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Minimum wage jobs, like fast food server or cook, are jobs one takes as their first job, intended as a way for a person to get some "experience" to put on a resume when they apply for better jobs. They were never intended to be careers with advancement and scheduled raises, etc. After a year at KFC, most people go out and look for a higher skilled, higher paid job. The pay is intended to be commensurate with the skillset and the responsibilities of the job. For the average person, the last time they made minimum wage was their first job out of high school, unless they work at a job where they receive tips or commission or some other form of compensation. Even restaurant servers, who make LESS than minimum wage, move up the food chain and graduate from working at Chili's to a steakhouse, or a cocktail lounge, or country club where the tips are better if they are smart and capable.
A couple weeks ago, one of the subsidiaries to my company sent to my office a couple people for some contract work. One was a young lady who just got hired straight out of college. The other is an older guy in his late 40's.
The young lady has a company phone, computer, and a company car to work with. The other guy, who's been with his company for 15 or so years, doesn't have a company phone or computer.
The young lady has been very productive. She seems to be doing quite well with the work we've given her.
The older guy works slow as hell. The guy has a civil engineering degree but here he is in his late 40's and he's still working at the lowest level in engineering. Because he doesn't have a computer, there are few things I can assign him to do.
What's worse, for the past couple weeks, I've been observing him work and I swear this guy looks like he's trying to win the slowest worker's award or something. Even when he walks to the copier machine he would take very slow steps.
I've mentioned several times that he should contact his company to get a computer and work phone. He said nah if they want to give him those things then they will but if not then oh well.
I've run into his kind before. They purposely don't ask for a computer so they cannot be assigned a lot of tasks. And they purposely avoid having a company phone so they cannot be contacted at all by anyone at work. Less responsibilities this way.
Not all of us are STEM either. My sister in law, for example, worked for a beauty products store for like 10 years. Then she opened her own store.
My family immigrated here from one of the poorest countries in the world. When I was little, I remember some times our parents would tell us to sleep all day because there wasn't anything to eat that day. When we came over here (through legal means), my parents worked minimum wage jobs and put us all through school.
As liberal minded as I am, I simply don't see how raising the minimum wage will help anyone. There are already reports of people asking for less hours to stay on food stamps and other government programs. So, clearly the minimum wage isn't the determining factor in how people can rise up through the economic and social ladder.
The best way to be paid what you are worth is to be self employed... sink or swim on your own unique set of talents and aspirations.
I meet a lot of people via property management of rentals... recently met an 18 year old that moved to California right after graduation from her small town in Colorado... she has 4 younger brothers and sisters... packed all her belongings in a 20 year old car she bought with her own money and headed to the SF Bay Area only knowing the older sister of a friend who said she could stay for a couple of weeks on the couch...
Anyway... in 48 hours she had a job waiting tables and was making over $20 an hour... someone told her they need people for catering... so now she had a second job.
She and another young lady she met waiting tables rent an apartment from me... they both work and attend community college...
How can it be when I live in an area of refugees from everywhere and they succeed... plenty of Spanish speaking contractors with their own businesses... also, Asians that came here with nothing with Restaurants and one guy I know escaped from Cambodia with nothing... he and his family did gardening... they still do... has 3 kids and all UC grads... engineer, lawyer and Doctor... it happens.
The best way to be paid what you are worth is to be self employed... sink or swim on your own unique set of talents and aspirations.
I meet a lot of people via property management of rentals... recently met an 18 year old that moved to California right after graduation from her small town in Colorado... she has 4 younger brothers and sisters... packed all her belongings in a 20 year old car she bought with her own money and headed to the SF Bay Area only knowing the older sister of a friend who said she could stay for a couple of weeks on the couch...
Anyway... in 48 hours she had a job waiting tables and was making over $20 an hour... someone told her they need people for catering... so now she had a second job.
She and another young lady she met waiting tables rent an apartment from me... they both work and attend community college...
I have no doubt that both will be just fine...
I disagree.
Have you ever heard the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?
