I was making about US$8/hr in the mid 80s, directly after earning my degree in computer science. Since the dollar was worth about 3x as much then as it is now, that's the same effective salary as I was making. No degree needed anymore. Nice work if you can get it.
In today's world you don't need some fancy degree to make decent money. Or maybe just get a 2yr degree instead of a 4 or 6yr degree. I don't know why kids today spend $150,000-250,000 on a degree. Unless you're doing something very specialized it's a waste of money IMO. Now these very kids want the government to bail them out. A fancy piece of paper today doesn't guarantee success like it may have 20-30yrs ago.
Just wait when the stay at people (workers) experience, companies hiring zoom people from around the world at a cheaper wage, being home won’t be so fun anymore.
Self replacing yourself, served up on a company plate.
I think you make a very good point. Also, I think it's much easier to be forgotten when working at home. It's kinda out of sight, out of mind and if there are people who come into the office and do their job better that are seen every day. Those who work at home may not always get tasked to do as much as a result and then it's only a matter of time before a company realizes they don't necessarily really need you anymore. It's so much harder for a company to track what an employee does working at home.
It’s an awful lot of money for unskilled labor, but still, someone will complain that it’s not enough.
Next, you will say being a server or waiter is unskilled labor. Perhaps you should work in the service industry for one year.
Oh I have. I have worked in restaurants many years before moving on to something else. I worked at a country club for 6 years, I worked at a nursing home, a banquet hall, and worked as a manager for an Italian restaurant for 12 years. So I have plenty of time in the service industry. It’s not skilled labor, sorry. Perhaps you should not make assumptions about someone’s work history.
It’s an awful lot of money for unskilled labor, but still, someone will complain that it’s not enough.
Maybe for 1995, but not today. The average rent in America is about $1,300 - 1,500. The minimum wage is $7.25. If one were to work 40 hours/ week, every week, with zero time off, that is $15,000/ year. And that's before taxes and expenses: rent, sales tax, gas, healthcare, childcare, food, car insurance, etc.
At $22/ hour, with the same working hours as above, that comes out to $45,760/ year. Which is about $3,800/ month before taxes/ expenses. But at this salary, you will have to start to pay much more in federal taxes. According to Smart Asset, your income after federal tax deductions is around $37,000. So after the avg. rent of $1,500 that leaves about $1600/ month for every other expense. Gas, utilities, car insurance, car payment, student loans, credit card debt, groceries, haircuts, child care costs, health insurance, medicine, clothing, all of which have increased in price like crazy these past couple years.
It's definitely not an "awful lot of money," especially working for a multi-trillion dollar company. It is actually just enough to get by and live paycheck to paycheck, in some areas. If a medical expense comes up, you are right back in debt. And Allah help you if you live in a high COL area where the average rent is $2000- 3000.
My parents' and grandparents' generation could buy houses with an "unskilled labor" job, with only one of them working. That is definitely beyond impossible today.
I can’t argue with your math, I’m sure it’s spot on, but I don’t think retail is a lifelong career. There are plenty of highly in demand jobs available that pay way better, no college degree required. That’s all I am saying.
It’s an awful lot of money for unskilled labor, but still, someone will complain that it’s not enough.
Maybe for 1995, but not today. The average rent in America is about $1,300 - 1,500. The minimum wage is $7.25. If one were to work 40 hours/ week, every week, with zero time off, that is $15,000/ year. And that's before taxes and expenses: rent, sales tax, gas, healthcare, childcare, food, car insurance, etc.
At $22/ hour, with the same working hours as above, that comes out to $45,760/ year. Which is about $3,800/ month before taxes/ expenses. But at this salary, you will have to start to pay much more in federal taxes. According to Smart Asset, your income after federal tax deductions is around $37,000. So after the avg. rent of $1,500 that leaves about $1600/ month for every other expense. Gas, utilities, car insurance, car payment, student loans, credit card debt, groceries, haircuts, child care costs, health insurance, medicine, clothing, all of which have increased in price like crazy these past couple years.
It's definitely not an "awful lot of money," especially working for a multi-trillion dollar company. It is actually just enough to get by and live paycheck to paycheck, in some areas. If a medical expense comes up, you are right back in debt. And Allah help you if you live in a high COL area where the average rent is $2000- 3000.
My parents' and grandparents' generation could buy houses with an "unskilled labor" job, with only one of them working. That is definitely beyond impossible today.
I'm not arguing the general point, but it's not a great construction when you're comparing minimum wage with average rent.
It’s an awful lot of money for unskilled labor, but still, someone will complain that it’s not enough.
Next, you will say being a server or waiter is unskilled labor. Perhaps you should work in the service industry for one year.
Oh I have. I have worked in restaurants many years before moving on to something else. I worked at a country club for 6 years, I worked at a nursing home, a banquet hall, and worked as a manager for an Italian restaurant for 12 years. So I have plenty of time in the service industry. It’s not skilled labor, sorry. Perhaps you should not make assumptions about someone’s work history.
So you're saying, extreme multitasking, to keep a calm composure when people can people royal jerks while babies are screaming in the background, staying on your feet for 6 plus hours a day, balancing more than two plates in one hand without dropping, balancing a tray with multiple glasses and quickly going from table to table without dropping, being able to remember by memory more than 50 different table numbers, and on and on is not a skill? You make it seem like just anyone could do this work. There is a reason why there is such a high turnover in this industry-because not everyone can do it successfully. Skilled labor means that you have skills in a particular job and in the service industry, you need to have specific skills, or you will not be successful, as you should know from all that experience.
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