The McJob...The New Normal.

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
If raising the minimum wage worked why hasn't our government passed a new law with higher wages? With this kind of reasoning maybe it should be $25 an hour? Or, how about $30? Or, $40? Oh, and throw in free Obamacare, too. And maternity leave, and sick leave and vacation time and grieving time and don't forget the ever popular mental health days, as well.

I just hope you will like your $24.99 Big Mac, after all you can afford it, now.






Realistically, higher wages wouldn't increase consumer prices very much. Think about how many Big Macs the 10 or so employees working at any given time at McD's can produce. I would rather pay higher prices knowing that someone else isn't living a totally miserable life. But that's just me and my opinion.


That may be the case or may not.... But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less. My wife stayed home a whole year, and had the option to stay home longer. She was on LWOP, but had a job to come back to and the comfort of knowing that she could properly breastfeed and nurture our baby all the time. She works for a fairly large entity, which helps, I'm sure, and I get it that a three person business may not have the flexibility.... But they may have it too (from firsthand experience with other family members), and IMO it's best for nurturing the child.

 

[Silverado12]

I'm in favor of the free community college. The trades are taught at the one in my area. Pretty much anything you want from auto mechanics to machine tech, truck driving, etc. Pretty good investment as the gov't will in the long term get more money since they make more $$$.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
I'm in favor of the free community college. The trades are taught at the one in my area. Pretty much anything you want from auto mechanics to machine tech, truck driving, etc. Pretty good investment as the gov't will in the long term get more money since they make more $$$.


Varies from area to area.

The community college where I live now is pretty decent. The one by where I grew up? I'm pretty sure people graduated with their degree in Fashion Retail Purchasing and spelled it "Kommunitey Kolladge" ... very, very, very poor quality of education.

 

[jeepman3071]

Everyone getting a college degree is not the answer either. Why does a college degree help a potential employee in the first place? Because it puts their education level a step above many other potential employees. If everyone gets a college degree, that means only the candidates with master's and their PhD will be in a higher category. Even then, there will always be someone willing to work for cheaper. My friend just got his engineering degree (bachelor's) from UConn. He told me that many of the jobs he is applying for there are people with higher degrees in the same field from other countries applying for the same job. The problem is that many people from outside countries have no problem working for lower pay here in the U.S. This forces our workers to work for lower wages as well. Why would the company hire an entry level engineer with a bachelor's degree when they can get one with a PhD who is willing to work for the same salary?

Learning a trade is becoming increasingly valuable. We are turning into a book smart society that doesn't know how to do anything for themselves.

 

[grampi]

Trade schools are the best option now days...college degrees don't seem to help people land jobs these days, but they certainly create enough debt to last a person's lifetime...

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
I tell my kids if your job can be done with a keyboard, it can be sent anywhere in the world.


Thank you for doing your part to thin out the competition among some of the highest paid jobs one can get.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
I was trying to impress this upon my nephew recently, asking if his HS still has wood or metal shop. Surprisingly they did. However, he said it was "off-track" or of lower-credit or lower points...something like that.


I recall those days. I was able to get a few shop classes in for gen ed credit (or something like that); but a few buddies did all day (or most day) stuff building houses for senior year. I was always jealous. Where would I be today had I learned a bit more about framing, finish carpentry, household wiring, roof ventilation, etc? Couldn't do that sort of thing, not when pre-calc beckoned!


LOL my parents forced me to take pre calculus. Haven't used it to this day in the real world.


I took it willingly. It almost prepaired me for calc in college. That was brutal, three semesters of calculus!

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
That may be the case or may not.... But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less. My wife stayed home a whole year, and had the option to stay home longer.


My wife looked at it like this: "why would I do that to my kids, when I wouldn't do that to our dog?"

I thought that view was overly-harsh, but you get the idea. My wife is hardly stay at home these days (teaches too many classes) but she was home for the first few years, and these days if someone has to stay home sick, she generally is the one to stay home for that.

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: Silverado12
A friend of my wife has a relative that works at the Amazon distribution center in Chester, VA in the warehouse and makes 10 bucks an hour. I helped him out by giving him some motor oil that I didn't have a use for anymore so he could feed his oil guzzling McCar. I just can't believe that the pay is that low for such a hard job. 25 years ago warehouse work paid $12.50. Vent over. Is this the new normal in your area?


They need to learn a job skill that will have them making a better salary.
$10 an hour today is a poverty wage, especially in the NE part of country.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Trade schools are the best option now days...college degrees don't seem to help people land jobs these days, but they certainly create enough debt to last a person's lifetime...


I consider myself EXTREMELY lucky to have found a good job. Many people with whom I went to college are not this lucky.

But yes, the debt will always be there.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
That may be the case or may not.... But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less. My wife stayed home a whole year, and had the option to stay home longer.


My wife looked at it like this: "why would I do that to my kids, when I wouldn't do that to our dog?"

I thought that view was overly-harsh, but you get the idea. My wife is hardly stay at home these days (teaches too many classes) but she was home for the first few years, and these days if someone has to stay home sick, she generally is the one to stay home for that.


