Comments (54)

1. Ha! All of those jobs pay more than mine! I suppose that if you figure for inflation, I currently have my worst-paying job right now. I’m a teacher’s aide at a middle school. I get insurance, which I suppose compensates some, but I still get paid crap.

   posted by Becky Travis on 9-6-2007 at 5:55 am

2. My last job was as a customer rep in a call center for a auto roadside service co. It’s like AAA but for insurance. For my 8hrs a day of being yelled at, cursedat and board to tears I got a wopping $7.50 an hr. The kicker is that I was paid 50 cents more than most of my co-orkers because I was on overnight. I have way too many stories for people needing a tow truck at 2am for really odd reasons.

   posted by Melissa B on 9-6-2007 at 6:45 am

3. my first job was to weed strawberry fields (the weeds were as big as me and deep rooted)I got paid $3.50 an hour. It was hell.

   posted by Hope on 9-6-2007 at 7:26 am

4. I was an usher for the Ravens(NFL) and after you paidn all of your expenses like buying the uniform they require and parking you end up breaking almost even. So don’t be surpirsed if the usher at your next football game isn’t that friendly or helpful becuase they are probably just there to see the game for free.

   posted by Dan on 9-6-2007 at 7:42 am

5. When I was 12 (1990) I worked one day a week at the local 7-11. My job was to get there at 4 am on Sundays to put together the big newspaper. I worked until all the papers were done, which was usually around 9 am, by which time my hands were completely black. My pay? $20. Not $20 an hour, just $20.

   I did eventually get a few raises and made it up to $50, which wasn’t too shabby and was mostly spent on candy for myself and my friends.

   posted by caitlen on 9-6-2007 at 8:10 am

6. My first real job was working for a tourist trap at $1.50 an hour. That was half the minimum wage at the time, but they said they weren’t obligated to pay minimum wage because it was seasonal work.

   But my last real job paid about as much as these listed, so I’m seriously rethinking my career goals.

   posted by Miss Cellania on 9-6-2007 at 8:16 am

7. After working in the service industries - paperboy, busboy - and my sons doing some of the same, I try to be nice to those doing it for me. Usually I’ll let loose on the manager since they’re closer to the problem than the worker bees.

   I also try to tell the manager when a service worker does an outstanding job. If nothing else, it can make the job a little more bearable knowing all the public isn’t asses.

   posted by Craig J on 9-6-2007 at 9:08 am

8. I made the minimum wage as an A&P supermarket cashier – $5.05 and hour. Then our union reps – the United Commercial Food Workers Union – negotiated a raise, and I was supposed to be bumped up to $5.30. However, a clerical error gave me a windfall. It was $6.30, which to me seemed like a fortune.

   I knew this would infuriate my co-workers, many of whom were my good friends, so I kept things quiet. Actually, I’m not sure I ever told anybody.

   Feels good to get this off my chest.

   posted by Jason on 9-6-2007 at 9:14 am

9. I wonder if this is actual annual wage or only reported annual wage. #’s 4, 6, & 8 earn tip income which can (not always) more than make up for the low wage from the employer. When my son worked at Village Inn (IHOP, Denny’s type of place) it was not uncommon for him to bring home over $100 a night in tips. That’s $25000 in tips (5 nights/week for 50 weeks) alone.

   posted by Jeff on 9-6-2007 at 9:42 am

10. I lied about my age to get my first job. I was 15 and not turning 16 until later that summer. I earned 70 cents an hour plus tips as a carhop at a root beer stand. The tips were crap too. No one tips much for on a 35 cent coney dog and a 50 cent mug of root beer. At least I didn’t have to wear roller skates!

    posted by Jill on 9-6-2007 at 10:19 am

11. During college, I worked for a couple of months as a security guard. Somehow the security company got away with paying us less than minimum wage. And the only thing we had to do in return was risk our lives. My dad liked to point out that in “caper” movies, the heists always began with “First, we take out the security guard…”. Funny guy, my dad.

    posted by James on 9-6-2007 at 10:20 am

12. I once worked at a local pizza placefor what felt like next to nothing. All I had to do was take the pizza out of the oven, cut it, and put it in a box and I received 5.15 per hour. What the didn’t tell me is that I would be standing next to two ovens that were a scorching 450 degrees in a little room with no air conditioning. I must have sweat in to ever pizza I touched. My only other choice was dishwashing so I didn’t complain too much.

