Got my first job at 18, I want to be an engineer so I found a spot at my dad's job in the CNC department.
It. Was. Awful.
8 hour long days, no hearing protection, the loudest machines you could imagine working with, and I was there working on them. There was always a mist of faintly burning/chemical scent all around everything, coming from a chemical in the coolant they used. I knew after day 1 I wouldn't be able to keep it up for more than a week or two, so I notified my new boss that I likely wouldn't stay.
I was promptly spoken to like a child for not being strong or willful enough to work there, and he told me that the other guys would probably have to work extra while they hired someone else, so I said I would see
I ended up working there for 3 weeks, enduring burns, a fairly constant itch and irritation that lingered even after I showered, and suffering a minor case of heatstroke on one particular 100°F day. The pay was $13 an hour, 40 a week.
I finally pushed my way past their guilt trippiness, quit that place, and quickly found a grocery store that matched my 13, gave me similar hours, and didn't guilt me for the rare occasion I had to take off early in an emergency. It took me an extra two weeks to stop itching constantly and the ring in my ears didn't fully disappear for over a month. I salute the men who work in that shithole for 10 or 20 years. I do t know how anyone could bare that kind of dangerous job for the kind of pay they got. (The handbook they gave me to read had wages up to 20/hr, but only after 6 years). In the time I was there, I saw them go through 6 employees, one of which I actually got to speak to and said he had the same constant itch and ringing that I did, after which he said that I should get the hell out too.
Is this a normal occurrence for factory jobs? Am I being unreasonable for thinking that nobody should have to work that kind of job for such a crappy pay? Please let me know, I'm still new to jobs and bosses even after all of this but the situation still doesn't sit right with me even after a year.