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Pay Wages
Bonuses
Advancement
Work Life Balance
Perks
Co workers
Bosses and Management
Culture
1.) Depends.
2.) Depends.
3.) Sucks.
4.) Really sucks.
5.) Depends, but usually sucks.
6.) Depends.
7.) Depends, but usually sucks.
8.) Depends, but usually sucks.
Pay Wages
Bonuses Poor unless you are high level executive. My lazy boss that did nothing received a $6000.00 bonus while the rest of us received $100-$800.00. And we all know how the big wigs get six figures for doing nada.
Advancement In my experience not good. Where I'm presently at a LOT of nepotism and that's who advances.
Work Life Balance You have to fight for this. We accrue 7 hours a month vacation/sick time. It's really pathetic when I think about it. Shouldn't minimum be EIGHT hours since we WORK eight hours a day? And the assumption weekends and staying late is the norm.
Perks [COLOR="red"]Pizza lunch once a year...um okay. Not exactly my idea of a perk[/color]
Co workers lazy, unambitious, content
Bosses and Management terrible. Sat on many laps to get where they're at.
Culture There is no culture here.
It's still the most dynamic, most innovative economy there is. It has plenty of problems, but let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Of course the quoted is true.
For a professional level role, which seems to be what OP is asking about, all of the above factors are good to fantastic. Depends how you play it: insisting on success, or complaining all the time and choosing to be a bum.
That assumes, of course, you've thoughtfully managed career, education, location, and network of contacts. Involvement in growth fields (great list available on USBLS dot gov website) is clearly critical, vs. working in some dead-end loser field at low wages.
A good philosophy to adopt: when young, observe what professions are growing and pay well, that you can do well, without some artificial government arbitrage involvement (= ticking time-bomb).
I would say it's more of a live to work culture than most other comparable societies. The lack of any significant worker protection and the tying of healthcare to employment are two major issues for me. Also, the lack of mandatory vacation days, the lack of vacation days and the lumping together of PTO and sick days is regressive.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,550 posts, read 81,103,317 times
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For each person on the forum that could be different, though most people seem to enjoy complaining. If I were to answer based on my own experience and that of family and friends:
Pay Wages - Good
Bonuses - None
Advancement - Good
Work Life Balance - Good
Perks - Great
Co workers - Good
Bosses and Management - Good
Culture - Good
This nation rewards innovators, creators, people who think outside the box, and in particular, risk takers. Going to work is the square, safe route. Many people put a premium on safety and security, so much so that they are willing to leave meat on the table income wise. Hence, wages don't have to rise and people still flock to the perceived safety of employment opportunities. In reality though, no job is safe. If a company can eliminate a job, they will. The premise is, a business is not a charity. In America, their only real civil duty is to provide a safe product/service and pay their taxes.
Some jobs still pay well, but there is more foreign competition than ever. Consumers have been shopping on price for some time. Many businesses have been trying to cheapen their product in response. Employees have taken it on the chin. Companies want workers to look the other way as inflation outpaces their paychecks.
America is middle of the road these days. There are countries with much more favorable labor laws. There is more parity between CEO, management and average pay for all workers in most of the world. While most people judge the quality of a job based on pay, most jobs in America offer fewer vacations, and fewer benefits. The government pays squat compared to historical averages if you are disabled due to your job. In some cases, you can sue or settle with the company.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.Professional
Bring BACK THE DAMN 40 hour work week America.
Can't happen. A large segment of the workforce requires OT to make ends meet. Cut OT and they get another job. One rule of economics... You can only consume relative to what you produce. If you can only produce enough value in 40 hours to afford a modest home instead of a McMansion, than you must either increase your workload or accept a more modest standard of living. The same logic applies to smart phones, cable packages, vehicles, etc. Some people have a right to complain, while others just make foolish financial decisions.
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