    My wife once picked blueberries as a summer job for 2.15 an hour. She also got something like 35 cents per pound that she picked and it takes alot of blueberries to equal just a few pounds. This was allowed only because it is seasonal work. It is the worst job I have ever heard of.

    posted by Justin on 9-6-2007 at 11:10 am

13. RE: David’s video store job experience… Many years ago I worked at a very high-stress job (the industry itself wasn’t stressful; I just had an insane boss) and every time I went to Blockbuster to rent a video, I’d see the stack of tapes needing to be shelved and think to myself “I bet that’s low-stress and almost soothing…I wonder how much it pays…?”

    posted by Jill on 9-6-2007 at 11:40 am

14. My worst/first job was a dishwasher/meal runner for an assisted living center. The pay was okay ($7.15/hr), but what made it memorable were the crazy old people. Seriously, the residents would often go in for mental treatment.

    I delivered meals to those who couldn’t/didn’t want to come down to the dining room, and that’s where the majority of the craziness went down. One lady liked to answer her door completely topless, seemingly unaware of the fact that she was missing clothes. Another would always ask for “a drink of bread.” I still haven’t figured out what she meant, but she would ask every time. The worst was a woman who would often try to seduce you with overt flirting and by laying on her bed/couch in suggestive ways.

    I hope I never have to live in an assisted living place.

    posted by David on 9-6-2007 at 11:56 am

15. Unfortunately, my current job is my lowest paying
    not per hour - I make $10/hour (which isn’t awful but also isn’t great, considering it requires a college degree!) - BUT I’m “Temp PT” only. That means: 30 hours a week, 10 months per year, & no benefits

    If you do the math, that’s $13200 before taxes

    …which is why I waitress another ~30 hours every week (& make more money there)

    posted by me on 9-6-2007 at 12:48 pm

16. My worst paying job was for Kroger’s deli. Working part-time at min. wage ($5.15), plus they made you join the union and pay dues. And their part-time was no more than 20 hours a week. So you were basiscally paying them to let you work. It last 2 days.

    posted by Jen K. on 9-6-2007 at 12:54 pm

17. My worst paying job for the work being done was a bank teller, that job should receive combat pay, made $8.00/hr to be in charge of $50,000 or more ???

    Whats worse is my boyfriend works EMS, and gets paid less than the people who work at fast food places

    posted by Lindsey on 9-6-2007 at 1:19 pm

18. My worst was working in a food trailer at a county fair and a state fair. Here are the lowlights.

    Interaction with carnies
    $4.45/hr
    14-15 hours a day at county fair
    Hot hot hot hot weather
    Hot hot hot hot oil
    Corndog batter
    Sleeping in a stock car trailer with no AC 50 feet from the country beer tent at the state fair.
    All the corndogs you could eat (not a plus)

    The one highlght was that I could count fast so during busy times I got on my boses good side by selling food faster than he could make it.

    posted by Dusty on 9-6-2007 at 1:29 pm

19. I’ve worked as a waitress, bartender, etc. where tips was part of the income. The min wage for jobs with tips is $2.15/hr (this was 3 years ago in the South). Many customers would not tip because they figured I made more than enough money with wages & tips. I would leave work some nights with $5 - $20 in tips. Which would equal $5.48 ($20 tip night) per hour. The nights I only made $5 in tips would equal $2.98 / hour. Do you think waiters/waitresses make enough money? Some places are better than others. And I didn’t have healthcare. Can you imagine working a table waiting tables & making that kind of crap pay with children to care for? Shame this is the majority of jobs out there.

    posted by bored worker on 9-6-2007 at 1:58 pm

20. Geez, what a whine fest this is! If you don’t like the pay in the career you have chosen, WHY DID YOU GO INTO IT? The question particularly pertains to people who were able to earn a college degree. If you had the time and money to attend college and earn a degree, why didn’t you major in something that would actually pay the bills? I know I sound like a prick here, but I am completely serious. Didn’t you research at all the financial prospects of that sociology degree? It really stymies me.

