It was career orientation day in high school, long before I knew about the existence of call centers in the Philippines. If I were to recall just one thing that we talked about back then, it was something this Swiss speaker said: “The second most profitable industry in the world is telecommunications.” It got stuck in my head for some reason. A sign? Possibly.

You see, how many call center employees do you know can say that as kid, they dreamed of wanting to grow up and work in a call center? Its like everyone I know, myself included, got into this industry not because they really wanted to in the beginning.

My first call center job was for an outbound account for a small phone company based in Albany, New York. I applied because getting a job was not a bad idea at the time and a call center was good for me since I was only free during the night. I was still in college, but I had a lot of time in my hands. I got the job, found out I had the knack for it, and was told that I’m one of the people they wanna make supervisor at my first month.

What happened? Nothing. I resigned after my second month. My immaturity couldn’t handle the office environment during those days.

A month passed. I got bored. Soon, friends invited me to join another call center whose client is yet another American phone company. They hit my sweet spot. The had the C-factor: COMMISSION.

I couldn’t resist.

I remained a telemarketer for half a year. Then I was asked to apply for a new inbound sales account for the same client. More contacts, more sales, more commission, more for me! I couldn’t be happier since my payslip suddenly went from a 4-digit net pay to 5.

As my salary grew, so did my company. They started getting more clients. I was hand-picked by the director to be in the pioneer batch for a new inbound account with upselling for a fashion catalog. Though I was hesistant at first, accepting the transfer was the best decision I ever made in my career thus far. I got promoted to team leader after two weeks.

The rest is history.

Currently, I’m in a supervisory position for a collections unit for an international bank. I’ve been in the call center industry longer than I expected. I have actually grown to love it. Looking back, the thought of being an underpaid phone monkey call center agent is not exactly what I would call a “career.”

So what’s my point? That Swiss guy was right. The industry IS profitable. And I still have a looooong way to go until I get a 6-digit salary. (Yeah right)

For those people who would like to pursue a career in the call center industry, I say go for it. But never ever get into anything wherein you know you won’t take seriously. Been there, done that. While you’re at it, take my recipe with you. That’s half a cup of good communication skills, a dash of initiative, a handful of motivation, and a whole of of 100% pure positive mental attitude. Best served smothered with a generous amount of patience.