Why Are Minimum Wage Jobs Advertised As A Career?

Every time we have the debate on "The Minimum Wage" im often met with the opinion that "Oh, its not a career flipping burgers, that's why you're paid so little" - Clearly people trying to justify for multinational companies to pay you peanuts and have your government top up your wages so it doesn't eat into their profit margin.

However, as someone who has worked 3 minimum wage jobs and applied for plently more there's one thing ive always noticed, the word career is often used.
"Are you looking for a career in a customer facing position blah blah blah"

I mean, take a look at Mcdonalds recruitment. Do you see the word career?
How about this Starbucks application form?
Sainsburys Wants you to "transform your career with a sainsburys local"

What's even more laughable is that Mcdonalds is actually offering apprenticeships (Where they pay LESS than the minimum wage)

These big multinational companies are loving right wing ignorance. You keep paying your taxes so the government can keep topping up the wages of these people who have "Minimum wage careers"

Meanwhile, the wealth of the top 0.01% is ever growing.

a reply to: SearchLightsInc

Welcome to the new economy.... These are the careers of today and tomorrow for almost half the working populous.

Some people just live in a fantasy world where there are enough good jobs to go around.

......

Would you prefer them asking you if you want a dead end job with no possible future advancement?
Those jobs are so bad that they need to sell them to people.

Because these days, the sort of people who are looking for them are desperate for work. They used to be part-time jobs given to high school and college kids who needed a good resume filler to show they had the chops to show up on time and work hard.

Nowadays, they belong to either illegals or those who got their expensive liberal arts degrees in Womyn's Studies with a minor in Underwater Basketweaving and now need to start paying Uncle Sam for the privilege.

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
Would you prefer them asking you if you want a dead end job with no possible future advancement?
Those jobs are so bad that they need to sell them to people.

Not really, but dont do a disservice to the employee by calling it a career. Call it a job. Call it a modern slave position. But dont call it a career while my taxes top up the wages of that employee because their employer doesnt care to pay them enough to live on.

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
Would you prefer them asking you if you want a dead end job with no possible future advancement?
Those jobs are so bad that they need to sell them to people.

They don't have to sell them.....there are so many people looking for work and so few jobs, any job is better than no job.

originally posted by: SearchLightsInc
Every time we have the debate on "The Minimum Wage" im often met with the opinion that "Oh, its not a career flipping burgers, that's why you're paid so little" - Clearly people trying to justify for multinational companies to pay you peanuts and have your government top up your wages so it doesn't eat into their profit margin.

However, as someone who has worked 3 minimum wage jobs and applied for plently more there's one thing ive always noticed, the word career is often used.
"Are you looking for a career in a customer facing position blah blah blah"

I mean, take a look at Mcdonalds recruitment. Do you see the word career?
How about this Starbucks application form?
Sainsburys Wants you to "transform your career with a sainsburys local"

What's even more laughable is that Mcdonalds is actually offering apprenticeships (Where they pay LESS than the minimum wage)

These big multinational companies are loving right wing ignorance. You keep paying your taxes so the government can keep topping up the wages of these people who have "Minimum wage careers"

Meanwhile, the wealth of the top 0.01% is ever growing.

Because some people are smart enough to take advantage of an opportunity. The CEO of McDonald's prior to Don Thompson who just stepped down yesterday actually started working in the restaurants as a cashier. Those jobs are the first rung on the ladder. The Managers at McDonald's actually make pretty good money.

The point is to get your foot in the door and move up or leave after you've gained some skill.

Wealthy people don't take these jobs. Even if wealthy people all of a sudden lost everything most of them would get their money back in a few years. Why? Because their attitude towards money is different than people who have a 'poor' mindset.

It wouldn't occur to me to take one of these minimum wage jobs. I would rather go out and earn my own money as an entrepreneur or hustle for a better, smarter way.

It reminds me of the people in school who settled for B's and C's. The people who work harder and make better decisions have better results.

a reply to: Edumakated

That's true too.

No one who is any good stays at minimum wage for long. You either earn a raise fairly quickly, find another job or start getting promotions.

That's where we fail our children and our parent and their parents fail us.

Nobody in this day and age should think that McDonalds or Pizza Hut or any of those is a Career.

However, they should know and be told that these are great first jobs, you get something to put on a resume, you get references, you get to learn how to get paid and what autopay is and benefits and schedules. It's good stuff.

You also learn that if you work hard you get promoted. You just do. To shift manager, where they work you to death for just above minumum wage! However, that looks even better on a resume and the stuff you learn is exponentially better! How to schedule, what labor and food cost are, How to interview people, how to handle customer complaints, cash drawer management and making business deposits.