    FWIW, in high school and the couple of years in college I worked first as a busboy then room service then waiter at a nice hotel that had a fancy restaurant. “Minimum wage” was $3.35/hr then, but waiters could get paid below that ($2.01/hr) because we made a buttload of $ in tips — often well over $100 a night (and this was 20 years ago). I could never understand why someone would take food service job at a fast food place and then just stay there longer than it takes to find the next step up — it doesn’t make any sense! Jobs like McDonalds et al, are not intended to support a family! They are cheap employment (probably temporary) for people with low skills. They shouldn’t be a career!

    posted by Sid Morrison on 9-6-2007 at 3:02 pm

21. One of my first jobs was a camp councilor for the Girl Scouts starting in 1986. I worked for $16 a day and room and board. The declared value of my room and board was $12 a day which is consistent with the government surplus peanut butter, cheese and baloney we ate and a mattress in the woods (we all supplied our own sleeping bags).

    This is for a 6 day work week with two hours off a day. Real camp councilors don’t tell ghost stories because that means waking up in the middle of the night with no overtime….

    posted by Cheryl on 9-6-2007 at 7:15 pm

22. It’s not that easy to find a job in the field of your college degree.

    Receiving $6.15/hr when the economy was doing well to manage a movie theater completely sucked. Not only did the place smell like pee, but people would demand their money back when they didn’t like their movies… the movie they paid $1 for.

    posted by Angela on 9-6-2007 at 7:55 pm

23. When I was about twelve, I spent the summer more or less dumpster diving behind a local bar and dragging bags of aluminum to a recycler. It amounted to about $5-10 per day but at that age having $50 a week was a pretty sweet thing - especially since none of my friends ever saw me!

    posted by Hoosier on 9-6-2007 at 8:27 pm

24. Another crap-paying job: Lifeguard!

    Everyone always thinks that it pays well, but that’s only if you work for a really nice (private) pool or the city (where you’re really just babysitting all the kids who’s parent’s don’t care what they’re doing).

    I started at my Y job making $7.50 (with a year of experiece) and after 4 years I’m only making $8.08 an hour. If you don’t think thats bad, think about the 80+ hours of training it takes to just get certed (and those cost a pretty penny), plus annual/semiannual recerts. Also, people drop 25 IQ points as soon as they see water.

    posted by Amy on 9-6-2007 at 8:56 pm

25. hah! you’r still lucky you guys live in the first world. i’m a college graduate, and work as a writer in a multinational advertising agency (one of the largest in the world!) here in manila and you ALL make more than me, even the fry cooks! this is depressing.

    posted by m on 9-6-2007 at 9:41 pm

26. hah! you’re still lucky you guys live in the first world. i’m a college graduate, and work as a writer in a multinational advertising agency (one of the largest in the world!) here in manila and you ALL make more than me, even the fry cooks! this is depressing.

    posted by m on 9-6-2007 at 9:41 pm

27. As a suicide prevention counselor on a 24 hour hotline, after tenure as a volunteer, I was taken on as an employee.

    6.50/hour to train and supervise new counselors, and to counsel the truly despondent.

    No overtime, but hey, that warm-fuzzy feeling was great.

    And free coffee. That’s the real reason!

    posted by Adam on 9-7-2007 at 12:55 am

28. Angela said after my last post: “It’s not that easy to find a job in the field of your college degree.”

    Well then why did you pick that as a field of study? It’s crazy to spend tens of thousands (or more!) dollars and years of your life earning a degree in something that either no one wants to pay you to do or which there is such a glut of degreed graduates that the pay is very low. The pay of any job varies with demand for that skill and *inversely* with the supply of similarly qualified people, e.g. teachers generally don’t get paid a ton of money because while they are very needed, there are also MANY of them graduating from college every year. Too large a supply means schools needn’t offer very much pay to find many good applicants.

    My undergraduate degree was in engineering (lots of demand for this). My graduate degree was in business (good demand for this as well). While I enjoy history, literature, and the like quite a lot, I didn’t pursue a degree in liberal arts because (unless you get a PhD) it’s hard to pay the bills with it. I therefore pursue my liberal arts education as an autodidact and let the other stuff pay the bills.

