Little bit of background. I’m 25 M and I started working in restaurants at 16 years old. By age 20 I told myself I need to chase some kind of career path and not get stuck in food service.
So from age 20-24 I worked as a: nanny, caregiver for the elderly and disabled, and in a dental clinic as a sterilization technician, even received a certification after taking a course on it all. In each one of these jobs, the pay was anywhere from 12.50$/hr to 16.50$/hr.
The lowest of the low was when I worked at a day program for individuals with autism and Down syndrome, I would have six clients with me for 8 hours a day for MINIMUM WAGE. When I inquired about raise opportunities, I was told “well this money comes from state and that’s the rate the state pays for care workers.”
At the dental clinic I asked about raise opportunities and they said “we don’t do raises based on performance. We do a 50 cent raise across the whole company yearly.” YAY.
At my last straw I was working full time, no days off with the wife, and no money (literally) after scraping by with what I needed for rent.
Got to the point where I asked myself, “what’s the point of having some ‘respectable’ medical career if I’m not even making enough money to get by? If I’m not even happy?”
So I dug deep and asked myself what will I be happy doing that will pay me well.
Fast forward and I am now making DOUBLE the rates I was working, at a fish house and oyster bar for HALF the hours every week.
It literally makes me just go “wow. Things are so f*cked here.”
Ironically enough, I work at the restaurant with an EMT and a Teacher. They both switched back to restaurant work like I did because they were overworked and underpaid.
America. Where you can make more in food service than you can teaching our nations youth, or caring for the sick and old.
P.S. please save the comments that sound like “well there are good paying jobs in the medical field if you have more experience or education.” Like I’m sorry but nah. If I put in work, I deserve a living wage. Period.
TLDR: I hate America. I made minimum wage caring for the sick and disabled, and almost 30$/hr serving food to people. It’s all just one big joke.