Here's my take.
The world does not run on set parameters. Lahat grey, walang black and white. So just because you do a job and you think you do it well, don't automatically expect to be rewarded. Your selling your time, and service and most of the time, it's not you setting the price. Now since hindi mo gusto ang pricing ng "time and service" mo dito, siyempre hahanap ka ng ibang market na mataas ang benta mo ng iyong product. i.e. mag aabroad ka.
Now if you are expecting to be an employee for the rest of your life kasi ang alam mo lang na pagkaperahan mo is ang iyong time and service, then the present situation in our country is not your ideal market. Now in all honesty, for the past 3 years, I have only been an employee. Time and service lang ang pinagkakaperahan ko. Hindi pa nga "specialized service" to.
I had 2 failed business ventures na more sa laway at oras ang losses and not sa monetary. Now the lesson there on the failures was that I should have commited more financially but takot ako mawalan ng pera. ( Yung mentality bang sana kung hindi napunta sa palpak na negosyo, nakabili na sana ako ng magandang cellphone, laptop, flatscreen tv, etc.)
I personally was too focused on getting material things, rather than finding ways to as the cliche goes "make money work for me". Now hanggang ngayon, wala pa akong "money making venture". Ayoko kasing magiging gaya gaya puto maya lahat pareho benta. Kumbaga nag-eexperimento pa rin. It's a good thing binata pa ako at walang pamilya at least less yung stress kung matututulog na ako.
What I'm saying is, having a high paying job may be great, but that is not the only way to acquiring wealth. Think about it, you only have maybe only 40 years worth of "time and service" to sell. Non renewable of resources kumbaga.
Also as I see it, most employees that are highly educated look down on businessmen. A lot of us hate to sell, thinking it's beneath our dignity. Para bang may sense of entitlement tayo na porke't may degree tayo, we should make more money than those who don't have one.
For the record, I come from a middle class family. My grandparents and parents followed the adage of go to school, get a job, raise a family, retire, enjoy, die. Sadly this does not work in our day and age anymore. My grandparents continually curse Winston Garcia for their pension delays. Some of their children dread their retirement because they fear it won't be enough. This is why I don't want to be dependent only on my job.
It's up to us to change our lives. If your really poor, it definitely would be extremely harder than those who have something to fall back on. But you are in a better position because hey, how worse can it get for you di ba? But a defeatist attitude has never helped anyone rich or poor.
Yun lang at magtatrabaho na ako. :)