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The reality, natalie469, is people show up to work at a McD's without skills every day, simply due to the fact teaching someone to flip a burger is not an onerous task. That is why Mcjob's pay so little, because the Mcemployees are so easy to replace.
This is not just a 2015 thing, but a 2005, a 1995, a 1985 thing, etc.
It most likely will not be a 2025 thing, as the robots will not be replaced, except by better robots.
I'm not, but I did realize you were. I do hope the occupants of these jobs get ready, as this industry will end up far more automated then it is now. As others have alluded to, corps this large do not select sites to test kiosks, and robots are not developed to cook burgers, just to prove it can be done.
Most working in fast food, just like most bank tellers a few decades ago, will need to prepare for life when such jobs are far less abundant.
I'm not, but I did realize you were. I do hope the occupants of these jobs get ready, as this industry will end up far more automated then it is now. As others have alluded to, corps this large do not select sites to test kiosks, and robots are not developed to cook burgers, just to prove it can be done.
Most working in fast food, just like most bank tellers a few decades ago, will need to prepare for life when such jobs are far less abundant.
And this is the problem. We are going into an automated society where people are not needed. And our population is booming. So what jobs are they going to get. Or should they just receive welfare.
We do not know what new industries will exist, so the worrying may be largely unneeded. Google, a huge employer, did not exist, when Fast Food was in its heyday a few decades ago. Nor the internet employment engine in general.
I do expect most will have to develop more advanced skills. Bank tellers adapted, as did horse and buggy drivers long ago, as did coalmen on trains way back. Each saw their employment engine largely or fully perish.
We do not know what new industries will exist, so the worrying may be largely unneeded. Google, a huge employer, did not exist, when Fast Food was in its heyday a few decades ago. Nor the internet employment engine in general.
I do expect most will have to develop more advanced skills. Bank tellers adapted, as did horse and buggy drivers long ago, as did coalmen on trains way back. Each saw their employment engine largely or fully perish.
Couple differences this time.
#1 the automation coming is more generic. We're seeing some pretty specific types-driving a car, making burgers, etc. But honestly we are beginning to see systems that can do far more generic types of work. While robots like the Baxter automation are currently in the early stages, We truly are seeing more and more research being performed that will greatly expand the adaptability of automation.
#2 The massive speed at which we are looking to replace people. Some estimates have 40% of all jobs automated within a decade. AND because of #1 being more generic, many of the "new jobs" that might be created, will already be able to be taken over by the ever advancing automation.
#3 The fact that we WILL be replacing skilled employees. Yes at the start we're seeing mcdonalds employees, and drivers, but a lot of automation is going on to replace Doctors, and engineers.
#4 While human beings have been able to learn more advanced skills, the majority of us cannot compete at that level. In a way this is the critical part. Coalmen, bank tellers, horse and buggy drivers....none of these were tremendously skilled. Someone could literally do them with little training. Now? a GOOD software engineer has 4 years of college, then another 4 years learning....and spends a ton of time keeping up. And the rate of change is accelerating. As I age its getting harder and harder to keep up.
Bottom line? This time is in fact different. We will need to adapt our thinking.
BTW, you think of Google as a huge employer. they employ a mere 56,000 people world wide. They dont even make the top 50 employers in the US. We have more Coal miners, then google employees.
More and more jobs these days are higher demanding, with more paperwork tracking every single thing you do. Having to fill out attainment sheets that nobody looks at, this form, that form, paperwork up the rear.. my biggest beef with modern society is logging of everything...
Not only that these jobs pay lower than ever. A local employer was asking in interviews how much stress he could handle, if he could handle running 17 machines at once and what would happen if he messed something up or still have product to make nearing the end of his shift.. high stress work while asking $10 per hour.. are these people serious?
More people need to tell these employers who have these low wage, high stress jobs to **** off. I fully support the little guy trying to get a living wage out of his "unskilled" work. Not everyone can own their own business and has the family upbringing, genetic advantage, or just plain drive to do these things. I don't belittle the little guy like so many in society do.
They want more wages? They have every right to demand them. Worst that can happen is they get fired and get in a replacement sheep to do their slave labor wage fast paced high stress crap. If every single person who graduated high school went on to get a 4 year degree in some field do you know what would happen? The supply of labor in college educated fields would rise, and pay would fall... and they'd be paying off their collage loans until age 35. Automation is the big problem.. there's too many people for the number of jobs available. Jobs that use to take 10 people can be done with one person at 5 times the speed...
The influx of cheap mexican labor (thanks republicans and democrats) doesn't help things either.. and our strong dollar (again thanks politicians) that encourages outsourcing and only helps the top blow up giant debt bubbles, it doesn't help the little guy earn a better wage... 3M sent out an email to us showing how the recent surge in the dollar affected their profitability, since so many of the products go overseas.. the hit is substantial... when the dollar is strong, it makes sense to make things in China and ship them here.. if we were smart we'd have a weaker dollar... but then we wouldn't have the 1% building it's huge debt bubble, people buying all our debt, etc... record stock market profits from cheap labor, etc.
Many countries are already experimenting with some kind of basic income system which is going to be enviable. It's ludicrous to think that all those displaced workers will end up in tech which generally does not employ many people. You have tech companies that only have a dozen or so workers being worth billions.
Then there are the blue collar/white collar workers that could also run circles around many that have worked fast food for years in their own game.
We get em all the time.
Lacking any experience or training we hire someone out of high school for $12/hour to install fire protection systems. Of course, as experience builds and skills increase pay goes up but it is hot, demanding work. Work not for the faint of heart, lazy or the "I overslept.." crowd.
If you work hard, learn and produce in four years you could easily earn $20+ per hour with lead people getting close to $30/hour but the work is not easy.
Often we work out of town and right now we have a large project that has been going on for a year and is 180 miles away. We pay transportation to and from the job plus each employee receives $100/day per diem to cover motel and meals. Two guys share a room and they can live pretty well on $200/day. Where they stay is up to them and I've seen guys go on the cheap and come home with an extra $250/week cash money. One drives his own camper truck, parks it near the job site and stay in it. Hey, not counting food it's an extra $400 to $500 per week.
When out of town we work four ten hour days so the guys always get a three day weekend. Leave early Monday morning at 4:00 AM (it's their choice, most would rather leave early Monday morning and pocket the $100 per diem) Sunday night and get home Thursday evening at 7:30.
But it ain't easy, it can be an ass buster. Good they got a three day weekend because most need Friday to recuperate.
But you would not believe the number of special snowflakes we've hired that simply can not cut it. We had one who, between pay and per diem, was taking home $700/week when he was working out of town that quit to go back to fast food because the work was to hard. Boo-hoo, don't cry to me how McDonald's workers deserve $15/hour.
OP, A nurse mishandles medication, and a patient may die. You forget to add extra lettuce and..oh..the humanity.
Fast food pays so little because your required skills in order to be hired were (a) Have 4 working limbs. That is not a high bar. The higher the bar to get considered for a job, the higher the pay.
Thread fail.
Post fail!
At one of our local McD's, the best counter person in the place has one arm that is withered and does not work well, probably due to a congenital defect.
He works the register and makes change one handed without trouble. His "people skills" are excellent. All the customers like him.
IMO, he should be on a fast track to management!
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