    Tell the young people you know to do a little research before college!

    posted by Sid Morrison on 9-7-2007 at 3:26 am

29. Sid,

    While there are some people who go to college just so they can make lots of money when they get out, there are many more of us who go to college in order to expand our horizons and learn interesting things. I got a BA in Studio Art, and never regretted it for a minute. After college I worked office jobs ranging from $8-$10/hr and never had any problems paying the bills. I worked my way up, got some lucky breaks, and now have an awesome job doing fundraising for a non-profit, and I still do art on the side.

    True, if people really care about making a lot of money, they should probably go for a job that will pay lots of money. But I think there are tons of people like me, who would be much better off pursuing their interests and living frugally so that they can be happy, even without making a ton of money.

    posted by Molly on 9-7-2007 at 8:22 am

30. Why aren’t cashiers on there? That doesn’t make any sense at all.

    I make $10/hr. That’s far less than any of those other jobs, and it’s more than most cashiers get paid.

    posted by Katie on 9-7-2007 at 8:30 am

31. I estimate my per hour earnings would make me the laughing stock of any of these folks, but I noticed that “full time blogger” didn’t make the list.

    posted by Jon on 9-7-2007 at 8:59 am

32. Molly-
    I’ve no problem with people getting degrees to learn whatever they want; the objection was more that people subsequently complain that their pay sucks. Too bad. Basically, anything I want to learn for my own *enjoyment* I’ll do on my own either through reading/doing or individual non-matriculating courses. The only real point of a “degree” is to get somebody to hire you for a certain job or to get paid more in that job than w/o one. Edison never had an engineering degree, but he was a great engineer. That’s tough to do these days. But to be a successful artist, do you really need a “degree in studio art” to get hired, or is an extremely impressive portfolio of past work more important? I’m guessing the latter.

    I’m only suggesting that people make sure whatever they choose to study can get them a job with sufficient earning potential to pay off the loan(s) and live them live at whatever lifestyle makes them happy. NO WHINING and NO MOOCHING for public assistance / welfare / the dole. Make your bed and lie in it.

    posted by Sid Morrison on 9-7-2007 at 12:58 pm

33. I find interesting that no one takes into account cost of living. In my hometown, the estimated cost of living was “14,000″ all of these jobs are above that. Now trying to make ends meet on 14,000 dollars a year in a big city and you’re in trouble, I’m trying to make ends meet as Production Assistant in Los Angeles on 25,000 a year, with over 30 grand in student loans. Most of the people in the service industry are making more than me out here.

    I suppose on the upside I’m working with in what I have my degree in, and some day I maybe won’t have to worry about money.

    posted by Jenny on 9-7-2007 at 1:50 pm

34. I agree with Jenny, cost of living does not seem to be considered here. I grew up in San Jose where minimum wage there was a lot higher than other areas in the nation. At my first job I received $7.50 hour when the national minimum wage was under $6 hour. However, the question then is whether this higher wage really supports the local cost of living.

    posted by Gina on 9-7-2007 at 2:24 pm

35. My favorite job was also the worst job ever. I was the Medical Examiner and mortuary transport personnel for 2.5 years. I worked 120 (5 days straight) on-call hours a week in a van and got paid only $20 per deceased. I would put about 1000 miles on my van every week. You would be amazed at the gruesome stuff I would have to encounter for less than $5 an hour! That’s why I quit to attend mortuary school.

    posted by Empress K on 9-8-2007 at 11:30 am

36. i managed to get my AS in horticulture, only to relize that even though there are a lot of landscaping firms out there, they don’t want to hire women to do the yard work. it’s hard even to freelance it. and other places tend to hire the same people year to year (like greenhouses and flower shops) or family members, so they;’re even harder to get into.
    this summer i finally managed to land a full-time landscaping job, only to find out when my medicine said allergic to sunlight, it really meant it.
    not only to i get seriously sunburnt, i get physically ill.
    i guess it doesn’t matter much because i intended on getting my degree in genetics anyway, but it’s really annoying having to explain the situation to nosy family members.
    so i have to work fast food because it’s available and i get money for it.
    but the pay is rediculous. i don’t know how people take care of children on this.
    and it doens’t realy give you job experience so you can get a better job, because everyone wants experience, but no one wants to hire you so you can get some!

