the dream to care. He travelled across the Planet MIZ and even across the borders of the Bond Star System into the Rund Gold System famous for Bandits, Joy and where the Zeltron women were famed to originate from.

Little did he care, Official records? Tax deductions? what was important was “The Money!”… The only “record” of his work was the Code of Valour (CV), a field notebook that chronicled his feats which he thought If he ever decided to leave MALP or the Star System and his Galaxy, it would suffice.

Fast Forward Five Years Later: The Realization

Three years at MALP passed in a blur before Annkinn decided utilize his skills in a different corp and gain new exposures, but when the 5th year of experience mark hit, Annakinn Musalad felt seasoned and ready for a bigger challenge, he aimed for new opportunities in distant galaxies across the Milky Seas, thus he began his applications. The myth he had been told as a young Jedi, that all one needed was “five years of experience”, propelled him forward.

BUT, the first hurdle hit like a sandstorm.

To apply as a Critically Needed Skilled Jedi Master Engineer, Annakinn needed two crucial things:

1. Core System Work Payment aka a Payslip – To serves as proof of employment under a registered Corp in the Galaxy of Origin
2. Galactic Tax Passes aka Tax Return Certificate – To serve as evidence of lawful tax contributions, required by the republic to demonstrate that he had been an officially recognized and legal worker and paid his taxes.

As he searched through his files, the truth sank in, MALP had never issued payslips or tax certificates. He wasn’t registered with the Netgalactic Social Security Agency (NSSA) for his first three years because MALP was not. Suddenly, his impressive 5 year experience shrank to only 2 verifiable years. His application was deemed ineligible for crucial points he needed to boost it.

Moral of the Story

Annakinn’s story isn’t unique. Many young graduates rush into their first jobs without thinking about how their career records will shape their future. the first job is often the one that comes by chance, and in unpredictable economies, smaller firms, like MALP often offer the most opportunities.

Another harsh truth is that not everyone will get into the big reputable companies, and in the unpredictable economies of the global south sometimes it is the smaller firms that have the jobs the youth are yearning for, and they usually seek young guys because they can pay them peanuts and still get more out of them, its a harsh truth of life. Often times they lure young graduates with the idea of cash payments, the allure of perks, and the promise of experience.

But there’s a hidden cost, a curse that lies in wait. Without official documents, payslips, and tax records, those precious years of experience can be impossible to prove. When the time comes to migrate or apply for international opportunities, references and CVs are not enough. Proof of tax compliance and documented employment becomes essential in most big markets.

Just like the Galactic Migration offices that Annakinn encountered, some of these Immigration offices require proof of tax, formal pay and registered employment.

So What Exactly Am I Saying?

I understand employment is difficult to come by especially in poverty stricken and Global South countries. I am not going to get on a high horse and tell you to only seek employment with big companies as there is benefit to working for small companies, I can attest to that, I also work for a relatively small company right now but I have a Tax Identification Number, A payslip, A Work Permit, Bank Statement to prove payment if needed and a verifiable digital contract.

But if you are going to work for a small company have the following in mind

1. Make sure they are legit and pay Taxes or have a an agreement in some-form detailing your payment arrangements and deductions, stamped and signed by management.
2. Always keep your payslips, i have a story of another Young Jedi who used to burn his payslips in fear of them being found out as he stayed in a work camp but it later came to bit him aswell
3. Get a stamped reference letter when you leave that addresses all future inquiries, small companies can close down any day
4. Always keep your bank statements with you, I have another story on this
5. Make sure you are registered with the National Employment Agency in your country as they are the only one who can verify your Tax Returns and certificates and also act as a way of verifying your employment

Conclusion

I am sure that Annakinn Musalad’s story is not over yet, I believe where ever he is in the Jedi Universe he is wiser now. He has grown to see that PAYE and any deductions on his income are not losses but investments in credibility. Somewhere on planet MIZ he is writing his own letter to the younger generation of Jedi, urging them to ask themselves the hard questions early on, where do they want to see themselves in the next 5 years?

5 years of experience does not mean five years of undocumented work nor does it mean a guarantee to the land of milk and honey, the truth is a lot more nuanced. As he reclines in his chair out there and pieces together what he can of his past (hopefully), the lesson remains clear, official records, bank statements and tax compliance can mean the difference between your next big opportunity and being stuck in the rabbit hole down south.

With that in mind…

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!