A personal reaction to Eric Tipan’s Esquire Philippines article, “When Did ‘Virtual Assistant’ Become the Filipino Dream Job?”, published October 2, 2026.
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Quick answer: Virtual assistance can be a strong career path for Filipinos because it expands access to global work, flexible skill-building, and specialization. But it is not an easy shortcut or guaranteed dream job. The better goal is to build useful skills, solve real business problems, and create a sustainable career that fits the life you want.
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This article hits differently for me because I actually work as a Virtual Assistant.
I recently read Eric Tipan’s Esquire Philippines article, “When Did ‘Virtual Assistant’ Become the Filipino Dream Job?”
The article looks at a fascinating shift in how Filipinos think about careers. It was prompted by Remitly’s 2026 study, where “virtual assistant” appeared at the top of its Philippine “dream jobs” ranking based on Google search behavior.
Doctor came second.
That alone is enough to make you stop and think.
But one thing I appreciated about the article is that it did not simply declare that Virtual Assistance had replaced medicine, law, engineering, or other traditional professions as the Filipino dream.
The ranking measures interest and search behavior, not necessarily the career Filipinos would choose if you asked them directly.
And as someone actually working in this industry, I think that distinction matters.
Still, the fact that Virtual Assistance can now appear in the same conversation as careers Filipinos have traditionally associated with success says something about how our idea of a “good career” is changing.
I agree with the article that calling Virtual Assistance the Filipino “dream job” needs context.
VA work can open incredible opportunities, but I would never describe it as an easy shortcut to earning well from home.
When people hear “Virtual Assistant,” they sometimes imagine someone answering emails, organizing calendars, or doing simple administrative tasks.
That can be part of the job, but my own experience has become much broader than that.
I work remotely with overseas clients, particularly in real estate and digital businesses. On any given week, I might be managing websites, creating marketing materials, publishing content, working with CRM systems, organizing projects, researching prospects, building workflows, handling social media, preparing reports, or figuring out how AI and automation can make a business operate more efficiently.
At some point, you realize that “Virtual Assistant” is often just the umbrella term.