    posted by Sue on 9-8-2007 at 4:58 pm

37. Too bed being an ignorant, judgmental arse doesn’t pay unless you’re fortunate enough to be media personality. Some of you would be millionaires.

    posted by LJ on 9-8-2007 at 11:18 pm

38. At $0.80 an hour (yes, eighty-cents an hour), my first job at McDonald’s in 1965 in Shreveport, LA was a brilliant success! I learned how to blanch fries, remove heavy grease from tiled floors, and clean grills. I took orders (pencil and notepad–no computerized registers,) cooked, and skinned/sliced potatoes. ;) After a couple of years I felt guilty asking for a ten-cent raise. In 1968 and having achieved $1.10 an hour, I was bored with no future. So, I joined the military at the height of the Vietnam war. Perhaps the Republicans have it right. Keep the minimum wage at the lowest possible level and our military recruiting efforts will benefit in addition to their pocket books. That method beats the draft where their sons/daughters might be called up. Repeat the mantra, “No deferments in future drafts!”

    So, when you’re feeling sorry for yourself, think … eighty-cents an hour. Adjusting for inflation, etcetera, one will not be able to bring my old salaries to the level of today’s. “Good night, and good luck.” — Edward R. Murrow

    posted by Dave on 9-9-2007 at 8:24 am

39. I have to say that Sid has a point. Though I have to say that my relatively “useless” BA in English has panned out for me and given me options that perhaps more seemngly marketable degrees might not have (I’m a content editor for a corporate website.) It allowed me to telecommute and be home with my daughter since her birth. But I paid my dues to get to that point — including doing some low-paid scut-work that I parlayed into being a writer/editor to being a managing editor. But at every level I strove to do my absolute best and present myself as someone to be respected and counted on — and always dressed and acted like the higher level I wanted to be. Low-paying jobs should be only looked at as a way to 1. put off starvation when absolutely nothing else is available…for that moment or 2. a stepping stone to something better. Unless, of course, you don’t have the skills or drive to warrant a higher salary, in which case, there’s no point in complaining.

    posted by Acedia on 9-9-2007 at 7:53 pm

40. i’m amused that some people have gotten all hot in a biscuit about this topic. worst paying doesn’t mean worst.jobs.ever.

    my friend complains about being a waitress at 32. she keeps saying, “i have a masters degree and i’m just a waitress.” we went to grad school together; she thinks that i have a “great job” because i work 8-5 and make maybe $1 more an hour. big whoop, i have a desk.

    i have tried to explain to her that there’s not any difference in status. she and i led parallel lives–both taught as adjunct professors, tried to make ends meet. i was tired of wondering if my classes would make so i moved.

    did a lot of odd jobs. then was courted by a temp agency.

    a job is just what you do 40 hours a week. some people are lucky enough that their job is in tandem with their aspirations. some people don’t work at all, because they don’t have to or don’t want to.

    i have to work. if i won the lottery i’d still work because it provides some structure to my day. there is too much chaos in the world.

    posted by kelly on 9-10-2007 at 12:54 am

41. The worst paying job I did was camp counseler: I recieved $800 for eight weeks after taxes. I officially worked 22 hours a day (formal 2 hour break) six days a week. That works out to $100 a week, or $16 a day, or 75 cents an hour.

    Sad thing is that’s still more than many wage slaves in other countries, and I had paid food and housing and a free lifeguard certification from it (hence how they could pay us so very little.)

    posted by Cathy on 9-10-2007 at 9:03 am

42. I know this article is about worst paying jobs, and many of you have moved on, but I write this for the poor sap that is still working at the worst job that they still have.

    Where I live, an apprenticeship normally takes 4 years experience with about 2 months school every year. After it all, you’re rewarded with journeyman status.

    My worst paying job was yard work when I was a young teenager. I became motivated pretty quick to find a little more lucrative career path.

    What is a trade? Plumber, Welder, Machinist, Electrician, Carpenter, and Automotive Mechanic are to name a few.

    A good place to do research is the help wanted adds. There you will find out how much demand there is for a particular trade in your region and you can make a few phone calls to find out apprentice and journeyman wages.