Then if you continue and stick with it and work harder than any of the other shift managers, you get to be an assistant manager, and then you learn more, how to forecast, monthly reporting, and food and supply ordering and new hire paperwork and orientation...that looks even better on a resume and you usualy get to go to weekly or monthly area meetings, meet VPs and general managers.

Then if you work harder than all of the other asst managers and can keep a cool head on your shoulders in a crisis and you learn how to motivate and really manager your workers you get promoted to General manager. That's again a whole new level.

By then you should be reading business books and learning how to network and move up the corporate ladder, then your next goal is corporate...trainer, district manager, etc etc.

See it could be a career, except, most people take is a crappy job, don't work any harder then they have to to not get fired, never learn anything and screw around the whole time, until it's time to go off to college or get an equally crappy job that appeals to the adult nature in you, like car salesmen or plumbers helper or Janitor or delivery driver or casino worker,

However, the whole cycle staRTS AGAIN. time to get moving and move up that ladder.
Move it move it move it1

Everyone has to start from somewhere.

If you are astute enough you can see the opportunities where they lay.... even if they are only stepping stones!

Korg.

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: SearchLightsInc
Every time we have the debate on "The Minimum Wage" im often met with the opinion that "Oh, its not a career flipping burgers, that's why you're paid so little" - Clearly people trying to justify for multinational companies to pay you peanuts and have your government top up your wages so it doesn't eat into their profit margin.

However, as someone who has worked 3 minimum wage jobs and applied for plently more there's one thing ive always noticed, the word career is often used.
"Are you looking for a career in a customer facing position blah blah blah"

I mean, take a look at Mcdonalds recruitment. Do you see the word career?
How about this Starbucks application form?
Sainsburys Wants you to "transform your career with a sainsburys local"

What's even more laughable is that Mcdonalds is actually offering apprenticeships (Where they pay LESS than the minimum wage)

These big multinational companies are loving right wing ignorance. You keep paying your taxes so the government can keep topping up the wages of these people who have "Minimum wage careers"

Meanwhile, the wealth of the top 0.01% is ever growing.

Because some people are smart enough to take advantage of an opportunity. The CEO of McDonald's prior to Don Thompson who just stepped down yesterday actually started working in the restaurants as a cashier. Those jobs are the first rung on the ladder. The Managers at McDonald's actually make pretty good money.

The point is to get your foot in the door and move up or leave after you've gained some skill.

Don Thompson Also has a degree in electrical engineering - What you've said in actually incorrect, see here:

Thompson is, by profession, an electrical engineer who joined McDonald's in 1990 after working for a fighter jet maker that is now part of Northrop Grumman. At McDonald's, Thompson designed robotic equipment for food transport and made control circuits for cooking.[6] Thompson received a call from a McDonald’s recruiter who was looking for an engineer to design "robotics, control circuitry and feedback loops". Although reluctant to take the job at first, he did accept an invitation to visit the McDonald's headquarters in suburban Chicago by an engineer working there. Soon after the visit, he was hired.[citation needed]

Having started his career at McDonald's in 1990, Thompson quickly rose on the corporate ladder. By 1992, he was promoted to Project Manager and Staff Director for the Quality Development department. He then switched over to Operations in 1994, and while there, decided to spend his first six months learning the basics on how to manage a 'McDonald's' restaurant, by working at a South Chicago restaurant, moving up from fry cook to shift manager, then assistant manager and then co-manager

So, he was already working for Mcdonalds designing robotics, control circuitry and feedback loops before he was promoted to project manager and staff director, then when he moved into Operations he took it upon himself to do all of the basic minimum wage jobs so he could understand how your average restaurant worked (And did all of that in 6 months)

Please dont ever insinuate ever again that you can start at minimum wage on the bottom of a company and rise to be the CEO. Capitalism does not work like that. At least, not anymore.

Use the system to better yourself.

I overheard two of my family members arguing over which one of them was going to get the job at a local liqueur store. I had the misfortune of being at a birthday party for my niece at the time.
Both of them are in their mid twenties and have no useful skill other than smoking and naming all of the kardashian's. You can guess on their work ethic.
The point I'm trying to make is that for some, hamburgery and sandwich artist is going to be their career.

a reply to: SearchLightsInc

There are a hundred million people in this country who will only ever qualify for minimum wage jobs, so for them the term "career" is totally accurate. It's a shame, but it's the truth. A large chunk of the population simply isn't worth any more than that.

For many it is a career, so technically they have every right.

Whether we like it or not, and I sit in the 'not like group' technically they are right.

Is it right they are technically right? No, damn right it's not, a liveable wage should be the minimum. The amount raised in taxes is far outweighed by the cost of the administration of the tax credits.

Pay it directly to people and give the employers a tax break for each employee. We will still be able to raise tax revenue at affordable rates and be able to run the country efficiently.