Once the kid is older Im all for socialization and being able to go into more structured care... My wife is back at work full time.

But particularly while breastfeeding and under initial development while no social skills and lots of need for nurture, to have the kids left in some third party 'nursery' to me is horrid.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
That may be the case or may not.... But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less. My wife stayed home a whole year, and had the option to stay home longer.


My wife looked at it like this: "why would I do that to my kids, when I wouldn't do that to our dog?"

I thought that view was overly-harsh, but you get the idea. My wife is hardly stay at home these days (teaches too many classes) but she was home for the first few years, and these days if someone has to stay home sick, she generally is the one to stay home for that.


Once the kid is older Im all for socialization and being able to go into more structured care... My wife is back at work full time.

But particularly while breastfeeding and under initial development while no social skills and lots of need for nurture, to have the kids left in some third party 'nursery' to me is horrid.

It's pretty much the norm at my workplace for women to take 6 months to a year off after having a kid. You only get $400/week from the government but I guess if you are paying for daycare, you almost come out ahead.
I was actually able to take a few months off on parental leave as well as my wife didn't need the whole year. It was good just to do parent stuff.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less.

Sure, but what do you do if a family heavily relies on two incomes?

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less.

Sure, but what do you do if a family heavily relies on two incomes?



I don't agree that it should be "criminal" to work with a young child in daycare, that's a bit over the top.

But with planning and thought it can be done. Everything about my finances is set up so that my wife doesn't have to work when we have kids. When I add in the fact that our cars are paid for and we'll have paid off a modestly priced house in less than six years while having children, I think the average person can figure it out if they try.

I don't mean this to be a "I'm doing it so everybody else can do it to!" type of post. The conditions under which people have children are obviously very different from one couple to the next. I'd just like to communicate that with smart planning and a little sacrifice, I think that most people can do it.

 

[javacontour]

I'm in the industry, I can see what's happening on the inside.

I work with Bangalor Bob more often than Alan from Austin or Sam from St Louis.

If you are going into this line of work, then try to find a niche that's more difficult to send overseas, which is the military and government segments, or infrastructure. Actually putting your hands on the hardware, cabling, etc.

You know, like it was when I started. When programmers might actually carry a screwdriver and not just know where to click the mouse.

Cars are not the only things the users don't understand. You may or may not be surprised at how many IT pros don't understand the systems they are administering.

Originally Posted By: Mykl
Originally Posted By: javacontour
I tell my kids if your job can be done with a keyboard, it can be sent anywhere in the world.


Thank you for doing your part to thin out the competition among some of the highest paid jobs one can get.

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
I'm in the industry, I can see what's happening on the inside.

I work with Bangalor Bob more often than Alan from Austin or Sam from St Louis.

If you are going into this line of work, then try to find a niche that's more difficult to send overseas, which is the military and government segments, or infrastructure. Actually putting your hands on the hardware, cabling, etc.

You know, like it was when I started. When programmers might actually carry a screwdriver and not just know where to click the mouse.

Cars are not the only things the users don't understand. You may or may not be surprised at how many IT pros don't understand the systems they are administering.


Right, but unless you're willing to limit yourself to service industry work, construction, or the various building repair fields you're really limiting yourself.

The bottom line is that if you have actual skills, and may be willing to move for a job, you can find employment behind a keyboard.

I'm sorry you pine for the good old days of punch cards, but being a skilled programmer can still land you a very decent paycheck in the United States, and that's not likely to change any time soon.

*edit* - there's nothing wrong with those other jobs, not at all, but if it's not something you want to do.... then that's that.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less.

Sure, but what do you do if a family heavily relies on two incomes?



Does everyone have to have kids?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less.

Sure, but what do you do if a family heavily relies on two incomes?



Does everyone have to have kids?

No. Only the ones that want to.

I realize you should first save up to have a kid, which would allow the wife to not work for a year. But if everyone tried doing that, birth rates in this country would fall dramatically. Maybe that's a good thing. Alas, if we don't constantly add lots of new/fresh blood to the life cycle, who is going to pay our social security when we're old?

It's one thing to stop working for a year and come back to the great job that you had before. It's a completely different ball of wax to stop working for a year and then not have that job to come back to. No employer is obligated to take you back on the same position/salary after a year. Even in Europe, after a year of maternity leave they will take you back, but they don't have to give you the same job/pay you had before.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less.

Sure, but what do you do if a family heavily relies on two incomes?



Nobody is making you have kids.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But the one that I am sensitive to is maternity care. As a fairly recent father, I find it criminal when parents dump their kids in daycare at 12 weeks or less.

Sure, but what do you do if a family heavily relies on two incomes?



Nobody is making you have kids.

Here we go again with financial planning advice.

Yes, ideally you should not take out a loan to buy a house, a car, or have a kid. Instead, you should save up for all these things first and then pay cash. I'm just saying it's not always realistic. Kids are expensive. By the time you save up for them, you might be too old to have them.