Hi friends of antiwork,
tl;dr How do people make lower-wage jobs work for them? How do people who make $18/hour in New York City survive?
I feel silly posting this–please forgive me, because my privilege is showing–but I can't think of a better place to get some feedback. I would deeply appreciate any advice on how to navigate a career transition crossed with a stark economic reality.
I am a PR/ communications consultant, and I strenuously dislike my work. One of my college professors invited me to speak to one of his classes about PR and media strategy, and I declined because I would literally never encourage a bright young person to go into this field, where you have to advocate for clients to get media attention and public platforms, regardless of whether you believe in what they do.
I really want to work in the hospitality/ food/ lifestyle space. I feel called to work in a bakery, or a florist, or even a catering kitchen. I want to work with my body, make things, make beautiful things, and make other people feel taken care of. I like the idea of adding beauty and delight to the world with my work. However, when I do research on jobs that appeal to me, these pay in the $16 – $18/hour range.
How do people in New York City make hospitality/ food service wages work for them?
I live in New York City and I already live on a tight budget. My lifestyle is fairly inexpensive– I don't drink, I don't go to restaurants, I don't go shopping. The one expense I could cut out is mental health care ($600/month for therapy) and I have one monthly non-profit donation I could cut.
I brought up this conundrum to a career coach friend of mine, who suggested I sell foot pics to subsidize my desire to work in a kitchen. (I'm not ruling it out!) I could also keep one or two media strategy clients to subsidize the work I truly want to do, but I have some concern about working full-time in a demanding field and then having to do knowledge work (that I would rather not be doing) in my spare time.
I realize that I am asking about a broad economic issue– literally, how do people making low wages survive?–but a practical one: how do cooks and bakers and florists literally survive in New York City?