We need the top 1% to realise that they can't keep fooling the people and I would implore them to look at France in the 18th Century. I don't begrudge them their wealth, I sincerely don't. However, when I see fellow neighbours having to survive from food banks, then it's deeply apparent things need to change. People need dignity in their lives, jobs to be proud of and to be fairly remunerated also. People need the wealth to be shared around a little.

Uh... what?

McDonald's is not some benevolent organization that exists to give young people an opportunity to get their feet wet in the working world before being promoted to greatness or moving on to better things.

McDonalds is a corporation with the sole focus of making as much money as possible, they would sell you rat burgers if you would pay for them.

If minimum wage was 3 cents an hour that's what they would pay a raise at Mcdonalds is usually less than 10 cents an hour.

McDonalds makes BILLIONS while paying slave wages and cutting hours to make damn sure they never pay any overtime.

They shouldn't even call these places fast food they should just call them American sweat shops.

Adjust for inflation, if our workers were paid the same minimum wage they were in the 50s minimum wage would be $22.00 an hour.

originally posted by: Urantia1111
a reply to: SearchLightsInc

There are a hundred million people in this country who will only ever qualify for minimum wage jobs, so for them the term "career" is totally accurate. It's a shame, but it's the truth. A large chunk of the population simply isn't worth any more than that.

Everyone is worth a liveable wage, I would suggest.

originally posted by: SearchLightsInc

originally posted by: Edumakated

originally posted by: SearchLightsInc
Every time we have the debate on "The Minimum Wage" im often met with the opinion that "Oh, its not a career flipping burgers, that's why you're paid so little" - Clearly people trying to justify for multinational companies to pay you peanuts and have your government top up your wages so it doesn't eat into their profit margin.

However, as someone who has worked 3 minimum wage jobs and applied for plently more there's one thing ive always noticed, the word career is often used.
"Are you looking for a career in a customer facing position blah blah blah"

I mean, take a look at Mcdonalds recruitment. Do you see the word career?
How about this Starbucks application form?
Sainsburys Wants you to "transform your career with a sainsburys local"

What's even more laughable is that Mcdonalds is actually offering apprenticeships (Where they pay LESS than the minimum wage)

These big multinational companies are loving right wing ignorance. You keep paying your taxes so the government can keep topping up the wages of these people who have "Minimum wage careers"

Meanwhile, the wealth of the top 0.01% is ever growing.

Because some people are smart enough to take advantage of an opportunity. The CEO of McDonald's prior to Don Thompson who just stepped down yesterday actually started working in the restaurants as a cashier. Those jobs are the first rung on the ladder. The Managers at McDonald's actually make pretty good money.

The point is to get your foot in the door and move up or leave after you've gained some skill.

Don Thompson Also has a degree in electrical engineering - What you've said in actually incorrect, see here:

Thompson is, by profession, an electrical engineer who joined McDonald's in 1990 after working for a fighter jet maker that is now part of Northrop Grumman. At McDonald's, Thompson designed robotic equipment for food transport and made control circuits for cooking.[6] Thompson received a call from a McDonald’s recruiter who was looking for an engineer to design "robotics, control circuitry and feedback loops". Although reluctant to take the job at first, he did accept an invitation to visit the McDonald's headquarters in suburban Chicago by an engineer working there. Soon after the visit, he was hired.[citation needed]

Having started his career at McDonald's in 1990, Thompson quickly rose on the corporate ladder. By 1992, he was promoted to Project Manager and Staff Director for the Quality Development department. He then switched over to Operations in 1994, and while there, decided to spend his first six months learning the basics on how to manage a 'McDonald's' restaurant, by working at a South Chicago restaurant, moving up from fry cook to shift manager, then assistant manager and then co-manager

So, he was already working for Mcdonalds designing robotics, control circuitry and feedback loops before he was promoted to project manager and staff director, then when he moved into Operations he took it upon himself to do all of the basic minimum wage jobs so he could understand how your average restaurant worked (And did all of that in 6 months)

Please dont ever insinuate ever again that you can start at minimum wage on the bottom of a company and rise to be the CEO. Capitalism does not work like that. At least, not anymore.

I guess you missed the part where I said PRIOR. The CEO prior to Don was Jim Skinner. He never graduated college.

en.wikipedia.org...

originally posted by: Urantia1111
a reply to: SearchLightsInc

There are a hundred million people in this country who will only ever qualify for minimum wage jobs, so for them the term "career" is totally accurate. It's a shame, but it's the truth. A large chunk of the population simply isn't worth any more than that.

Bullspit. If the employees weren't worth paying that much McDonalds wouldn't have been able to make billions in profits off the sweat of their backs.