    I am a Canadian, and the apprenticeship and journeyman thing applies to all of Canada. I am pretty sure an identical structure is in place in the USA.

    BTW, I am a journeyman machinist and I program and operate a robotic lathe for $30/hr in Edmonton Alberta Canada. I received my journeyman certificate from NAIT.

    posted by Tradesman Gerald on 9-15-2007 at 11:29 am

43. I love my job, really. It’s not how much money you make, it’s how much you enjoy the work. My dad made quite a bit of money as a engineer (he just retired) but he didn’t really enjoy it, and I get the feeling that he found some of his life meaningless because he spent the better part of his adult life doing something he hated.
    That being said, I make about the equivalent of $500/mo. (I teach in China) It’s actually not all that much more than I made in the States (teaching). I made $33,000/year as a certified teacher in one of the highest paying districts in the state I worked in. I love teaching, but, really, we make next to nothing for certified, college-degreed individuals. I stay late, and try to come in early, and while my life isn’t my job, I give my all. And, I pour quite a bit of my income into making my classroom a nice place to learn. (and no, I don’t get paid back for that, it’s barely tax-deductible… Not that I pay US taxes now- you have to earn $80,000/year to owe anything for US taxes if you live overseas. I file, but don’t pay anything.)

    posted by greenstrawberries on 9-21-2007 at 6:34 am

44. Sid, as others have said, just because people wish their job paid more doesn’t mean that they’re willfully ignorant of other opportunities.
    Airline pilots making over $100,000 wish they weren’t always jetlagged and far from home, doctors making $200,000 wish that they didn’t have to see patients die, and an attorney that made $300,000 one year wishes she hadn’t been working for 80+ hours a week that year.
    Likewise, a bartender in a local pub wishes that he made more than $20,000, but like the examples above who wish that aspects of their careers were better, keeps the job for other reasons.

    posted by Kevin on 9-25-2007 at 10:48 pm

45. I think nurses’ aids, for the amount of work they do vs. how much they’re paid, are definitely the most underpaid workers in America. They make barely over minimum wage and they have to wipe people’s bottoms and clean their bedsores and stuff. I know this because my best friend did it while putting herself through nursing school. It sucked.

    posted by Jena on 10-22-2007 at 2:46 pm

46. If you graduated high school there is no reason you should be working a minimum wage job.

    Maybe things are different in other areas but every high school I’ve ever known teaches basic trades as an elective course: auto mechanics, welding, carpentry, etc. Even if you have to work as an apprentice the first year or two, after that you are making much more than just-getting-by money.

    The bonus is that with that type of training, you don’t have to pay someone else to weld your leaky pipes, build your garage, or repair your vehicle; thus saving money over a lifetime.

    Girls & women: this applies to you too! Don’t assume that shop class is only for boys. My daughter just finished a year of welding, mechanics, and drafting and could work as an apprentice right now - and she’s only 16!

    Once you’re an adult you have to pay for classes like these in order to learn a trade. So teens, take advantage of what your free public education can offer while you can and you’ll never have to worry about trying to survive on a minimum wage salary.

    posted by Holly on 10-28-2007 at 3:03 am

47. I agree with Holly. You should think outside the box and see the job opportunities that are not traditional. Many girls choose nursing or similar traditionally “feminine” profession simply because they don’t really know what they want in life and that kind of choice is easy.

    However, if you are not that sure what to do, why not choose some another, possibly male-dominated profession? These jobs tend to pay a lot more and can be just as satisfying. And most of them don’t really require the muscle anymore.

    For any girl with wits and college aspirations, I’d recommend computer science. The pay is excellent, job is fun and there are more options on what to do than one can imagine - from program design to project management to training. There’s something for everybody.

