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If the day comes when there are millions of trained pilots or doctors vying for 100 jobs, you can bet your backside, the payscale will plummet.
It is a matter of supply and demand.
That scenerio is ridiculous, however, because if that situation was likely, few, if any, would bother with the time and cost of entering those professions
it's not really ridiculous because I believe this has happened for real recently in the UK.
Too many doctors were trained and to get work many graduates had to then go overseas.
However, the pay remained the same.
So this is a form of wage protection, a good thing IMO, but it does damage the 'supply and demand is king' argument somewhat.
I don't know your point of view. What am I going to say might be harsh, but this is my point of view, so u telling me flipping burgers is hard ? than what about someone spent 4 years in college and all of this money/time invested in the degree. You think that's not hard ? that's way harder than flipping burgers.
4 years doing a degree, especially in a soft subject, paid for by a government grant, is a piece of cake.
Most students spend their first 2 years hanging out in the bars chasing skirt.
How is that harder than working full time in Macdonalds for low pay?
It's not a job that I would want to do. When I was in HS, I worked as a waitress, that's when I decided to further my education. Physically hard work, especially as one ages.
Like people are saying, jobs such as working in a fast food place are paid low wages because the skills used in the job are ones that just about anyone have, and there is plenty of people in the work force that could potentially replace them. Any job that deals with customer service and/or being fast tend to be quite stressful though, so I can understand what the OP is getting at.
With that said, I think economic theory will possibly be put in upheaval as more and more Americans can only find low wage paying jobs due to technological advances and outsourcing. Eventually, the cost of living will have to go down or wages will have to go up to reflect how there is nearly no middle class anymore and most Americans make low wages.
Many people slate 'burger flipping' jobs as 'easy, lazy, for dullards etc.' , but I guess many of those people have never done that sort of work.
how about being the dishwasher, waiter, porter etc.. often on your feet all day, taking abuse off people, and very low pay.
in what way is that easy?
what is easy is sitting in a nice comfy office chair, having secretaries do all your grunt work, and all the perks that come with it.
and who said anything about qualifications and brain power.
so what about that?
Physical labour is just as hard.
agree/disagree?
Disagree.
I have done manual labor, from cleaning houses to washing cars to fast food to literally digging ditches.
It's easy because it's brainless.
People don't realize how physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting using your brain in critical situations is.
Maybe because they've never done it.
Eventually, the cost of living will have to go down or wages will have to go up to reflect how there is nearly no middle class anymore and most Americans make low wages.
I think this is what will happen as well.
gradually the middle classes will all be on min wage levels, even with decent skills.
This is because there is no long-term policy to deal with the negative effects of globalisation.
Today it's all a me first culture, short term gains to enjoy the here and now.
But soon we'll all be living much closer to 3rd World standards.
An overseeing committee needs to be set up to deal with the long-term solution to this - a committee that will keep the West dominant.
Disagree.
People don't realize how physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting using your brain in critical situations is.
Maybe because they've never done it.
at the top end perhaps, but how about for those 'middle managent/skill set' situations?
could hardly say they are particularly demanding, especially on the physical side.
How is a nice cushy office job (at mid-level) that much more of a drain than working at Burger King?
4 years doing a degree, especially in a soft subject, paid for by a government grant, is a piece of cake.
Most students spend their first 2 years hanging out in the bars chasing skirt.
How is that harder than working full time in Macdonalds for low pay?
No. I did not hang out at bars and chase guys, I studied. I had an intensive course that had melded four different classes in to one, the LAST thing I had time for was hanging out at a bar! Do you know, in those days, I WISHED I had a job flipping burgers because it would have been easier, mentally.
Yes, manual labor such as working in fast food joints is without a doubt very physically demanding. I don't think a single person would disagree with that. The fact remains, however, that it is NOT a hard job as far as what you need to know to do it. You can pick it up in an afternoon. You don't need a degree, you don't need training that lasts for months, you can be doing it in one afternoon. Additionally, a large portion of the population can do that job. That is why the pay is low.
I worked in a fast food restaurant, not a mainstream one, but it was super busy as it was right off of the freeway. We worked our tails off in that place. I came home physically tired but I was never mentally drained. I'd rather deal with the physical exhaustion than mental exhaustion.
I've had jobs in the past that would just fatigue me beyond belief and I sat in a "cushy" chair all day. Mental exhaustion is not a "cushy" thing. I have found it more taxing than physical. There have been days when I have thought, "I should have stayed working in that fast food place. It was physically demanding but I actually had fun doing it. I could have been a manager by now or owned my own."
Why don't you try that? Move up the ladder.
One correction to what one person said, however: The managers aren't exactly having an easier job of it. The manager I had would not only do her job, she would get in there and work right alongside us when it got crazy busy. This is about the only manager I have ever respected in my entire working life.
In the grand scheme of things, low level jobs require more manual labor, but less intelligence, which is why they pay minimum wage and have a high turnover.
does 'value' to society have any role to play in the job situation these days?
or is it just a case of get as much as you can....me first...
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