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Originally Posted by Buddahaid
You split rent with others just like I did for years.
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Yep, there's nothing wrong with sharing expense like rent. If you have to do it, then do it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oberon
Well put, I think that it's partly this and the increase in house prices which is seeing a large section of todays youth living with their parents for longer periods. For a lot of youth, the flipping burgers is their first place after school, especially if they have done poorly at school, whether their school performance is their fault or the school is a topic for another thread so let's not go there, but you'll find that catering and cleaning is where most of the early school leavers go. On the minimum wage on these jobs, even working full-time, they cannot afford to buy or rent a property, so they hang on and wait to see if a better paid job will come up.
Now, law of averages dictates that with millions of kids doing this across a country, there's going to be a lot of people trying to fit into a small hole and that's going to mean a lot of 'Thank you for applying for this job, we're sorry but...' letters in the mail (if they're courteous enough to even bother with such things), and that's going to mean another week flipping burgers.
Who knows how long such a situation would continue for some? It's a numbers game really, and it does absolutely nothing for your self-esteem, especially when everyone else is looking down their noses at you like you're some kind of lower class scum just because you work at McDonalds.
Little wonder so many turn to drink and drugs.  |
You know, there's a theme here: if you don't get what you want from the government, then riot or turn to drugs and crime.
I don't look down my nose at a fast food worker, actually I appreciate that they are taking care of my meal, that they are working. I respect them for doing their job. But they have to decide for themselves, do they want to try to make a career out of the lowest paying job they can get, or push to get a better job.
I was a burger flipper in high school. For nearly a year. But I kept moving up, going to a warehouse packager, then working construction building scaffolds in the plant. Since I "retired" from my career job in 2008, I have had no shortage of good jobs, all paying over minimum wage.
When I was the manager of a retail motorcycle shop in Houston, I hired associates for the store. All started out at $1.50 over minimum wage. Yep, I learned first hand there a are a LOT of people who do not want to earn a living, they just want someone to hand them a fat paycheck. I had employees who I hired, and within 2 weeks they stopped showing up. Others would lock into their mobile phones and not do their work. Some couldn't pass the drug test and never made it past orientation. All of it was a huge waste of the store's time and my time. I had one employee of the whole bunch who was worth his salt, he hustled, he was positive, and I respected him greatly (and he was black, for what that's worth). All the rest are probably protesting for a $15 minimum wage now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gargamel
It will be a cold day in hell.....
This issue pisses me off to no end.
I was a critical care paramedic for 12 years, spanning various services from primary 911 to tertiary transport to airborne pediatric critical care to urban level 1 trauma ER tech.
I never once held a full time spot that paid more than $12.50 an hour. I would frequently hold multiple jobs just to make ends meet.
I left the job I loved 4 years ago because the money wasn't there.
I went into UNSKILLED LABOR IN A FACTORY making almost twice what I did as a medic. I walked in the door as a temporary employee for 6 months, and even then I made more than a medic, and my job was practically lifting boxes. It has progressed since then, significantly, where money really isn't a major concern for me. And the workload is considerably easier than as a medic. (Scheduled breaks, what the hell are those? I get to go home at my scheduled time? Well that's a novel idea!)
Lots of my friends are active medics, and my girlfriend is in school to do the same. She is going to start off at only a few bucks more than minimum, if that, when she starts working.
These people, myself included in the past, put their lives on the line every day for a bunch of unappreciative a-holes.
If these idiots who think flipping burgers should be a career, they stop and take a look at what others in their pay range are doing for the same amount.
If they don't like the pay, THEN GO GET A JOB THAT PAYS. I don't want to hear a damn thing about how there aren't any jobs that pay that much in their qualifications. Bull****, I'm living proof there is. They just don't want to do the leg work to find a place.
If they don't like the job, then they can go on strike. Oh wait, there's 30 other people willing to work that after school.
Fast food is NOT supposed to be a career. There are paths, like MCd's management path that do make a good career, and any employee can work their way up. But cashiers and cooks are NOT supposed to be Career. It's for part timers to make some extra cash.
So unless they start paying the EMS community $30-$40 an hour if these idiots get $15, I will be mightily inclined to start fire bombing fast food joints. And then I'll move to the Netherlands, they seem like they have their act together a bit more than we do.
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Wow, Gargamel, I am shocked, I didn't know EMTs were so poorly paid
I guess I mistakenly assumed that role is critical and there are not a lot of people who have the stomach and nerves for that work (I certainly don't!). That's incredible. You made a wise choice to get out the field and into something that offers reasonable compensation, that's for sure. I guess there are a lot more people willing to be an EMT than I thought. If enough follow your example, surely the pressure for good EMTs will drive the salary up.