I've started a new line of work recently. I was lucky to find myself starting at the lower end of management for a contract company involved in healthcare. Mind you, this role requires no schooling, no certifications, no training, no previous experience (albeit these things are preferred, hence why I was lucky, but again not actually required).
Despite now being management once again, I'm not afraid of discussing wages. I've been talking to the people working around me. And I realized something. I'm making more than the CNAs, the nurses, the EMTs. I make more than the towns police officers. The money I make isn't bad, but my hourly is only slightly over 2x the min wage. And yet I make more than all of them, save for the other managers or the ones that have 20+ years of experience.
I've known that people are being underpaid, for a long time now. But, I'm honestly shaken at this current realization. A lot of these people went through college, through some sort of schooling and/or long term training to do what they're doing, and then there I am- someone who dropped out
, without a lick of higher education- getting better pay and better benefits. I'm not saying I don't deserve it because of lacking these things. But it really refreshes the fact that we ALL deserve more! We ALL deserve better! I hear workers who play a vital and important role talking about struggling. Some of them holding 2-3 jobs. Some of them on Section 8, on benefits. A few of them fixing to switch from their careers to (supposed) “lower positions ” , just so they won't lose assistance because if they did it would in the long run be an enormous pay cut that would leave them on the streets. I've known its been bad. But it breaks my heart actively seeing how bad on a day to day basis.
What's the point anymore? We're all just on survival mode. I'm sad for us. We deserve better lives. Everyone.