I've been self-employed before. Nowadays, I'm a middle manager at a branch of a large multi-national firm and I'm making more than I ever did before.
Before, I had to use my own car and insurance for everything. Nowadays, I don't even have a personal car. They allow me to use the company car for whatever I want. In their own words, "it's yours, do whatever you want". And it's a brand new 2015 SUV.
They also provide to me the latest electronic equipment.
Earlier this year, I was tempted to try to start up my business again and go back to try to succeed one more time. Nowadays, with all the benefits I'm getting from my company, I'm not sure I ever want to start up my own business again.
Have you ever heard the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?
I've been self-employed before. Nowadays, I'm a middle manager at a branch of a large multi-national firm and I'm making more than I ever did before.
Before, I had to use my own car and insurance for everything. Nowadays, I don't even have a personal car. They allow me to use the company car for whatever I want. In their own words, "it's yours, do whatever you want". And it's a brand new 2015 SUV.
They also provide to me the latest electronic equipment.
Earlier this year, I was tempted to try to start up my business again and go back to try to succeed one more time. Nowadays, with all the benefits I'm getting from my company, I'm not sure I ever want to start up my own business again.
I've been both and everyone in my family on both sides have been self employed/small business owners except for Mom...
I guess it is something you grow up with...
For me being self employed was more lucrative and then I had an unsolicited job offer and it was good for the first couple of years... with every merger, reorganization, sale... things change.
Those big company benefits have been hollowed out... the employer match 401k, stock plan, bonus plan, sabbatical are all things long gone...
Thankfully, I did not totally shut down my self employed business and it is nice to have options...
The last round of layoffs hit many very hard... they had only worked for someone their entire lives and were devastated...
Every job I have ever had as an employee has come unsolicited...
What I'm really saying is it is nice to have options and know you can make your own way...
One thing so many young people have today, they find out what the mid career salary is for their job, and think that is where they should start. The fail to realize, that mid career means with 10 years experience. It is not something they can be to in a year or so. They cannot accept the fact, that they will take years to reach that point.
There is a starting wage, and over 10 years they should reach the mid career wages.
They get offered starting wages to take a job they have no or very little experience, and they scream they were low balled because the going rate for their job is much higher.
Employees are offered a starting wage, and will over the next few years work up to mid career wages if they are good at their job. Some will reach it in 5 years, if they are exceptional employees. And some will never show enough ability and a work effort that they should have at mid career and will never reach that wage they think is their right from day 1.
One thing so many young people have today, they find out what the mid career salary is for their job, and think that is where they should start. The fail to realize, that mid career means with 10 years experience. It is not something they can be to in a year or so. They cannot accept the fact, that they will take years to reach that point.
There is a starting wage, and over 10 years they should reach the mid career wages.
They get offered starting wages to take a job they have no or very little experience, and they scream they were low balled because the going rate for their job is much higher.
Employees are offered a starting wage, and will over the next few years work up to mid career wages if they are good at their job. Some will reach it in 5 years, if they are exceptional employees. And some will never show enough ability and a work effort that they should have at mid career and will never reach that wage they think is their right from day 1.
Pretty much.
That's one of the reasons I went freelance. I didn't want to wait 10+ years to get paid the same amount of money I make now after about two years of learning the ropes. You've got to be pretty stupid to want to be underpaid. It just is something that can be done in a year or two, you just have to pick where you do it. A lot of younger companies do real merit-based pay where you can. So you go there instead of the older companies that do maximum 3% merit raise per year and give out the promotions based on seniority more than merit. You may think it's stupid to not wait 10 years. I think it's stupid to wait 10 years when you don't have to. Accounting by and large isn't one of those fields where you can move up quickly. People stay a long time, raises are incremental. And, yeah, I have zero loyalty any longer. That got stomped out right quick with two buyouts and with the entire staff let go. That's just how the job market is today. You move lateral to move up or you don't move up at all. Intrinsically, I'd actually prefer the old system where you pay your dues for 5-15 years in a stable, predictable climate, but that's just not how the labor market is any longer.
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