    Particularly, I’d like to comment on the well-paid-versus-true-calling discussion that quite a majority of the low-paid jobs out there are hardly a calling. And I’ve also witnessed quite a few people (mostly girls having studied humanities) to have started questioning their choice after some years of either unemployment or crappy and badly paid job that does not quite correspond their degree. Most of them would now study something else.

    posted by Kathy on 12-3-2007 at 8:37 am

48. I want to contest the “SHAMPOOERS” place of number 7… I worked at a relatively nice hair salon in a nice area.. I was paid $10.00 an hour, plus tips.. and if you know what you’re doing, those people know how to tip! I didn’t do too bad there..

    posted by Mary on 12-3-2007 at 3:32 pm

49. The worst paying job I ever had after the crappy mall jobs while in high school was as a security guard. The job itself wasn’t so bad but the pay was atrocious. On top of that the govt., the coast guard and the company itself made a big deal out of homeland security rules. They didn’t like it when I asked “Why are we fooling around with this when the politicians refuse to let border security from stopping illegal mexicans from crossing the border?”

    posted by Robert Wayne on 12-21-2007 at 9:04 am

50. $10 an hour bad? Definitely for a single-income household. The odd part here is that seems to be the income ceiling no matter what job you have. I was an experienced and degree-ed telecommunication technician working non-stop on hi-tech and very tedious equipment, for $10.25. The UniMart convenience store started workers at $9.75. Of course either is a step up from Air Force recruit. Sure it’s not the hardcore Marines, but how does your job stack up to 18 hours of duty, white glove inspections, common latrines, cohabitating with strangers with zero privacy, meal time / bed time like you were 10 years old for about $2 per hour?
    Even if you aren’t actively at war, the plethora of things that you would only experience in the military still makes me wonder why the you were always under at least a passive aggressive threat of trouble or discharge and being treated like crap from people that come from strange backgrounds that make getting a “we’ll hire anyone” job a necessity.
    I volunteered, I wasn’t sentenced to the USAF like it was a punishment, but that its’ attitude. And of course your living conditions are worse that what Government social services allow illiterate, can’t/don’t work, drunk baby machines are given. BTW you don’t get a chance to use those highly advertised benefits, and employers don’t want to high motivated hard workers that may take their jobs or expect things to run correctly. The last part is a good tip when job seeking; the desperate, passive, dumb-guy has the edge over “over qualified” - at least appear to be significantly less sharp than your future boss.

    posted by Brian on 1-18-2008 at 2:49 am

51. I work full-time in the transportation industry as a dispatcher making $10/hour + Medical/Dental. I net $14,500/year….

    I graduated from high school and didn’t go on to a major university because I was afraid to take out the loans. I wasn’t sure what field of study I wanted to enter and knew I’d probably spend most of my time partying. I sort of regret not going because I know my way around a computer and probably could run laps around some kid that just graduated from the University of Florida, with an IT degree.

    It just blows my mind how the pay structure of our country is set up. The guy who busts his ass, 50-60 hours a week, in a factory gets paid considerably less than say a real estate agent, who could get paid that first guy I described salary in one month just by selling a couple homes (which isn’t exactly easy at the moment, thanks George Bush). Then you got the good ol’ fashioned Major League Baseball player who expects 20,000,000 per year to play a fkn GAME. AND HE ENDS UP GETTING IT!

    Capitalism and free markets are rearing their ugly heads.

    posted by Ahmadidajad on 2-29-2008 at 12:31 pm

52. I don’t understand why university graduates wait around for a position in their field to open up. If you major in Anthropology you need to learn how to market the skills you learned to succeed. Trust me, those “useless” majors like history teach you a lot of things that the average business administration major lacks. You just need to communicate that to your potential employer.

    posted by Guy on 4-14-2008 at 5:24 pm

53. I actually have two that come to mind.The 1st was as a young teen working on my great-cousins farm during the summer school holidays.I was there 2 yrs and the 1st summer I was payed 10$ a week. My day started at 5:am and finished 12 hrs later but I was given the weekends off.The following yr I was given a 5$ raise but thye hrs were extended and I had to work 6 days a week with every other Sunday.Grant you this was the early 60’s. My second job was working for Pepsi, 95cents an hr. Also during the 60’s.

    posted by Randy on 5-21-2008 at 9:11 am

54. My first Social Security paying, wage-slave job was as a windshield washer/concession counter drudge at a drive-in theatre. It paid the princely sum of 35 cents per hour plus tips (hah!). Benefits included seeing the movies for free (over and over and over), and all the left over popcorn I could chow down.

    posted by Steve P. on 8-14-2008 at 1:05 pm

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