Newt
DCC 4Life
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2013
- Messages
- 1,148
I know this got started in another thread, several times, and I don't know why its bothering me more this time than before but I thought it would be good to separate this debate from the others since its seems to be a big subject.
I'll start off by saying I believe minimum wage is fine where it is. To me, and this is my opinion, minimum wage jobs are for minimum wage people. There is always an exception to the rule, but in general the people who make minimum wage don't want to do anything else. I'll give an example;
I graduated high school in 2000, attended one semester of jr college and decided that wasn't going to work for me. All through high school I worked minimum wage jobs, sacking groceries, stocking shelves, I even waited tables for a month. None of these were career choices, I had no idea what I wanted to do. After my failed attempt at college life I went to work for Fluor Daniels, a very large construction/maintenance company. My dad was an electrician and he got me hired as a entry level helper. Yes I had a little help and a foot in the door. But even the entry level helper job paid more than minimum wage, I started out at $11.20/hr and because we were working out of town I got $60/day per diem. Not bad for a 18 year old in early 2001.
There were seven levels of pay for electricians, level 1 thru level 6 helpers, and journeyman. This is were the problem sets in to me for most minimum wage people. At level 1, which is where I started, you are basically a water boy/ditch digger, if you know what needle nose pliers are you might get to use the truck to fill the water jugs. Its a dirty job. But it pays more than minimum wage. Like I said $11.20/hr.
Within two years I was a top level helper. $17.65/hr for a 20 year old with very little college under his belt. The only reason I wasn't drawing journeyman pay at that point is because I never went and took the test. Still haven't, I'm not in that field anymore. Somehow, I was seen as management material and I was offered a job in the office. It wasn't a management job to start with, at first I did payroll and scheduling. Some end of the year accounting clean up. I did whatever they asked me to do. By the end of 2004, I was the office manager for another project that was kicked off across town. $20.50/hr, and this whole time I'm drawing $60/day per diem.
I worked for Fluor Daniels a total of 5 years, I went from making $11.20/hr to $22.50/hr in that span. This is 10-15 years ago. I've been told that journeyman electricians make about $26/hr now, and it still only takes about two years to become a journeyman or at least a top helper. Yes I had someone help me get hired, but I saw people get hired through temp services and straight off of the street. There is an 800 number you can call and get human resources, they will put you to work. But for some reason, people today, especially young people, believe they are entitled to start out at the top of the ladder. The believe they are too good to dig a ditch or fetch someones water.
Here's what I believe, if you can't tell me where the raman noodles are, the cunts running walmart are paying you too much. If you can't make my cheeseburger with mayo and no mustard, the cunts running McDonald's pay you too much. If you can't make change from a five dollar bill without a calculator when the tab is $4.70, the cunts running Taco Bell are paying you too much. And if you are too lazy to get a job, I'm paying you too much.
I'll start off by saying I believe minimum wage is fine where it is. To me, and this is my opinion, minimum wage jobs are for minimum wage people. There is always an exception to the rule, but in general the people who make minimum wage don't want to do anything else. I'll give an example;
I graduated high school in 2000, attended one semester of jr college and decided that wasn't going to work for me. All through high school I worked minimum wage jobs, sacking groceries, stocking shelves, I even waited tables for a month. None of these were career choices, I had no idea what I wanted to do. After my failed attempt at college life I went to work for Fluor Daniels, a very large construction/maintenance company. My dad was an electrician and he got me hired as a entry level helper. Yes I had a little help and a foot in the door. But even the entry level helper job paid more than minimum wage, I started out at $11.20/hr and because we were working out of town I got $60/day per diem. Not bad for a 18 year old in early 2001.
There were seven levels of pay for electricians, level 1 thru level 6 helpers, and journeyman. This is were the problem sets in to me for most minimum wage people. At level 1, which is where I started, you are basically a water boy/ditch digger, if you know what needle nose pliers are you might get to use the truck to fill the water jugs. Its a dirty job. But it pays more than minimum wage. Like I said $11.20/hr.
Within two years I was a top level helper. $17.65/hr for a 20 year old with very little college under his belt. The only reason I wasn't drawing journeyman pay at that point is because I never went and took the test. Still haven't, I'm not in that field anymore. Somehow, I was seen as management material and I was offered a job in the office. It wasn't a management job to start with, at first I did payroll and scheduling. Some end of the year accounting clean up. I did whatever they asked me to do. By the end of 2004, I was the office manager for another project that was kicked off across town. $20.50/hr, and this whole time I'm drawing $60/day per diem.
I worked for Fluor Daniels a total of 5 years, I went from making $11.20/hr to $22.50/hr in that span. This is 10-15 years ago. I've been told that journeyman electricians make about $26/hr now, and it still only takes about two years to become a journeyman or at least a top helper. Yes I had someone help me get hired, but I saw people get hired through temp services and straight off of the street. There is an 800 number you can call and get human resources, they will put you to work. But for some reason, people today, especially young people, believe they are entitled to start out at the top of the ladder. The believe they are too good to dig a ditch or fetch someones water.
Here's what I believe, if you can't tell me where the raman noodles are, the cunts running walmart are paying you too much. If you can't make my cheeseburger with mayo and no mustard, the cunts running McDonald's pay you too much. If you can't make change from a five dollar bill without a calculator when the tab is $4.70, the cunts running Taco Bell are paying you too much. And if you are too lazy to get a job, I'm paying you too much.